NEWSBUZZ - FOLLOW UP - IF YOU GOT 'EM, SMOKE 'EM

On the day porn writer Kenneth Starr's report swept the Internet, Rich's
Cigar Store got a phone call from a woman who wanted to know if the shop
carried presidential cigars.

She wasn't kidding, and the answer wasn't a joke.

There are two kinds of presidential cigars, according to Shannon Pattison,
assistant manager at the downtown store.

One is a category of ciga r-- a size designation, really. "Presidentes" are
larger than most.

The other is the brand that Clinton actually smokes-- or, uh, uses. As far
as Pattison knows, it is Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur No. 1, from Honduras,
the largest cigar in that product line.

As for the scandal's effect on sales, Pattison says there have been more
lame jokes than presidential cigars crossing the counter at Rich's.

A quick search on the Internet for "presidential cigars" pulled up several
Web sites for cigar aficionados and one unfortunate site where one can
purchase a "Monica Smoothinsky." (Not surprisingly, this one has a link to
Rush Limbaugh's home page.) Also online is www.Bluehavana. com, which is
selling special-edition "Lewinsky Presidential Cigars" that can be dipped
in either amaretto or rum for $10 each. Bluehavana has been designated one
of the top 100 Monica sites by Gomonica.com, a site dedicated solely to
promoting the Lewinsky in all of us. -- Patty Wentz