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                        '96 ELECTION SNAPSHOT
                               VOL.1 #19


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CONTENTS:
   CAMPAIGN '96 STATUS REPORT
   DOLE CONSULTS WITH AIDES ON POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES
   TOBACCO FUNDING OF DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGNS
   DOLE SPENDS 4TH OF JULY CAMPAIGNING IN ILLINOIS
   CLINTON LEAD OVER DOLE NARROWING AMID NEGATIVE REPORTS
   FOREIGN POLICY SAID UNLIKELY TO BE MAJOR CAMPAIGN ISSUE
   GEORGIA PRIMARY TO BE SITE OF NATIONAL FOCUS
   SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMITS
   COLLEGE DEMOCRATS UNVEIL AGENDA
   CAMPAIGN TRAIL TIDBITS
   JOURNALISTIC JUXTAPOSITIONS
   EDITORIAL EXCERPTS
   DOLE/CLINTON HEAD OFF ON SMOKING
   CLINTON CRITICIZES DOLE FOR COMMENTS ON C. EVERETT KOOP
   DOLE CONTINUES TO INSIST ON ABORTION VIEWS TOLERANCE STATEMENT
   TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON REMARKS AND Q&A ON THE ECONOMY JULY 5
   ==============================================
   ---------------
   CAMPAIGN '96 STATUS REPORT

   JIM MALONE
   WASHINGTON

   Both President Clinton and his expected November opponent,
Republican Bob Dole, spent the July fourth holiday campaigning in
the middle west. The president was in Ohio and Mr. Dole visited
Illinois, two states which figure to be election battleground
areas in November.
   On his way to Ohio, the president stopped in southern Maryland
to release the symbol of American independence, a bald eagle,
into the wild. He also congratulated Russian President Boris
Yeltsin on his re-election victory:
   "It is a clear that a majority, a substantial majority of the
Russian people, voted for President Yeltsin and for the path of
reform. I want to congratulate president Yeltsin on his
re-election, it has a nice ring to it. I want to congratulate the
Russian people most of all on this milestone."
   Bob Dole made another campaign swing through California this
week.He raised nearly 3-million dollars in campaign contributions
and drew a distinction between himself and President Clinton on
the question of leadership:
   "And I think America right now needs some leadership, somebody
to look you in the eye and mean it, not just look you in the eye
and say it. Look you in the eye and mean it."
   Mr. Dole is vowing to fight for California's 54 electoral
votes in the November election despite numerous public opinion
polls which indicate the president has a big lead in the nation's
largest state.
   The Dole campaign ran into more trouble this week on the issue
of regulating tobacco. Candidate Dole engaged in a contentious
television interview over the question of whether or not
cigarettes are addictive. Several Republicans say they are
frustrated by the Dole campaign's apparent inability to avoid
distractions like the smoking issue and to focus instead on his
policy differences with President Clinton.
   Some analysts are also warning that Mr. Dole is missing an
opportunity to cut into the president's sizable lead in public
opinion polls before next month's national party conventions.
Larry Sabato,  professor of government at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, says:
   "He has got a tremendous gap to close. He needs this time
(before the conventions) to let people know who he is and also
what some of his ideas are for the future. And he is squandering
these opportunities."
   But the election is still four months away and most political
analysts caution that a lot of things can happen between now and
November fifth. Political consultant Charles Cook argues Bob Dole
still has some opportunities to cut into the president's lead in
the polls:
   "I think you will see his (Dole's) image sort of fill out
(become more complete) some. And I think that Whitewater is not
all over. I think we are going to see more revelations that will
probably erode the president's support even more than it has
already."
   The presidential campaign may get a new participant next week,
former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm is expected to formally
announce his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the new
reform party, a party started last year by 1992 independent
presidential candidate Ross Perot. Mr. Perot has not yet decided
whether he will seek the reform party nomination as well.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE CONSULTS WITH AIDES ON POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES

   SUZANNA ANDERSON
   WASHINGTON

   The presumed Republican presidential candidate, Bob Dole, has
met with key campaign advisors to discuss potential running
mates.
   Senior Republican aides say they discussed a number of
prospects at campaign headquarters in Washington but did not give
any clues as to who would share the Republican ticket.
   Robert Ellsworth, who heads the vice presidential search team,
says the process of choosing a candidate is picking up speed. He
says several men and women are being considered, including
well-known figures from outside of politics:
   "The candidate for vice president has to be seen to be
presidential, of presidential quality. Second, it should be
somebody who re-inforces Bob Dole's conservatism and third it has
to be somebody with whom Bob Dole could work well with at the top
of our government."
   Advisors say they want to make sure the search for a running
mate is handled in a private, dignified manner.
   Campaign officials have hinted Mr. Dole might wait until just
before next month's Republican national convention to announce
his vice presidential choice.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   TOBACCO FUNDING OF DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGNS

