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                        '96 ELECTION SNAPSHOT
                               VOL.1 #20


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CONTENTS:
   WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS DOLE'S RISE IN THE POLLS
   CLINTON DEFENDS RECORD IN 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW
   DOLE/KEMP RALLY
   CLINTON SAYS HE HAS NOT WATCHED ANY OF THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
   U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: ASSESSING THE GOP CONVENTION
   DOLE: PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IS "MIRROR HELD UP TO AMERICA"
   KEMP: AMERICA MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH TO STAND UP FOR FREEDOM
   GOP CONVENTION: DELEGATE UNITY
   SAN DIEGO CONVENTION PROTEST MEDIATORS
   GOP CONVENTION VOLUNTEERS
   GOP CONVENTION - WHAT NEXT?
   CHICAGO'S PAST CONVENTIONS
   REPUBLICANS CHARGE CLINTON UNDERMINES U.S. CREDIBILITY ABROAD
   GOP: KEMP-IMMIGRATION
   YOUNG REPUBLICAN CONCERNS
   GOP CONVENTION: TOBACCO
   GOP CONVENTION: FOREIGN POLICY
   JC WATTS PROFILE
   DOLE IS A LEADER WHO "SHARES OUR DREAMS," MOLINARI SAYS
   GINGRICH:  COMPASSION MEASURED BY GOOD WORKS, NOT TAX DOLLARS
   HISPANIC AMERICANS A GROWING FACTOR IN U.S. ELECTIONS
   GOP CONVENTION: WYOMING
   CLINTON'S BOOK TO BE RELEASED NEXT WEEK
   MEXICO MONITORS U.S. CAMPAIGN
   U.N. SPOKESMAN CRITICIZES STATEMENTS MADE AT GOP CONVENTION
   DEMOCRATS AT GOP CONVENTION
   FORBES PLEDGES TO PROMOTE DOLE/KEMP TAX CUTS
   GOP CONVENTION: GAY RIGHTS - LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS
   GOP ABORTION DEBATE
   FORMER RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER KOZYREV AT GOP CONVENTION
   GOP CONVENTION: CHRISTIAN RIGHT
   BLACK REPUBLICANS
   GOP CONVENTION: THE INTERNET
   RETURN OF THE YIPPEE
   RENGEL SAYS DOLE/KEMP WERE ONCE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ADVOCATES
   FORD SAYS DOLE EVEN MORE QUALIFIED TODAY TO BE PRESIDENT
   POWELL SAYS HE WANTS TO HELP FILL REPUBLICAN "BIG TENT"
   CLINTON TO TAKE "21st CENTURY EXPRESS" AUGUST 26-28
   GOP CONVENTION: NANCY REAGAN
   CONVENTION PROTESTS
   GOP CONVENTION SECURITY
   GOP CONVENTION: MEDIA COVERAGE
   GOP CONVENTION: FOREIGN PRESS
   QUESTIONS ABOUT KEMP
   REPUBLICAN MOTORCYCLISTS
   GOP CONVENTION: SOUVENIRS
   GOP CONVENTION: THE DEMOCRATS
   U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: JACK KEMP FOR REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENT
   REFORM PARTY CONVENTION
   BLUE DOGS HOPE TO HAVE THEIR DAY
   DOLE UNVEILS NEW CAMPAIGN SLOGAN
   AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MAY BE FADING AS CAMPAIGN ISSUE
   FREE AND OPEN PRESS ESSENTIAL FOR FAIR ELECTIONS
   POLITICAL CONSULTANTS ARE IMAGE MAKERS OF MODERN ELECTIONS
   CAMPAIGN TRAIL TIDBITS
   JOURNALISTIC JUXTAPOSITIONS
   ==============================================
   ---------------
   WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS DOLE'S RISE IN THE POLLS

