I've been beating up Al Gore pretty badly lately -- albeit, not worse than he deserves.

He's a criminal, pure and simple. He's a political charlatan, a huckster out of the same mold as Clinton. (And you thought Clinton broke it.)

Nevertheless, the viable alternative to Gore scares the heck out of me, too.

Many of you -- maybe even most of you -- would like me to keep such fears to myself until after Election Day. Well, that's not my style. And it shouldn't be yours if you truly want Bush to be a president who is significantly different from Clinton or Gore.

I think Bush is a phony. His record in Texas strongly suggests he's a political animal more concerned with his own career and legacy than in doing what's right. It also provides some hints of what we might expect of a Bush Cabinet.

Now let me preface what I am about to say with this: I know some very good people who sincerely believe they will be key appointments in a Bush administration. These people would like me to shut up for the next five weeks -- stop criticizing Bush, focus all my energies on defeating Gore, maybe even change my mind and endorse the Republican candidate.

Sorry. That ain't gonna happen.

Here's why.

Previously I offered a warning about George W. Bush's Texas Supreme Court appointments and what they portend for possible U.S. Supreme Court nominations. Now I'm going to give you some insights into other key appointments in Texas and let you figure out for yourself what they suggest about a future Bush administration.

His first appointment was a Democrat to the insurance commission. That sure surprised many of his Republican supporters, including some who thought they might be candidates for such a job. His next appointment was a strongly pro-abortion Democrat as commissioner of health and human services. Bush appointed Jack Christi, a nominal Republican, as chairman of the state Board of Education. It didn't take long, according to sources in Texas, for Christi to begin voting with the education establishment and opposing curriculum standards, phonics programs and reforms in the textbook selection process.

In addition to these bad appointments, Bush committed Texas to implement the school-to-work system -- a Clinton administration program designed to provide, not basic education to children, but a constant talent pool of compliant serfs for big government and corporate America.

Bush also signed legislation that named a section of a state highway in Houston after an abortionist -- but not just any abortionist. This one was one of those criminals responsible, not only for the deaths of untold unborn babies, but for the death of at least one young woman he treated. The abortionist's son is still a Democratic state representative.

Bush seems to love Democrats. He craves their approval. He held a picnic on the lawn of the governor's mansion for Democrats who endorsed him. He went to their hometowns to receive their endorsements. Then, in 1994, he refused to help Republicans who had Democrat incumbents as opponents.

More recently, Bush appointed Martha Hill Jamison, a liberal Democrat supporter of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus and also of Planned Parenthood, to the 164th district court.

Now, I don't have a horse in this race. And George W. Bush is not about to listen to me. But, for all you Bush supporters who claim he is really a stand-up guy, I suggest you begin to question your man now, while you still have some leverage.

You see, I believe a politician like Bush -- one who claims to believe in the principles of limited government, individual rights, personal responsibility, but really doesn't -- can be as dangerous and destructive in the long run as a creep like Gore.

Republicans need to remember some of the most heinous, big-government atrocities have been committed on their watch. Recall Nixon's wage-and-price controls, for instance. Recall George Bush Sr.'s betrayal on taxes, for another.

I know many of you don't want to hear this. It's time for cheerleading, you say. This is no time to divide the opposition to the Gore juggernaut. Bush is clearly the lesser of two evils, they tell me.

Maybe. But just remember, folks, who warned you of what was to come. If you have any leverage, now's the time to use it. After Nov. 7, they won't need your vote any more.