The Great Political Bozo Face-Off

By Paul Gray

Clayton Williams, the Republican nominee for Texas Governor accused of sexism, and Gus Savage, the Chicago Democratic Congressman accused of anti-Semitism (see NATION), are battling for the title of most outrageous politician. How do they stack up?

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

WILLIAMS

Comparing bad weather to rape: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it."

SAVAGE

Accosting a Peace Corps worker in Zaire, according to her: "You are my date. There are rewards to people who give their all to the movement."

RESPONSE TO CRITICISM

WILLIAMS

"There's barnyard language, and you came to the barn. It's just a joke."

SAVAGE

"Are you still messing with little boys?" "I'm no Barney Frank."

WISDOM

WILLIAMS

He told a group of G.O.P. women three times that it was time for Texans to get off the "public teat."

SAVAGE

He said of the Great Wall of China, "Just a pile of bricks . . . We have brick walls in Chicago."

EXCUSES

WILLIAMS

"I am Bubba."

SAVAGE

"It's not easy to grow up on the streets and be nice."

With reporting by DAVID ELLIS