This Democrat isn't sweating scandal

By Greg Dawson
of The Sentinel Staff

Published in The Orlando Sentinel, February 4, 1998

F.O.B.? It's been suggested that the scandal swirling around President Clinton might scare Democrats away from running for Congress this year -- that Friends of Bill are now `Fraid of Bill. Not Al Krulick. Besides, he didn't have much choice. He already was in the race when Monica Lewinsky became a household name. Krulick, an Orlando Democrat, notified the Secretary of State's Office the first week in January that he intends to run for the 8th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Longwood. Krulick ran against McCollum in 1996 and lost by about 60,000 votes.

He isn't worried that Clinton will be a drag on his candidacy. ``The president's fortunes were not tied to my race in '96, and I don't expect they will be this time. In '96 I was virtually ignored by the White House, and if I have to be ignored in '98, well ... ''

I asked Krulick -- who is 46 and married with children -- if morality would be an issue this fall and how he would feel if the media asked about his personal life.

``I would be delighted if the press cared enough to ask questions about anything,'' he laughed. ``We have a president who a lot of people think is immoral, but he's doing a terrific job for the country. I don't think there's a direct relationship between morality and the ability to govern. I find the person who screams the loudest about morality often has the most to hide.''

Any reporter who shadowed him looking for scandal would be disappointed, Krulick said. ``They could get stuck in traffic with me on I-4 and come home to a messy house and crying children.''

[Posted 02/03/98 7:25 PM EST]