   DEBORAH TATE
   WHITE HOUSE

   One of the hottest issues in the U.S. presidential campaign is
tobacco. The Clinton Administration has criticized presumptive
Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole for accepting
donations from the tobacco industry, charging that the
contributions have influenced Mr. Dole's position on the dangers
of smoking. But news reports say the Democratic Party has also
been the recipient of donations from tobacco interests, and
President Clinton Friday found himself defending such funding.
   It was Bob Dole who sparked the debate about the tobacco issue
when he suggested recently that tobacco was not necessarily
addictive.
   Mr. Dole, in a television interview, also suggested that
surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who served under the Republican
administration of President Reagan, might have been brainwashed
when he declared tobacco addictive in 1988.
   That comment got the immediate attention of President Clinton,
who tried to use it to his political advantage in a
campaign-style stop in Chicago on Tuesday:
   "This morning Senator Dole suggested maybe Dr. Koop had been
brainwashed by the liberal media. Well, I imagine Dr. Koop was
surprised to hear that. I believe Dr. Koop knows more about the
dangers of tobacco than the so-called liberal media or Senator
Dole."
   Administration officials and other Democrats have accused Mr.
Dole of being influenced by political contributions from the
tobacco industry.
   According to Common Cause, a nonpartisan citizens lobby,
tobacco interests contributed four-point-five million dollars to
the Republican party from 1993 to 1995.
   But the organization also reports that the Democratic Party
received 800,000 dollars from tobacco interests over the same
period. And now a news report suggests Democrats have been trying
to hide the fact that they have received such donations.
   The Wall Street Journal reports that the Democratic National
Committee accepted 65,000 dollars from two major tobacco
companies, Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco last May. The newspaper
says the money was not placed in any of the committee's federal
campaign accounts in Washington, but was instead distributed to
state Democratic Party accounts around the country, accounts that
receive far less media scrutiny. The paper quotes Democratic
Party officials denying they were trying to hide the source of
the funding.
   At the White House Friday, President Clinton defended such
donations:
   "We have an open and free country, and citizens should be able
to contribute to whomever they wish."
   But Mr. Clinton sought to contrast his efforts to ban tobacco
advertising and sales to children with Mr. Dole's opposition to
such proposals:
   "But when you see a pattern of contributions and a dramatic
difference in policies, it is the policies and their impact on
the American people that I am most concerned about. The American
people should look at where I stand and where he stands, and they
should decide whether they agree with us. And because the
contributions are reported, they can decide whether the
contributions have anything to do with the policy positions. That
is how I think it ought to be analyzed."
   Dole campaign officials say their candidate's opposition to
banning sales and advertising to minors is part of his fight
against regulation of any industry.
   But public opinion polls show most Americans side with Mr.
Clinton on this issue. The debate about tobacco and whether to
regulate the industry comes as the president prepares to visit a
key tobacco-growing state, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE SPENDS 4TH OF JULY CAMPAIGNING IN ILLINOIS

   MICHAEL LELAND
   CHICAGO

   Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole spent America's 220th
birthday in the Midwest. He marched in the Independence Day
parade in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, and reminded thousands
of people after the parade that they live in the greatest country
on earth.
   Bob Dole spent his fourth of July in very Republican Wheaton,
Illinois, waving to thousands of people who turned out for the
annual fourth of July parade, and stopping several times along
the parade route to meet some of the onlookers.
   Both sides of Wheaton's main street were lined with people of
all ages, some waving American flags, and others waving "Dole for
president" signs. Paradegoer Steve Kim says the Republican will
get his vote this November:
   "He's a man with great personal character and has shown that
he will be a great leader. He has proven his leadership
throughout his many years in the senate and he's a man with great
integrity."
   In a speech following the parade, Mr. Dole remembered those
American servicemen killed in the terrorist bombing of the U.S.
military complex in Saudi Arabia, and said those responsible
ought to be put to death.
   He also reminded the few thousand people in the crowd that
they live in the greatest nation on earth, and pointed out that
while empires like the former Soviet Union have come and gone,
the United States and its democratic ideals have endured for 220
years. He also pointed out that Russians this week chose not to
give up on democracy:
   "And just yesterday in Russia, voters once again showed their
commitment to democratic ideals and free institutions. They have
decisively rejected the communist past and chosen a democratic
future. And I congratulate President Boris Yeltsin on this
historic victory and I wish him well in the months and years to
come."
   Of course, Mr. Dole came to the Midwest hoping for help toward
his own electoral victory this November. Illinois is considered a
key state in the upcoming election, and no Republican has ever
been elected president without winning the Illinois vote. Mr Dole
has promised several more visits to the state before November.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON LEAD OVER DOLE NARROWING AMID NEGATIVE REPORTS
   By Stuart Gorin