   DAVID SWAN
   WASHINGTON

   The White House is downplaying a public opinion poll that
shows the presidential race a virtual dead heat after last week's
Republican convention. The nation's leading independent party has
also just finished its convention.
   The poll by "Newsweek" magazine indicates President Clinton's
lead is all but gone. The survey says a double-digit margin has
shrunk to just two percentage points, with 44-percent of voters
supporting Mr. Clinton and 42-percent backing Republican Bob
Dole.
   But White House aide George Stephanopoulos argues the
convention did not help Mr. Dole as much as the poll suggests. In
an NBC television interview, he predicts Mr. Clinton will also
receive a lift from the Democratic Party gathering later this
month:
   "And then we go into our convention where we hope to strike a
real contrast with the Republicans. We want to talk about the
president's record, we want to have a positive tone to our
convention. And he's going to lay out in some detail his plans
for the next four years"
   The centerpiece of the Dole campaign is a plan for
wide-ranging tax cuts, for a 15-percent rollback in individual
income taxes. The former senator promoted the plan heavily during
a cross-country, post-convention campaign trip.
   Mr. Dole and other Republicans reject charges the proposal
would only add to the federal budget deficit. House speaker Newt
Gingrich says Democrats are trying to scare the voters by
spreading falsehoods about the plan:
   "The Dole plan is a balanced budget, tax cut plan. You may not
like the way he balances the budget. You may want a bigger
government. But it doesn't balloon (raise) the deficit. It lowers
interest rates by balancing the budget."
   Meanwhile, the independent "Reform Party" founded by
billionaire Ross Perot has chosen him as its presidential
nominee. Mr. Perot easily beat the only other candidate, former
Colorado (state) Governor Dick Lamm. (On NBC) Mr. Lamm says he
will not be Mr. Perot's running mate, will probably not campaign
for him, and might even vote for President Clinton:
   "Sure. I did before and I could again. But I think that I want
to support reform. I don't want to go back to the two political
parties."
   Mr. Perot took 19-percent of the vote in the last election but
most analysts predict he will win considerably less this time. He
is expected to draw support from members of both other parties.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON DEFENDS RECORD IN 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW

   DEBORAH TATE
   NEW YORK

   President Clinton is defending his record and character
against attacks made by Republicans at their national convention
last week in San Diego, California. Mr. Clinton says he is urging
speakers at his Democratic Party's convention in Chicago next
week to refrain from making partisan attacks against the
Republicans. The president made his comments in an interview
broadcast on the CBS television news program 60 minutes Sunday
night.
   In his first detailed response to Republican attacks on his
character, President Clinton accused his critics of engaging in
the politics of personal destruction, and he said they would not
succeed:
   "I don't believe, frankly, that the Republicans could do
anything to damage my character. They may be able to attack my
reputation, but god is the ultimate judge of people's character,
and he knows all facts, and nobody can twist the news, and
there's no angle there."
   Mr. Clinton, whom Republicans criticize for his role in such
controversies as the failed Arkansas land deal known as
Whitewater and White House requests for such confidential FBI
files, says there is no evidence that he has done anything wrong.
   The president says the Republican's partisan attacks against
him do not serve the American people well, and he vowed his
Democratic Party would not do likewise during its convention next
week:
   "When I received reports about the Republican convention, I
told our people that I do not want any snide remarks made about
any of those people. I don't want any sort of negative personal
asides. I don't want anybody saying, well, why haven't you worked
on them the way they worked on you. I don't want to hear that. I
want this to be about ideas, not insults; about the records of
the two candidates, about the positions of the two candidates,
and about the future...."
   Mr. Clinton later Sunday made a similar pledge to Democratic
supporters in New York, who were gathered together to celebrate
his 50th birthday (Monday, August 19).
   In his television interview, Mr. Clinton was asked about the
age of his Republican challenger for president, Bob Dole, who is
23 years his senior, whether Mr. Dole is too old to be the
nation's chief executive.
   Mr. Clinton said age is not an issue, adding that he would
like this year's presidential election to be based on each
candidate's vision for the future.
   On another matter, the president renewed his criticism of Mr.
Dole's tax cut plan, saying it would expand the deficit, and he
denied Republican claims that he intends to raise taxes if
elected to a second term.
   Mr. Clinton was also asked about Republican criticisms of his
wife, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The president responded
by defending his wife, saying she is caring and loving. But
acknowledged that the first lady is a controversial figure, and
said the fact that her plan to reform health care failed to pass
Congress made her a target of attacks.
   ---------------

   --------------
   DOLE/KEMP RALLY

   NICK SIMEONE
   SAN DIEGO

   Fresh from their acceptance speeches, Republican presidential
nominee Bob Dole and running-mate Jack Kemp spoke to several
hundred supporters at an outdoor rally Friday before heading off
to Denver and the first stop of their post-convention campaign.
The Republican ticket intends to make its pledge of a 15-percent
across the board tax cut a central theme at rallies across the
nation.
   At a sun-drenched waterfront rally, neither Bob Dole nor Jack
Kemp strayed far from the campaign's central theme of lower
taxes. In fact, Jack Kemp was handed a football jersey (t-shirt)
with the number "15", his number when he played football. On
Friday, it represented the 15 percent tax cut the Dole/Kemp
ticket is promising.
   1it was an effort right from the start to convince voters that
the Dole/Kemp tax cut will not become a broken election year
promise, or end up forcing cuts in social programs. Dole said:
   "I would not have proposed the economic package had I not been
certain we could achieve it without hurting social security,
without hurting Medicare. But I really believe we have an
obligation to family, to children and tax payers all across
America to make our tax code flatter, fairer and simpler and
we're going to get the job done."
   Candidate Dole told the crowd he is leaving San Diego with the
Republican Party united behind him, something he could not say
when he arrived here less than a week ago. Then, former rival Pat
Buchanan was still refusing to endorse him and a possible fight
over abortion threatened to disrupt his nominating convention.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON SAYS HE HAS NOT WATCHED ANY OF THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

