PANNED

By TAMALA M. EDWARDS

It wasn't a good campaign for John Buckley, Bob Dole's communications director. He and Dole never met after the Republican Convention. When Dole approached an office and saw Buckley there, he headed in another direction. Why? "Too many leaks," says one of Dole's senior advisers. "Dole's no dummy." Buckley complicated his postcampaign life as well. Through an intermediary, he urged Dole to especially go after the New York Times during his bash-the-liberal-media phase. Sources say Buckley was peeved at Times coverage and sought revenge. But he wants his role kept secret, since he is worried that the paper will pay him back with bad reviews for the novels he writes.

--By Tamala M. Edwards