   President Clinton continues to hold a lead over Republican
challenger Bob Dole, but recent surveys show that lead narrowing
amid recent reports of alleged wrongdoing in the White House and
the simmering Whitewater scandal.
   A new Washington Post-ABC News poll gave Clinton a 54 to 40
percent lead, but that 14-percentage point advantage is down from
a 22-point advantage in mid-May. And 56 percent of those taking
part in the new survey believe the White House intentionally
abused the power of the presidency for political purposes when it
improperly obtained hundreds of sensitive FBI files on prominent
Republicans.
   Half of the participants also said they believed the president
knew about the efforts of staff members to obtain the files, and
for the first time in the polls, 53 percent of the respondents
said they believe First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton committed a
crime in connection with Whitewater.
   Another survey, this one by USA Today/CNN/Gallup, showed the
president with a 54-39 percent lead, but this 15-point advantage
was a 4-point drop from a poll taken 12 days earlier.
   Despite the negative news for the president, the polls still
showed strong approval ratings for the job he has been doing,
including his handling of the economy and foreign affairs.
   On the domestic front, the White House has been busy
counter-attacking still another new book, this one by retired FBI
agent Gary Aldrich, which alleges among other things that Clinton
sneaked out of the White House at night for a secret meeting with
a woman at a nearby hotel, and that staffers were involved in
homosexual activities inside the White House.
   The book, "Unlimited Access," touched off a frenzy of news
stories but critics quickly pointed out that much of Aldrich's
material was unsubstantiated, and the author soon said in
interviews that some of his "facts" were "possibilities."
   White House senior adviser George Stephanopoulos criticized
the book for failing "to cross any threshold of credibility," and
the spokesman for the Secret Service said it is "preposterous"
that the organization, which has the responsibility for
protecting the president at all times, had documented the times
he allegedly was missing.
   Mrs. Clinton called the book a "politically inspired
fabrication." Involved in a controversy of her own over reports
in a different book -- Bob Woodward's "The Choice" -- that in a
session with a researcher in psychic experiences she had held
imaginary conversations with the late Eleanor Roosevelt, Mrs.
Clinton said earlier that the device had been "a brainstorming
session" to help her with her own book that she was writing. The
first lady also denied that the researcher with whom she met was
her spiritual adviser.
   Top Clinton aides attempted to link Aldrich's book to the Dole
campaign, noting that a publicity agent who helped promote it
served as an unpaid volunteer during the Republican primaries.
Dole campaign spokesman Nelson Warfield responded that the
publicist had "no role" in devising campaign strategy and Dole
himself brushed off the link, saying the Democrats were
attempting to move the focus away from "legitimate questions"
about the secret files on Republicans.
   But other Democrats said that if Dole continues to attack the
president on Filegate, the Watergate scandal of the Nixon
administration could come back to haunt him.
   According to Clinton re-election campaign spokesman Joe
Lockhart, "Dole needs to be careful in shooting before getting
the facts and in likening it to a scandal in an administration in
which he played an important part. That is not a threat. It's a
fact." Congresswoman Pat Schroeder called Dole "one of the real
tough guys during the Nixon era."
   Meanwhile, Dole said his selection of a vice-presidential
running mate will be determined prior to the August 16-19
Republican Convention, because he wants to avoid a distracting
floor fight.
   Explaining that his search has begun "in earnest," he said
there are "a lot of names out there" but he has to have someone
"who can be fairly compatible with my philosophy."
   However, he also said the selection will not be influenced by
the abortion issue. In a conciliatory move to moderate
Republicans and to independent voters who do not share his
opposition to abortion, Dole said he could pick someone who
supports abortion rights.
   Some Republicans saw Dole's gesture as a much-needed overture
to women, who the public opinion polls show as a group favoring
President Clinton by wide margins.
   Said Ann Stone, head of Republicans for Choice, Dole's remarks
were "music to my ears." His comments "go a long way toward
quelling" the biggest fears among moderate Republicans, Stone
said. She added that "Dole is sending exactly the right message.
He's saying, 'You can trust me. I'm not a nut. I will make my own
decisions.' The more he shows openness, tolerance and that he's
nobody's puppet, the more it helps."
   But it could put him at odds with conservative Republicans,
especially those aligned with the Christian Right. Ralph Reed,
executive director of the Christian Coalition, said selection of
a "socially liberal, Rockefeller-style Republican ... will hurt
the ticket badly and make it difficult, if not impossible, to
energize the grass roots."
   Dole received a major endorsement last week when James
Woolsey, a former Clinton administration director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, said the former senator "will offer a steady
hand in guiding America's foreign policy."
   And speaking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars gathering in Texas,
Dole said it is "a requirement, not an option" for the United
States to modernize its armed forces, maintain its technological
edge and develop and deploy a national missile defense system.
   But both Clinton and Dole regard themselves as having an
advantage in the area of foreign policy. USA Today points out
that in the wake of the bombing of an American military compound
in Saudi Arabia, the president "is portraying himself as the sort
of flexible thinker needed to negotiate a world where terrorism,
ethnic rivalries and rogue regimes replace the Soviet threat."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FOREIGN POLICY SAID UNLIKELY TO BE MAJOR CAMPAIGN ISSUE
   By Dan Pinegar

