Whitewater Hearings

WASHINGTON -- There will be no talk of bloody gloves, and the testimony is likely to be about as gripping as watching paint dry. But that won't keep official Washington, deep in its midsummer slump, from perking up this week for its long-awaited and high-stakes spectacle of the season: Whitewater hearings.After six months of Republican pushing, Democratic pulling and White House angst over the prospect of congressional inquiries, the House Banking Committee will raise the curtain tomorrow, and the Senate Banking Committee on Friday, on hearings to examine one small portion of the multifaceted Whitewater affair.

WASHINGTON -- If you have both cable TV and too much tim on your hands, you might want to watch the Whitewater hearings that begin tomorrow.These are not the big hearings. These are not the hearings that will answer questions about just what Bill and Hillary did and when they did it.No, these hearings will answer a much simpler question:How dumb can you be and still be considered smart in Washington?A central part of these hearings will be an investigation into contacts between the White House and officials of the Treasury Department.