Political Prognostication With No Polling Needed

Forget the voters--what do the stars say about the stars of today’s primary and what the day holds for them?

Democrat Bill Bradley and Republican Alan Keyes share Leo birth dates, and today’s horoscope for Leo is: “Blend showmanship with publicity--you’ll be involved in major project that could earn money, prestige. Focus on promotion, production.” (Sounds like fund-raising.)

Aries Al Gore is advised, “Cycle is such that you will be at right place at special moment. People find you ultra-attractive, you will be exuding sex appeal.” (Hear that, Tipper?)

John McCain is Virgo material, and for him this astrological counsel: “Finish what you start, aim high, you are regarded in special, positive way. What was lost will be recovered.” (Like momentum?)

And for George W. Bush, a Cancer, these words: “Like it or not, you will be chosen as replacement for individual responsible for many lives.” Then this plea: “Do some research.”

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Haute prix fixe cuisine: At a $500-a-plate San Francisco fund-raiser for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose only Democratic opponent in the open primary hasn’t even raised $5,000, President Clinton noted that both Feinstein’s and Sen. Barbara Boxer’s husbands had been giving him tips on how to be a Senate spouse--depending on how New Yorkers vote in the Hillary Clinton-Rudy Giuliani race.

The guy trio “decided that we would start right now planning for next year. We’re looking for a fourth--for golf, for tea, for whatever.”

Mayor Willie Brown, a man who never comes up short in the ego department, added, “If I had Dianne’s energy, it would be me [as presidential keynoter] instead of Bill Clinton.”

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Till the last dog dines: The last survivor of the Bay Area’s Doggie Diner chain may still be famous, but he’s no landmark.

San Francisco supervisors failed to give landmark status to the 7-foot canine cranium, which sits atop a pole above the Carousel Diner like a severed head on a pike, a la the French Revolution. Had the vote gone otherwise, a new tenant that had intended to decapitate the head would have had to give it five years’ grace, after which the city would have kenneled it elsewhere.

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Car talk: A La Mesa cop saw a fellow sitting in a stolen Nissan 300ZX sports coupe. The driver spotted the cop and stepped on the gas. He rear-ended a parked car, got boxed in, and then tried to run over a cop.

More cops gave chase into San Diego, where the Nissan driver jumped out, ran onto a freeway and tried to steal a car. That driver hit the gas to avoid a carjacking, then sped off with the suspect clinging to the open car door. The driver deliberately sideswiped a crash barrel, scraping the suspect onto the freeway, where police found him and took him to a hospital.

A trauma surgeon thought he might have been using drugs. “What did you take tonight?” asked the doctor. “A 300ZX,” the suspect answered.

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One-offs: At an environmental conference, activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill, who lived for two years in an ancient redwood to save it from loggers, was challenged by masked protesters over the deal she made in exchange for saving the tree. . . . Yucca Valley’s city water beat 45 competitors--including last year’s champion, Desert Hot Springs--in a contest to find the world’s best-tasting municipal drinking water. . . . For the second year in a row, nearly 250 blooming daffodils planted along California 99 by a Yuba City garden club have been cut and stolen. . . . Although he died in 1986, Howard Jarvis is shown on a political mailer about a measure on today’s ballot, waving a fist and declaring, “Don’t Be Fooled by the Politicians!!!”

EXIT LINE

“The last night, I had a long discussion about Greek mythology with a guy in jail for firewood theft, a great guy.”

--Newspaper editor and publisher Tim Crews, who spent five days in the Tehama County jail for protecting a news source. The story in the biweekly Valley Mirror of Artois dealt with a former CHP officer accused of stealing a gun while on duty with a county task force.

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California Voters by Party

On this election day, 69% of Californians eligible to vote are registered to do so. Here is a breakdown by party affiliation:

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Party Registered Voters % of Total Democratic 6,684,668 45.69% Republican 5,140,951 35.14% Decline to state 2,032,663 13.89% American Independent 295,387 2.02% Green 108,904 0.74% Libertarian 87,183 0.60% Reform 85,869 0.59% Natural Law 62,183 0.42% Miscellaneous/Non-qualified* 133,997 0.91%

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Total eligible voters**: 21,220,772

Total registered voters: 14,631,805

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* Registration filled out with no recognizable party.

** U.S. citizens in California 18 and older, excluding prisoners and parolees.

Source: California secretary of state

Researched by TRACY THOMAS/Los Angeles Times

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California Dateline appears every other Tuesday.