   Unless something either "really good" or "really bad" happens
by the November general election, U.S. foreign policy is unlikely
to become a major issue during the presidential campaign,
according to two political experts on research and polling, who
spoke recently in Washington at a forum on public diplomacy
sponsored by the American Foreign Service Association.
   Fred Yang, a partner in the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, a
political polling company for Democratic candidates, says that
although President Clinton leads Republican Robert Dole in the
polls by 16 points, the election is still "totally up to Bob
Dole."
   Terry Cooper, who does political research for Republican
candidates, seems to agree and says, "Dole has got to find his
voice." Both Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot had the
right voice in the 1992 election, when people seemed to have low
confidence in the government due to high unemployment and less
pay, Cooper notes.
   To this point, Clinton seems to be ahead, says Cooper, for the
primary reason that the president is "America's version" of talk
show hostess Oprah Winfrey, able to "feel your pain," while at
the same time being able to head off whatever strategy Dole's
campaign develops. It is this ability to touch individual
Americans, Cooper says, that keep voters believing in Clinton.
   Yang adds that while the American people may feel better off
today than they were four years ago, the need for reassurance is
still there.
   According to Cooper, the electoral focus that Dole should use
to find his voice should include the issues of crime, education
and the budget. Yang believes that to counter this, Clinton will
focus on his own personal qualities, his character and ability to
relate to the people and to the economy.
   In fact, Clinton recently has begun to tackle the typically
Republican domain of values. While distancing himself from
congressional Democrats, he has pushed hard to demonstrate this
need for values, using as examples the incidents of the FBI
shootout at Ruby Ridge and the recent upsurgence of black church
burnings.
   Yet, the president still has to answer to the American people
on why they have to take on more than one job to make ends meet
economically, Yang notes. Although Clinton has "tried his best to
be seen as a new Democrat, and not a tax-and-spend Democrat,"
Yang cites a Dearborn, Michigan, couple who cannot understand how
Clinton can take credit for creating 9.2 million jobs, when the
wife has had to take three of those jobs to make a living.
   Although both Yang and Cooper concede that the American public
may not "buy into" the media hype about Paula Jones' sexual
harassment suit and Whitewater, the situation concerning the FBI
Filegate and the White House computer database that tracks
information on people is another matter.
   These issues may be cause for Clinton to be somewhat
concerned, although he is still ahead of Dole in the public
opinion polls. For the most part, however, both political experts
indicate that things are still unclear. The election season is
only just getting underway, they note, neither party has had its
convention, and it is still a mystery as to whom Dole will choose
as a running mate, a potentially big factor in the election
outcome.
   Cooper acknowledges that the selection of the Republican
vice-presidential candidate is the one area which Dole can
control in order to demonstrate his electability. The best
choice, says Cooper, would be retired General Colin Powell, who
would carry with him a large expected vote. Other possibilities,
he says, include former Bush administration Secretary of Defense
Dick Cheney, New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman and
Arizona Senator John McCain.
   If Dole wins the election, he would make foreign policy a top
priority, not based on international social work as has been the
case in the recent past, Cooper believes. For example, he says,
there would be "no Jimmy Carter free-lancing, and no
U.N.-controlled peacekeeping missions." Cooper also believes that
Dole would use the United States' superpower status in world
affairs as a pretext to build a new missile defense system.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GEORGIA PRIMARY TO BE SITE OF NATIONAL FOCUS

   National focus will be on the Georgia primary election July 9
as both parties prepare for the battle to fill the seat of
retiring Senator Sam Nunn, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney fights
to stay in office after the Supreme Court ruled the boundaries of
her district had been drawn unconstitutionally, and the Democrats
vie for a challenger to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
   Nunn, a conservative Democrat, is stepping down after 24 years
in the Senate. Max Cleland, a former state secretary of state and
a wounded Vietnam War veteran, has no Democratic primary
opposition for the post.
   On the Republican side, a six-way contest that involves at
least three millionaires probably means there will be a runoff
election August 6 between the two top votegetters.
   McKinney, Georgia's only congresswoman, faces three
challengers in the Democratic primary. Her district was redrawn
for this race because the high court ruled against the original
use of racial considerations. An African American, she has now
been moved into a white majority district. On the Republican
side, three political unknowns are vying for the position.
   The Atlanta Constitution endorsed McKinney for re-election,
saying that while "her fiery oratory has gotten her into
trouble," she is "a courageous leader and an outspoken champion
of those who often lack a voice in Congress."
   Gingrich has no opposition in the Republican primary for his
House seat, but there is a hot race between two businessmen on
the Democratic side.
   Georgia originally scheduled its primary for later in the
month, but moved it earlier to avoid logistical problems with the
Summer Olympics, which open in Atlanta July 21. A spokesman for
the state secretary of state said "it was really an issue of
convenience and traffic."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMITS
   By David Pitts

   The U.S. Supreme Court has given political parties much
greater leeway to spend freely to promote Congressional
candidates.
   In a landmark decision on campaign spending, the high court,
by a 7-2 vote, said the Colorado Republican Party's freedom of
expression was violated when the party was cited for exceeding
federal spending limits in the 1986 U.S. Senate campaign.
   The decision stopped short of stating that spending by
political parties could be unlimited. But it greatly expanded the
ability of political parties to support their own candidates.
   Observers consider the ruling significant because there are
strict limits on how individual candidates raise money in their
own behalf. However, so long as a political party spends money
independently of a candidate, it can, in effect, support that
individual's campaign with much greater spending than was the
case before the decision.
   Justice Stephen Breyer, author of the majority opinion, said,
"We do not see how a Constitution that grants to individuals,
candidates and ordinary political committees the right to make
unlimited independent expenditures could deny the same right to
political parties."
   Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.
Stevens said, "All money spent by a political party to secure the
election of a candidate for the office of United States senator
should be considered a 'contribution' to his campaign."
   Although the decision focused only on congressional races,
observers said it appears to cast doubt on federal campaign
restrictions on expenditures by political parties in presidential
races as well.
   The court based its decision on the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech.
   Reaction to the decision was varied. Craig Holman, of the
National Resource Center for State and Local Campaign Finance
Reform, said the decision was "a cause for worry" because it will
increase the role of money in politics.
   But Bruce Fein, a lawyer and expert on First Amendment issues,
welcomed the ruling. Writing in the Washington Times, Fein said,
"If there is any more egregious affronts to freedom of speech
than ceilings on political campaign contributions and
expenditures, they do not readily come to mind. Speech without
money is a farce."
   It was unclear what effect the decision would have on this
year's elections. Both the Republican National Committee and the
Democratic National Committee had supported the lifting of the
limits. But the Clinton administration argued that the spending
caps helped to prevent corruption.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   COLLEGE DEMOCRATS UNVEIL AGENDA
   By E. Mark Harang

