The White House released videotapes of President Clinton's coffees with political donors. The tapes were made by White House television crews (i.e., recorded in the open) and cover only the first few minutes of each coffee (i.e., introductions and small talk). The White House says the tapes show nothing illegal. Questions: 1) Why is the audio missing from the most important clip--the coffee at which John Huang allegedly made an introductory pitch for campaign contributions? One investigator calls this "a Rose Mary Woods problem," referring to the infamous 18-and-a-half-minute gap on Richard Nixon's secretary's tape. 2) Why were the tapes turned over only after Senate investigators specifically asked for videotapes--and only hours after Attorney General Janet Reno cleared Clinton of alleged campaign-finance violations--despite previous congressional subpoenas demanding all records relevant to Clinton's fund raising? Republicans now are raising the possibility of obstruction of justice and demanding that Reno reconsider her decision to clear Clinton. Regardless of the tapes' content, pundits are looking forward to another orgy of Clinton-Nixon comparisons. (10/6) Hundreds of thousands of men attended the Promise Keepers national assembly in Washington. The assembly called on men to accept Jesus Christ; confess their selfishness and sexual sins; and take leadership in their families, churches, and communities. Critics accused the group of advocating a return to patriarchy. Several members of Congress showed up, and President Clinton applauded the men for promising "to reassume their responsibilities to the families." The media's buildup to the assembly focused on gender controversies--but the assembly focused more on racial reconciliation, the attendees behaved humbly, and the speakers forswore political plans or motives. The press finally acquitted the Promise Keepers of the charge that they are divisive and leveled the more serious charge that they are boring. (Slate's Tucker Carlson was at the rally--check out his "Dispatch." Also read this "Dialogue" between Time 's Ron Stodghill and U.S. News & World Report 's Marci McDonald.) (10/6) Israel botched an assassination attempt on a Hamas leader . According to various reports, Israel 1) infuriated Jordan by infiltrating that country and staging the attack there; 2) infuriated Canada and other countries by forging Canadian passports for the Israeli agents; 3) bungled the attack, leading to the agents' arrest; 4) was forced to release the founder of Hamas (who was serving a life sentence) and other Hamas prisoners from Israeli jails and to supply an antidote for the lethal nerve toxin used in the attack, in order to assuage Jordan's anger; and 5) aroused such fury at Israel and sympathy for Hamas that Yasser Arafat reportedly will have to release the Hamas prisoners he has rounded up and reopen Hamas institutions. Domestic and foreign critics called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist and a fool and added that the attack was so stupid and potentially calamitous that he's lucky he screwed it up. (10/6) Now they tell us: 1) George Bush's diary tapes (not to be confused with Clinton's White House tapes) show him admitting that he "blew it" when he picked Dan Quayle as his running mate, according to a new book. Bush's spokesman says Bush was referring to how the selection was managed, not to Quayle himself. 2) The same book says that at the 1980 Republican convention, Ronald Reagan told a friend: "I have strong reservations about George Bush. I'm concerned about turning the country over to him." 3) According to another book, Lyndon Johnson's White House tapes (not to be confused with Bill Clinton's White House tapes) indicate he suspected Fidel Castro of complicity in President Kennedy's assassination but feared that a U.S. military response would trigger nuclear war. (To listen to some of the LBJ tapes, click here.) 4) Reagan's doctors told the New York Times that he showed no signs of Alzheimer's disease during his presidency. The alternative explanation for his mental lapses: indifference to detail. 5) At a forum on mental illness this weekend, George McGovern said he shouldn't have dumped Sen. Tom Eagleton from his ticket in 1972. (10/6) Algerian atrocity watch : Militants 1) decapitated or cut the throats of 12 children and 26 adults in one village; 2) similarly massacred 22 children and 15 adults in another village; 3) slaughtered 20 teen-agers and young adults at a wedding; and 4) attacked a school bus and killed the driver and 16 children, some of whom were shot through the head. (10/6) Miscellany: Ralph Nader is launching a campaign against Microsoft , alleging "a strange type of monopolistic practice" that controls "content and innovation" rather than price. Sun chairman Scott McNealy and Silicon Valley attorney Gary Reback will speak at an anti-Microsoft conference organized by Nader. Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., is threatening NBC with hostile legislation or obstruction of its affiliates' license renewals unless NBC adopts the new sex-and-violence ratings system. CBS News is offering up to $1,000 for news tips, but the network says it's OK because only journalists (not "the subjects of stories or anyone connected to them") are eligible. The Los Angeles Times says bowling is all the rage in China. (10/6) Paint traces may indicate that Princess Diana's car collided with a black Fiat just before the fatal crash. Signal-light fragments found at the scene also bolster the second-car theory, coinciding with eyewitness testimony that a car and a motorcycle, possibly carrying a photographer, weaved in front of Diana's car just before the crash. The bodyguard who survived the crash has recovered partial memory of events before the crash, but evidently can't answer whether a Fiat struck Diana's car. Doctors say he might eventually recover his memory of the crash itself. (10/3) President Clinton announced plans to block imports of food and vegetables from countries with weak food-inspection systems. Consumer advocates said the measures are too weak (they don't set the same standards abroad that apply here). Free-trade advocates said they are too strong (they may prompt retaliatory measures from affected countries). Analysts said they are driven by political rather than safety concerns (the plan may garner votes for Clinton's fast-track trade negotiating proposals among congressmen fearing influxes of contaminated food). The public is expected to welcome the measures. (10/3) Conservative activists are taking charge of the Paula Jones case . Jones accepted financial support from the Rutherford Institute, which has assisted fundamentalists in various legal fights. At Rutherford's recommendation, Jones also hired a Dallas law firm that has defended pro-lifers, student prayer, and the Texas sodomy law. Analysts see this as bad news for Clinton on the settlement front (since Jones' new lawyers seem eager to go to trial) but good news on the PR front (since it plays into the White House line that Jones is a puppet of Clinton's enemies). Reporters noted that in her press conference, Jones spoke only when given permission by her adviser, Susan Carpenter-McMillan. (For more on Carpenter-McMillan, see Slate's "Assessment.") (10/3) Bosnian Muslims reportedly are arming for an overwhelming assault on Bosnian Serbs . A NATO commander told the New York Times , "The question no longer is if the Muslims will attack the Bosnian Serbs, but when," and that "the only way to prevent such an attack ... is for the peacekeeping mission to extend its mandate" beyond the deadline by which U.S. forces are supposed to pull out. The Times speculated that NATO officials leaked the bad news to persuade Congress not to pull out the troops. The paper also concluded that the U.S. policy of equipping and training Muslim forces may not be such a bright idea. (10/3) Scott Krueger, an MIT fraternity pledge, died of alcohol poisoning after a frat party. This has rekindled the concern and outrage sparked a few weeks ago by the similar death of a pledge at Louisiana State University. The high-minded spin: The two cases underscore an epidemic of binge drinking in frats and colleges in general. The naughty spin: How could this have happened at MIT, where, unlike LSU, the kids are supposed to be smart? (10/1) The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops called for acceptance of homosexuality . The bishops said homosexual orientation "cannot be considered sinful," because it "is experienced as a given." The catch: Gays must remain "chaste," which means avoiding "genital sexual involvement" with same-sex friends. The bishops called their position old news, but gay Catholics found the shift in emphasis significant. (10/1) Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott proposed to amend the McCain-Feingold bill to ban unions from funneling dues to political activity without workers' explicit consent. Analysts agreed that he's using the amendment to make the bill unpalatable to Democrats so they'll kill reform and the blood will be on their hands. Editorialists admired and reviled his diabolical shrewdness. Critics argued workers can quit a union if they don't like its political activities and that any debate about regulating union money should be taken up separately. Even if enough Republicans join Democrats to kill the amendment, more would be needed to defeat the filibuster that has already been promised. (For Slate's take, see "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," by Jacob Weisberg.) (10/1) More miscellany: Capitalizing on frayed relations between British Telecom and MCI, WorldCom outbid BT by offering $30 billion for MCI. New York Lt. Gov. Elizabeth "Betsy" McCaughey Ross switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Republicans were glad to get rid of her. Democrats gave her only a perfunctory welcome. Ex-Rep. Mary Rose Oakar, D-Ohio, will plead guilty to evading campaign-finance laws. Hooters settled a discrimination lawsuit by shelling out $3.75 million and agreeing to hire men--as support staff, not as waiters, thereby preserving the tradition of Hooters Girls. (10/1) Pop-art icon Roy Lichtenstein died . Obituaries generally celebrated him for countering texture and esoteric expression with irreverence and ironic wit, and for being an all-around nice guy. The Washington Post said he "made the vulgar chic" and "the ersatz ... authentic." (10/1)