Gary Hart’s Still Running--in International Circles

--Gary Hart, whose hopes for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination were dashed because of his well-publicized relationship with model Donna Rice, is still off and running--but not for the White House. Hart now spends his days representing a group of 27 Taiwanese companies seeking to invest in the United States. The former Colorado senator, who turns 52 today, works with the Denver law firm Davis, Graham & Stubbs and spends half his time on the road--in both business and personal capacities. Recently, he traveled to Japan, Taiwan, Italy and Iraq. Next month, he’s off to Paris, where he will make a speech on foreign policy and meet with Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a former French president. If Hart has any regrets about his political downfall, he’s not saying. “I’m not a complainer. If I resented everything that I have a right to resent, I’d do nothing but resent,” he said.

--Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), clearly attuned to the bureaucratic wasteland, has given his monthly Golden Fleece award to the State Department for its recent reported bungling of $15 million in travel advances. Proxmire, who is leaving the Senate after five terms, said the department offers to cover its employees’ travel expenses but fails to monitor the accounts--sometimes resulting in delayed reimbursements or no payments. His award singles out government agencies for ridiculous, ironic or wasteful spending. Proxmire said the State Department has “concocted bogus accounts under names such as Ludwig van Beethoven. That’s certainly not music to the ears of the American taxpayer.”

--There is at least one American who would like to see singer John Denver spend at least a week aboard the Soviet space station Mir. He’s Lyle George, a pillow salesman from Wayne, Neb. When George learned that Denver was seeking help from individuals and corporations in raising the $10 million the Soviets demanded, he decided to solicit funds through a bank account he opened to help Denver raise $5 million--for a one-way ticket. “I decided I’d be willing to chip in if I could be guaranteed that none of the money would be spent to bring him back. . . . The first song I listened to on the radio that I remember was ‘Rocky Mountain High,’ but I feel John Denver has drifted off of that since then.”