   In a strategy to bolster President Clinton's re-election
campaign and the Democratic Party, the College Democrats of
America have unveiled a plan to register 1 million voters
throughout the United States, turn out 6 million Democratic
supporters, and provide 50,000 motivated volunteers between the
ages of 18-29.
   At a rally attended by more than 300 College Democrats and
prominent Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill June 25, David Wade,
the president of the group and a senior at Brown University,
said, "Our focus for the coming year is simple: re-elect
President Clinton and Vice President Gore, return Congress to
Democratic control, and elect Democrats across the country."
   The plan seeks to double the number of voters age 18-29 over
the 1992 voter registration of 500,000.
   In a Newsweek poll of 18-29 year olds, young people would
choose Clinton over Republican Bob Dole by a margin of 25 percent
if the presidential election were held today, reflecting the
effectiveness and popularity of Clinton's message to the youth of
America, and a growing disdain for the perceived "anti-student
agenda" of Bob Dole and the Republican Party.
   According to the poll, "51 percent of those surveyed would
vote for President Clinton compared to just 26 percent for Dole
and 17 percent for Ross Perot."
   "Young people are squarely behind President Clinton and
everything he stands for," said Young Democrats of America
Executive Director Nick Caggia. "Dole just doesn't have what it
takes to appeal to young voters. No vision plus no issues equals
no hope for Bob Dole."
   Meanwhile, on the other side of the political and gender
spectrum, the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW)
announced its plans June 26 to identify and enlist 1.5 million
new voters and involve more women in the political process.
   NFRW president Marilyn Thayer said "while women boast a
majority of the registered voters (53 percent), they show up at a
rate 6-8 percent lower than men" at the polls. The women's
organization plans to take its get-out-the-vote campaign across
the country with the assistance of Republican elected officials.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CAMPAIGN TRAIL TIDBITS

   -- Republican Task Force: Seeking greater voter participation
in the future, the Republican National Committee's Task Force on
Primaries and Caucuses on July 2 recommended incentives to
encourage state parties to avoid compression of the schedule in
the year 2000. The task force recommended to the party that
states holding primaries or caucuses between March 15 and April
14 receive a 10-percent increase in their delegation allocations
to the national convention, between April 15 and May 14 a
15-percent increase, and on or after May 15 a 20-percent
increase. Task force chairman Jim Nicholson said the compressed
schedule for 1996, which led to Bob Dole's early selection, did
have an adverse impact on voter participation.
   -- Republican Convention: Final decisions have not yet been
made for the Republican National Convention agenda, but
organizers say conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, who is
still a declared presidential candidate, will not be offered a
prominent role, and may not be asked to speak at all. They said
Buchanan's outspoken statements on issues such as abortion and
his attacks on Dole during the primaries, would be at odds with
the party's efforts to present a harmonious front. And prior to
the convention, rather than hold public hearings on the party's
platform, the Republican National Committee is asking for written
input through the mail or the Internet.
   -- Democratic Platform Hearings: The Democratic National
Committee announced its platform hearing will be held in Kansas
City July 10, to accept both oral and written testimony. The
party's Platform Committee will then prepare an initial draft to
be presented at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Party officials meeting in their convention city this past week
unveiled a plan to build an army of 50,000 precinct captains to
turn out voters in 20 key states in November. The Democratic
leaders said they would not let the favorable early climate breed
overconfidence as they attempt to re-elect President Clinton and
regain the control of Congress that they lost in 1994.
   -- Election Law Complaint: Three weeks after the Clinton
campaign lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission
accusing the Dole campaign of exceeding the limit on primary
campaign spending, the Republicans have returned the favor. The
Dole campaign committee is accusing the president of violating
election laws by being personally involved in a $25 million
advertising campaign paid for by the Democratic National
Committee. The Clinton campaign's response was that the
Republicans are only trying to divert attention away from their
own problems.
   -- Reform Party: After gaining ballot access in Arizona and
New York, Ross Perot's Reform Party is now certified in 20 of the
50 states. The move in New York was a merger with the
Independence Party, which will change its name to the
Reform/Independence Party.
   -- Dole Book: Bob and Elizabeth Dole wrote their joint
autobiography "Unlimited Partners" in 1988. For this election
year they have updated it, and to publicize the new version, they
are making the rounds of the television talk shows. The book
breaks little new ground but does lay out a partial campaign
platform of tax cuts, an active foreign policy and an effort to
shift government power to the states. For the voters, Dole said,
the book provides "an introduction to two people who may be
well-known by name, but that's about it."
   -- Name Recognition: Finally, Bob Dole has knocked President
Clinton out of the lead. The Center for Media and Public Affairs,
which keeps track of such things, reports that since the end of
the primary season, the late night television programs have made
Dole the butt of 136 jokes, compared to only 101 aimed at the
president.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   JOURNALISTIC JUXTAPOSITIONS