   DEBORAH TATE
   JACKSON HOLE, WYO.

   President Clinton, whose vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is
winding down, says he did not watch any of the Republican
National Convention that ended in San Diego, California Thursday
night.
   For days, reporters have been asking President Clinton for his
reaction to the Republican convention, where his record and his
character have come under fire.
   And for days, the president has avoided responding.
   On Friday, Mr. Clinton was asked what he thought of former
Senator Bob Dole's speech to the convention Thursday night, when
he accepted his party's nomination for president:
   "I did not watch it. I haven't watched any of it, because I
have been on vacation. I'm going to let them have their
convention."
   Mr. Clinton says he will deal with such matters after his
vacation.
   The president has kept a low-profile for much of the week,
playing golf, hiking, and reading.
   But aides say he has begun to think about his Democratic
Party's convention in Chicago later this month, and has started
to work on his speech to the convention and consulted with
political advisor Douglas Sosnik about plans for the event.
   The president and his family conclude their nine-day vacation
and return to Washington Saturday.
   But Mr. Clinton will be back on the road Sunday, traveling to
New York to celebrate his 50th birthday at radio city music hall.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: ASSESSING THE GOP CONVENTION

   PHIL HAYNES
   WASHINGTON

   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole has described his
party's nominating convention that closed Thursday night in San
Diego, California, as the best in the party's history. Some U.S.
newspaper editors might agree with that assessment, but overall,
editorials in Friday's editions present a mixed review of the
four-day Republican gathering and how the American electorate
will respond to it.
   Several newspapers agreed that the Republican convention ended
on a high note and gave Bob Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp,
a proper platform from which to launch their campaign for the
White House. In Texas, the Dallas Morning News summed it up this
way:
   "Bob Dole got the GOP convention he wanted. No rebellions. An
acclaimed running mate. Speakers preaching unity. Plenty of jabs
at President Clinton. And tight choreography. By the time he
capped it with his Thursday night speech, the themes were clear.
Bob Dole is a hero. Bill Clinton is not. Bob Dole promises to cut
taxes. Bill Clinton has not... Perhaps Mr. Dole's greatest task
this week has been to make voters believe that he is a believer
himself. Often acerbic, sometimes uninspiring, Mr. Dole can leave
voters uncertain of whether he actually believes in his own
speeches..."
   Today's Baltimore Sun says Bob Dole's nomination acceptance
speech offered his life story as an implicit contrast with Bill
Clinton's and placed the issue of personal character at the
center of his campaign:
   "Robert J. Dole, in accepting the Republican nomination for
the presidency,... cited 'old values' he has learned 'through the
gracious compensations of age' in urging the American people to
reject a Clinton administration that has 'insulted' them with its
emphasis on materialism... His underlying theme was his own life
story of devotion to country. 'god, family, honor, duty,
country,' he chanted twice... The character issue will be raised
in many different forms in this campaign. [Thursday night],
Senator Dole placed it at the very center of his quest for the
White House."
   From the California city just north of San Diego, the Los
Angeles Times also points to the character issue in Mr. Dole's
speech, calling it "plain speaking for the electorate":
   "...[Bob] Dole got beyond his discomfort and sternly delivered
a well-written speech that did a good job of outlining the 'plain
speaking' themes he intends to stress (in his campaign):
Experience ('the gracious compensations of age'), trust, honor...
The themes are fair ammunition in his race against [a Clinton]
administration that has been plagued with persistent questions
about its ethics, honesty and political maturity... But as the
Republican nominee now officially goes forth, the American public
would be best served by being able to see the Bob Dole who won't
shrink from a hard-hitting, but fair, fight."
   The San Francisco Chronicle found a certain hypocrisy in the
convention after delegates adopted a distinctly conservative
platform, or statement of party principles, that most speakers
seemed to want to ignore:
   "Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and Newt Gingrich all had the same answer
earlier this week when they were pressed for their views about
the party platform. They all said they had not read it. How much
stock should potential voters put in the platform if the party's
nominees for president and vice president, and the speaker of the
House, do not regard it as required reading? Not much... the
platform is supposed to reflect the heart and soul of a party, to
inspire and guide the people who carry its banner... The
important point to remember is that the platform was roundly
ignored, even defied at times, by the speakers and the GOP
leaders... they cannot wake up the day after the election, if
they win, and try to claim a mandate for its platform. They have
already walked away from it."
   One of America's oldest continuously published newspapers,
Connecticut's Hartford Courant, takes issue with the harsh
anti-Clinton rhetoric heard throughout the convention. The paper
called Republican criticism of Clinton Administration foreign
policy a "throwback to the cold war":
   "Foreign policy under President Clinton has not been
faultlessly conceived and seamlessly executed. There is room for
criticism. But the fingerpointing by Republican leaders at their
party's national convention has been excessive. The critics are
throwbacks to the cold war era, demanding billions of dollars in
additional spending on a star wars missile-defense system,
criticizing Clinton Administration attempts to forge a strong
relationship with Russia and filling the hall with relentlessly
hostile rhetoric against the United Nations."
   Finally, the Houston Chronicle sums up Bob Dole's nomination
acceptance speech as "his strongest case yet" for why he should
succeed Bill Clinton in the White House:
   "[Mr.] Dole's was a well-crafted acceptance speech to the
Republican National Convention in San Diego... The overall thrust
of his message, as he pointed out before the speech, was a theme
of trust, trust in the people, not in government. He also kept up
the convention drumbeat, if more subtly, of mistrust of his foe,
President Clinton. It was a good performance for [Mr.] Dole, at a
most opportune time. But, obviously, the ultimate judges will be
the voters."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE: PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IS "MIRROR HELD UP TO AMERICA"

