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Kirk Fordice

Former Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice had harsh words for Bill Clinton about the Monica mess. He said it proved that Clinton wasn't fit to hold office.

But could Kirk measure up to his own standards?

In 1996, driving back from Memphis to Jackson, and without a police escort, Kirk overturned his Jeep Cherokee, which caught fire. He ended up in the hospital, seriously injured.

Kirk didn't want to say what happened, so questions hovered over him for months. It became a favorite topic on Mississippi talk shows and in the press.

Hours before the crash, Kirk was seen with a woman, holding hands and drinking wine at a restaurant outside Memphis. And it wasn't with his wife, who was in France at the time.

Pat Fordice, Kirk's wife of over 44 years, later said he spent weekends at a $230,000 home he recently bought but hadn't got around to inviting her over to see it. She said he's setting up the house for his new gal and himself after he finishes his second term in office.

Pat vowed not to walk away quietly. She said she had no plans for divorce and would remain in the Governor's Mansion until his term ended in December, 1999.

Kirk's lawyer, however, says they're calling it quits and that Kirk will get hitched to his girlfriend, an old sweetheart from junior high.

But be careful what you say to him about it. When he and his girlfriend returned from a vacation, a reporter confronted them, so Kirk threatened to do a little whup-ass. "You invade my privacy this way, six months from now I'll whip your. . . !" Kirk believed in upholding office decorum. He'd save the whup-ass for later, after he's no longer Governor.

By the way, guess who Kirk endorsed for President? He was an outspoken supporter of Dan Quayle, the family values candidate. But then he decided to disassociate himself from the campaign because he didn't want to embarrass Danny.

No need to worry, Kirk. He's used to it.