   -- Wall Street Journal writer Albert Hunt: "The most salient
issue for the swing voters is reducing federal spending and the
budget deficit. This should play to Bob Dole's strengths. When
asked what they want to hear from the Republican candidate in
coming weeks, one-third of the swing voters say plays for dealing
with the deficit. It isn't hard, though, to see the dicey
dilemmas facing Senator Dole over the next seven weeks. He is
under pressure to propose a huge tax cut. This, many of his
political and economic advisers argue, would be in the spirit of
Ronald Reagan and enable him to capture the economic high ground
in the fall debate. But early indications are that it wouldn't
play well with swing voters."
   -- Syndicated columnist Tony Snow: "Mr. Dole can't blame his
failure on the collapse of Western civilization. He trails
because he has nothing to say, and he will continue to lag
because he doesn't intend to unveil his positions on such major
issues as taxes until late July or early August.... Contrary to
popular opinion, Mr. Dole's future is in his own hands. Bill
Clinton has given people plenty of reasons to vote against him.
The crucial remaining issue in this campaign is whether Mr. Dole
can persuade Clinton skeptics that there is even one good reason
-- other than his superior virtue -- to put him in charge of the
country for four years."
   -- Washington Post writer E.J. Dionne: "The Republicans are in
danger of blowing a really good hand. They have become so
accustomed to puffing up every little fact and rumor about the
Clinton administration into some huge scandal (usually including
the words 'water' or 'gate') that they have forgotten the basic
rule of scandal politics: When the facts are on your side, be
judicious. Don't make up wild charges, don't be mean, don't leap
to conclusions. Take your time. Let the story unfold. The
Republicans just can't control themselves. Some of them seem to
make a living out of trying to prove that every act by every
Democratic president and every Democratic aide is exactly like
every act of Richard Nixon and all of his men."
   -- Washington Times writer Donald Lambro: "The latest
disclosure that the Clinton White House was going through FBI
files of past Republican officials in what smacked of an attempt
to dig up dirt on their political enemies may end up being the
most damaging of all of the revelations about this chaotic
presidency. The privacy and civil liberties issues raised by the
White House's romp through personal and once-confidential FBI
files has angered and disturbed some of Mr. Clinton's most loyal
political allies who fear that some dangerous constitutional
abuses may have occurred."
   -- Roll Call columnist Morton Kondracke: "President Clinton
has enjoyed a huge TV advertising advantage over Republican Bob
Dole for the past year, but the Republican Party plans to make up
for it with an air avalanche this fall.... After the conventions,
the two presidential campaigns are financed with public money,
but the national committees can spend as much as they can raise
on 'party-building' activities, 'issue-based' TV ads and
get-out-the-vote drives."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   EDITORIAL EXCERPTS

   -- San Francisco Chronicle: "The rush to make something out of
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's meetings with a noted New Age
psychologist, Dr. Jean Houston, crosses the line.... So what if
Mrs. Clinton paused from the rights of the political fray for
imaginary guidance from Eleanor Roosevelt or Gandhi? It would
seem a few more of our leaders might benefit from canceling a
session with their pollster and taking a few minutes for
spirituality."
   -- Spokane (Washington) Spokesman Review: "In 1992, Democrats
howled that the Bush administration had 'turned to the hateful,
dangerous tactics of Joe McCarthy' when the State Department was
caught browsing Bill Clinton's passport files.... Vice President
Al Gore led the chorus of unhappy Democrats calling for Bush's
scalp. Noticeably, Gore is silent about the implications of
Filegate."
   -- Washington Post: "Controversy swirls around both, but it
ought to be possible to separate the probe of the improperly
requisitioned FBI reports by the Clinton White House from the
effort to sort out fact from fiction in former FBI agent Gary
Aldrich's book.... The White House, for understandable reasons,
prefers to divert attention from the files scandal to the Aldrich
book, which contains angry and unsubstantiated charges against
the first family and White House staff.... The president and his
friends are justified in being angry about this. But it is its
own separate issue. The Aldrich book doesn't make the files case
any better, doesn't resolve it and doesn't make it go away."
   -- Baltimore Sun: "Campaign finance reform suffered its second
body blow in as many days last week when the Supreme Court ruled
that political parties can spend as much as they like in
congressional races so long as they act 'independently' of actual
candidates. This could open the door wider to the vast sums of
money flooding into the political process. It put the court ever
closer to the view that First Amendment protection of free speech
may, in the end, block efforts to limit the power of
well-financed special interests."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE/CLINTON HEAD OFF ON SMOKING