   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   "More than a contest of candidates, more than a clash of
opposing philosophies," says Republican candidate Bob Dole, a
presidential campaign is "a mirror held up to America."
   Accepting his party's presidential nomination in a San Diego
convention hall filled with cheering delegates and supporters,
and before a national television audience, August 15, Dole said
he is "profoundly moved by your confidence and trust," and he
asked for their votes to "bring you an administration that is
able, honest and trusts in you."
   He entered the hall on the Republican convention's closing
night to the musical score of the film "Rocky," the story of an
underdog prizefighter who becomes a champion. Red, white and blue
balloons cascaded from the rafters at the conclusion of his
58-minute remarks and, he was greeted with waving flags and
placards and a crescendo of cheers and shouts of "Dole-Kemp,
Dole-Kemp."
   The Republican Party, Dole said, "is broad and inclusive. It
represents many streams of opinion and many points of view." He
said there should not be "a single illegal immigrant" in the
United States but quickly added that legal immigrants have "as
much right to the American dream as the direct descendants of the
Founding Fathers."
   A relaxed and smiling Dole said that "on my first day in
office, I will put America on a course that will end our
vulnerability to missile attack and rebuild our armed forces. It
is a course President Clinton has refused to take."
   Stressing that Clinton "is my opponent, not my enemy," Dole
pointed out that there are distinctions between their two parties
that "must be debated in the next 82 days" before the election.
   "He and his party brought us the biggest tax increase in
history. We are the party of lower taxes and greater
opportunity," Dole said. "We are the party whose resolve did not
flag as the Cold War dragged on. We did not tremble before a
Soviet giant that was just about to fall, and we did not have to
be begged to take up arms against Saddam Hussein."
   Dole said his economic program "is the right policy for
America" that will mean a call for a balanced-budget amendment to
the Constitution, a 15-percent across-the-board reduction in
taxes, a reduction in government regulation, educational
opportunities and reform in the civil justice system.
   "My administration will fully enforce our trade laws,
negotiate effective trade agreements and not let our national
sovereignty be infringed by the World Trade Organization or any
other international body," he added.

