BOB DOLE IS SO OLD THAT ...

By GINIA BELLAFANTE

Criticized as it was for a lack of Olympian drama, the Republican National Convention was not completely devoid of entertaining moments. This was, after all, a convention that denied speaking privileges to famously controversial ideologues but saw fit to invite swimsuit model and hemorrhoid-cream spokeswoman Kim Alexis to address delegates on the importance of God and family.

Political conventions--by definition events in which otherwise sedate adults wear unflattering animal-shaped hats--are always filled with snippets of unintentional comedy; satirists who try to mock the hoopla always run the risk of overdoing it. So it was quite a feat that Comedy Central's nightly coverage of last week's shindig in San Diego was so consistently funny. Unlike the Lenos and Lettermans of the world, who throughout the campaign have largely failed to advance their comedy beyond gags about Dole's age and Clinton's libido, Comedy Central has generally maintained a greater respect for its viewers' political intelligence. Rather than barrage us with easy laugh getters, like images of earnest delegates showing off Dole hand puppets, CC's commentators worked hard at the convention, managing to extract humor from sources as unlikely as Congressman John Kasich, who talked to correspondent Al Franken about his fondness for Alice Cooper.

As part of its InDecision '96 campaign coverage, the cable network paired the liberal Franken with gazillionaire conservative columnist Arianna Huffington for reports from the convention floor. Close friends despite their differences, Franken and Huffington offered the perfect blend of goofiness and good manners. If there was big news to come out of this convention, it was that the often-reviled Huffington is an affable wit indeed. Asking absurd questions of her compatriots (to Missouri Senator John Ashcroft: "Have you ever paid for a meal at this convention?") she metamorphosed into a finishing-school version of Howard Stern.

Comedy Central also broadcast its hit nightly round-table show, Politically Incorrect, live from San Diego. As always, the show featured panels of egregiously mismatched guests--one group last week included Oliver North, Georgia Congressman Bob Barr and Vicki Lawrence. Unlike the honchos at MTV, who had rapper Chuck D conduct an unamusing interview with Strom Thurmond during that network's convention coverage, the producers of Politically Incorrect understand that incongruous pairings are not necessarily entertaining in and of themselves. Host Bill Maher, TV's nimblest conversationalist, asked his Tuesday panel what party Jesus would join if were he alive today and elicited this straight-faced response from North: "I think Jesus would like to see us have a little bit left in our pockets, so that we could take the action to help the poor rather than have the government pretend to do it."

Politically Incorrect also featured lively commentary from Chris Rock. "If it was really our land," he said, in a swipe at Republican immigration policy, "it wouldn't be called San Diego." The networks are likely to offer scant coverage of next week's Democratic National Convention in Chicago; happily, Comedy Central will be there.

--By Ginia Bellafante