   VICTOR BEATTIE
   WASHINGTON

   President Clinton and his presumptive challenger, Republican
Bob Dole, have clashed over cigarettes, whether they are
addictive, and who receives campaign contributions from the
tobacco industry. Mr. Dole, on the campaign train in Wisconsin
and California, also took aim at the news media for what he calls
bias toward Democrats.
   Mr. Dole, expected to be named the Republican presidential
nominee at next month's party nominating convention in San Diego,
is campaigning in vote-rich California:
   "Let me give you the good news first. This election is moving
in our direction."
   Mr. Dole refers to recent public opinion polls showing the gap
narrowing between himself and the president. However, Mr. Dole's
recent comments that he is not certain tobacco is addictive have
sparked controversy:
   "I've said, I don't know if it's addictive. I'm not a doctor,
I'm not a scientist. My answer is, 'don't smoke.'"
   He also criticized the Clinton Administration for presiding
over a rise in the use of marijuana. The administration recently
launched a new anti-drug initiative and is seeking to regulate
nicotine as a drug. While Mr. Dole opposes that, he favors steps
to keep tobacco products away from children.
   The former senate leader also blasted the news media and what
he calls the hypocrisy of the Democrats for suggesting he, Mr.
Dole, is beholden to the tobacco industry. Both major parties
have received campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON CRITICIZES DOLE FOR COMMENTS ON C. EVERETT KOOP

   MICHAEL LELAND
   CHICAGO

   President Clinton is accusing his expected Republican
challenger Bob Dole of playing politics with the issue of
smoking. The president made his comments while on a campaign stop
in Chicago.
   The president was reacting to comments Mr. Dole made earlier
Tuesday in a televised interview. The likely Republican nominee
for president suggested that former U.S. surgeon general C.
Everett Koop was "probably brainwashed" by media reports into
denouncing Mr. Dole's stance on tobacco's addiction. Mr. Dole had
said last month he was not certain tobacco was addictive for
everyone.
   Speaking to a senior citizens' conference in Chicago, Mr.
Clinton said if fewer people smoked, government could spend less
money to treat smoking-related illness. He says the best way to
reduce the number of smokers, is to keep children from taking up
the habit:
   "Three thousand children a day begin smoking. One thousand of
them will have their lives shortened because of it. And along the
way, society will pick up a significant part of the health care
bill. Now that's one way to save money."
   The president says state and federal governments spend
ten-billion dollars a year treating smoking-related illness. He
hopes to reduce the number of young smokers by restricting their
access to cigarettes, and crack down on cigarette advertising
aimed at young people.
   Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Dole tried to clarify his controversial
comments about tobacco by saying there is mixed opinion about its
addiction even in the scientific community. Mr. Dole said the
former surgeon general supports his bid for the presidency, but
watches what he called the liberal media reports on his tobacco
comments. Mr. Dole is a former smoker himself,and says adults
should be able to make their own choices about smoking, but that
the best choice would be to stop. And he says young people should
not even take up the habit.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE CONTINUES TO INSIST ON ABORTION VIEWS TOLERANCE STATEMENT

   JIM MALONE
   WASHINGTON

   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole continues to insist
a statement of tolerance on the issue of abortion be included in
this year's Republican party platform. Mr. Dole made the comments
as he and his wife Elizabeth began a new round of interviews tied
to the re-release of their 1987 joint autobiography entitled
"Un-Limited Partners".
   Mr. Dole's demand for a statement acknowledging the views of
abortion rights supporters in the Republican party has angered
one of the party's core constituencies, Christian conservatives
who oppose abortion.
   But in a television interview (NBC Today) Monday, Mr. Dole
made it clear that he is committed to a statement of tolerance in
the Republican Party platform which welcomes the support of
abortion rights supporters as well as those who oppose abortion:
   "You know in my view you are either tolerant or intolerant.
You are either inclusive or exclusive. You can be pro-choice or
pro-life and still be a very good Republican. That is the bottom
line."
   By airing the issue now, Mr. Dole is hoping to avoid a
politically divisive fight over abortion at next month's
Republican convention in San Diego. But some conservative
Republicans and supporters of presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
are vowing to fight any change in the abortion language from
previous conventions which calls for a constitutional ban on
abortion.
   Ralph Reed is the influential head of the Christian Coalition.
He says any statement of tolerance in the party platform should
be applied to all issues which divide Republicans, not just
abortion:
   "The only difference that I have with Senator Dole is that I
do not believe that that (the declaration of tolerance) should be
attached only to the pro-life plank. I think it ought to be a
generic declaration of tolerance because there is disagreement on
a lot of issues, term limits, trade, immigration."
   As he begins this new round of media interviews, Mr. Dole is
accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, currently on leave from her
job as president of the American Red Cross. Mrs. Dole has been
considered as a possible presidential or vice-presidential
contender in Republican circles in the past. But for now, she is
focusing her energies on helping to elect her husband as
president:
   "He is honest, absolutely honest. Trustworthy. His word is his
bond. And also because he has exceptional leadership skills. And
I think that is exactly what America wants in the leader of the
free world."
   Asked about his vice presidential choice, Mr. Dole says
retired joint chiefs chairman General Colin Powell has made it
clear to him that he does not wish to take part in elective
politics this year. But other than that, Mr. Dole is saying
little about who is on his vice-presidential list, only adding he
intends to select his running mate before the start of next
month's Republican convention in San Diego.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   TRANSCRIPT:  CLINTON REMARKS AND Q&A ON THE ECONOMY JULY 5

   WASHINGTON

   President Clinton told reporters in the White House briefing
room July 5 that "Today, we had good economic news for America's
working families."
   Unemployment has dropped to 5.3 percent, he said, and the
American economy "has created 10 million jobs since the beginning
of this administration.
   "The deficit has been cut more than half," he said, "and wages
for American workers are finally on the rise again. We have the
most solid American economy in a generation.
   "And it's good news when America can have high job growth,
strong investment and low inflation."

