Erection 2000
When former Senator Bob Dole started plugging Viagra in national television commercials, people smirked, but held their tongues. After all, with far more explicit discussion available in last summer's Starr report on President Clinton, Dole's significantly less embarrassing revelations were hardly worth raising an eyebrow.

Maybe that was part of the problem. Apparently seeking to surpass his former campaign rival in humiliating antics, Bob Dole went on national television yesterday to frankly discuss his experience with erectile dysfunction, or as he snappily called it, "E.D." These new TV spots, sponsored by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, feature Senator Dole lecturing in a fatherly manner about side effects of prostate cancer treatment.

Now, I agreed when Senator Dole said this is a serious issue that shouldn't be shielded from public discussion. But that doesn't mean he has to talk about it. For heaven's sake, he is a former presidential candidate, and husband of a current presidential candidate. Call me old fashioned, but I think it's just plain nasty for him to go on TV talking about shaggin' Elizabeth Dole.

Worse yet, the commercial was aired during ABC's Sunday morning This Week political discussion show. It is this same show that has, in the past, served as a forum for Elizabeth to air her political views, and will undoubtedly host her as a guest several times before the 2000 election. I can just hear it now, "We'll be right back with Elizabeth Dole, Republican candidate for election, after these words about her husband's erection!"

The Democrats may suffer the greatest consequences of this unusual situation. With campaign rhyming material like this, Jesse Jackson can't possibly stay away.