   Following is the transcript:

   (begin transcript)

   THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today, we had good economic news
for America's working families. Four years ago today,
unemployment was nearly eight percent, job growth was anemic, the
deficit was at an all-time dollar high, wages were stagnant. We
promised to take these economic challenges head on. Our critics
said it wouldn't work. But today's news, once again, proves them
wrong.
   Unemployment has dropped to 5.3 percent. The American economy
has created 10 million jobs since the beginning of this
administration. The deficit has been cut more than half, and
wages for American workers are finally on the rise again. We have
the most solid American economy in a generation. And it's good
news when America can have high job growth, strong investment and
low inflation.
   In 1993, we put in place a comprehensive strategy -- cutting
the deficit, expanding trade, rewarding work, investing in the
skills and the education of our people. We have a lot more to do.
We must make sure that every American has the tools that he or
she needs to make the most of the opportunities in this new
economy. We have to make sure that income growth continues.
That's why we should balance the budget, pass the
Kassebaum-Kennedy health reform bill, raise the minimum wage,
improve pension security and improve access to college and
training for all Americans. Our strategy is working, and this is
no time to turn back.
   On this Independence Day weekend, we Americans have a lot to
celebrate. Just yesterday, the Russian people also showed the
power of democratic ideals and free markets by turning out in
large numbers to vote for the forces of reform. And by reelecting
President Yeltsin, the Russian people have decisively chosen the
path of progress.
   This morning I spoke with President Yeltsin to congratulate
him on his victory and on the victory of the Russian people. The
United States and Russia have accomplished a great deal over the
last three and a half years. I expressed to the President my
determination to build on that progress, to advance the security
and the prosperity of both the American and the Russian people.
   I wish all Americans a happy Fourth of July weekend. We have
two things to celebrate -- more than 10 million new jobs and a
continued hope for a greater peace and stability in the world in
the wake of the elections in Russia.
   Q: Are these jobs all in the service area? I know that
President Chirac sort of nicked you a little at the summit,
saying that they were basically fast food -
   THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but that's actually not accurate. Martin
Bailey's going to come up here and brief you, from the Council of
Economic Advisors, about them and he can talk about this in great
detail. But our analysis shows that the new jobs -- of the new
jobs, the vast majority are in higher income job categories and
are full-time jobs. So we believe that there is not only a
stabilizing of the economy, but a stabilizing upward of the
economy if you look at the job mix, if you look at the categories
in which they are.
   Q: When will you see President Yeltsin again? And how did he
sound, did you ask him about his health? How did he sound?
   THE PRESIDENT: I didn't have to ask him about his health
because he sounded so good. We joked. I told him that, you know,
in January, a majority of the people of Russia said they wouldn't
vote for him for reelection. And so he had a remarkable
turnaround. He sort of took the "comeback kid" label away from
me. (Laughter.) But he sounded quite good.
   And in answer to your question, I don't know when we're going
to meet again. But he is going to have some folks coming over
here to see us. And Vice President Gore is going soon to Moscow
-- I think within a week, a week to 10 days -- to take up his
regular meetings with Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. So whatever we
need to deal with in the near term we'll probably use that
channel as we normally do.
   Q: Are you prepared for your Whitewater testimony on Sunday,
and how do you feel about another session?
   THE PRESIDENT:  Fine.
   Q: Mr. President, a question about campaign contributions.
Your administration has been very critical of Senator Dole for
accepting a lot of money from the tobacco industry. Yet, there is
an article today in the Wall Street Journal saying that the DNC
had accepted a lot of money from tobacco industries and had kind
of been channeling it out to the Democratic state parties. Is
there any difference in Dole accepting money from the tobacco
industries and your administration?
   THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, look at what I have said.
What I seek to highlight is the difference in our policies. There
is also a huge difference -- I mean, it's roughly, I think, a
five to one difference in the ratio of contributions. I think
over 80 percent of their money, I believe, is the tobacco
industry's money I believe has gone to Republicans.
   And what I've been critical of is the apparent impact of this.
We have evidence of the Republican Party chairman calling state
Republican officials around the country, when the Republicans out
in the country are thinking about doing the responsible things,
to restrict access of young people to tobacco and urging them not
to do certain things. And we had the repeated opposition of
Senator Dole to what we're trying to do to restrict the
advertising of tobacco products to children and the distribution
of them, and going to areas where he thinks there will be a
receptive audience for that and attacking my policies.
   So what I think is, you know, we have an open and free country
and people who are citizens should be able to contribute to
whomever they wish. But when you see a pattern of contributions
and then a dramatic difference in the policies, it is the
policies and their impact on the American people that I'm most
concerned about.
   And the American people should look at where I stand and where
he stands and they should decide whether they agree with us. Then
because all the contributions are reported, they can decide
whether they think the contributions have anything to do with the
policy position. That's how I think it ought to be analyzed.
   (end transcript)
   ---------------   

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