   Following is the text of Dole's remarks:

   (begin text)

   Ladies and gentleman, delegates to the convention, and fellow
citizens: I cannot say it more clearly than in plain speaking. I
accept your nomination to lead our party once again to the
presidency. I am profoundly moved by your confidence and trust,
and I look forward to leading America into the next century.
   But this is not my moment, it is yours. It is yours,
Elizabeth. It is yours, Robin. It is yours, Jack and Joanne Kemp.
   And do not think that I have forgotten whose moment this is
above all. It is for the people of America that I stand here
tonight, and by their generous leave. And as my voice echoes
across darkness and desert ... as it is heard over car radios on
coastal roads ... and as it travels above farmland and suburb,
deep into the heart of cities that, from space, look tonight like
strings of sparkling diamonds, I can tell you that I know whose
moment this is: It is yours. It is yours entirely.
   And who am I that stands before you?
   I was born in Russell, Kansas, a small town in the middle of
the prairie surrounded by wheat and oil wells. As my friends and
my neighbors from Russell, who tonight sit in the front of this
hall know well, Russell, though not the West, looks out upon the
West. Like most small towns on the plains, it is a place where no
one grows up without an intimate knowledge of distance. And the
first thing you learn on the prairie is the relative size of a
man compared to the lay of the land. Under the immense sky where
I was born and raised, a man is very small ... and if he thinks
otherwise, he's wrong.
   I come ... from good people, from very good people, and I'm
proud of it. My father's name was Doran, my mother's Bina. I
loved them ... and there is no moment when my memory of them and
my love for them does not overshadow anything I do -- even this,
even here. There is no height to which I have risen that is high
enough to allow me to forget them, to allow me to forget where I
came from, where I stand, and how I stand, with my feet on the
ground, just a man, at the mercy of God.
   This perspective has been strengthened and solidified by a
certain wisdom that I owe not to any achievement of my own, but
to the gracious compensations of age. I know that in some
quarters I may be expected to run from the truth of this. But I
was born in 1923, facts are better than dreams, and good
presidents and good candidates don't run from the truth.
   I do not need the presidency to make or refresh my soul. That
false hope I will gladly leave to others, for greatness lies not
in what office you hold, but in how honest you are, in how you
face adversity, and in your willingness to stand fast in hard
places.
   Age has its advantages. Let me be the bridge to an America
that only the unknowing call myth. Let me be the bridge to a time
of tranquillity, faith, and confidence in action. To those who
say it was never so, that America has not been better, I say,
you're wrong, and I know, because I was there. I have seen it. I
remember.
   Our nation, though wounded and scathed has outlasted
revolution, civil war, world war, racial oppression, and economic
catastrophe. We have fought and prevailed on almost every
continent and in almost every sea. We have even lost, but we have
lasted, and we have always come through.
   What enabled us to accomplish this has little to do with the
values of the present. After decades of assault upon what made
America great, upon supposedly obsolete values, what have we
reaped, what have we created, what do we have? What we have in
the opinion of many Americans is crime, drugs, illegitimacy,
abortion, the abdication of duty, and the abandonment of
children. And after the virtual devastation of the American
family, the rock upon which this country was founded, we are told
that it takes a village -- that is, the collective, and thus, the
state -- to raise a child.
   The state is now more involved than it has ever been in the
raising of children, and children are now more neglected, abused,
and mistreated than they have been in our time. This is not a
coincidence, and, with all due respect, I am here to tell you: It
does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family.
   If I could by magic restore to every child who lacks a father
or a mother, that father or that mother, I would. And though I
cannot, I would never turn my back on them, and I shall, as
president, promote measures that keep families whole.
   I am here to tell you that permissive and destructive behavior
must be opposed, that honor and liberty must be restored, and
that individual accountability must replace collective excuse. I
am here to say to America, do not abandon the great traditions
that stretch to the dawn of our history, do not topple the
pillars of those beliefs -- God, family honor, duty, country --
that have brought us through time and time again.
   To those who believe that I am too combative, I say, if I am
combative, it is for love of country. It is to uphold a standard
that I was born and bred to defend. And to those who believe that
I live and breathe compromise, I say that in politics honorable
compromise is no sin, it is what protects us from absolutism and
intolerance. But one must never compromise in regard to God,
family, honor, duty, country.
   I am here to set a marker, so that all may know that it is
possible to rise in politics with these things firmly in mind,
not compromised, and never abandoned. For the old values endure.
Though they may sleep and though they may falter, they endure. I
know this is true. And to anyone who believes that restraint,
honor, and trust in the people cannot be returned to the
government, I say, follow me.
   Only right conduct distinguishes a great nation from one that
cannot rise above itself. It has never been otherwise. Right
conduct, every day, at every level, in all facets of life. The
decision of a child not to use drugs ... of a student not to
cheat ... of a young woman or a young man to serve when called
... of a screenwriter to refuse rather than to add to mountains
of trash ... of a businessman not to bribe ... of a politician to
cast a vote or take action that will put his office or his
chances of victory at risk, but which is right. Why have so many
of us ... and I do not exclude myself, for I am not the model of
perfection ... why have so many of us been failing these tests
for so long?
   The answer is not a mystery. It is, to the contrary, quite
simple, and can be given quite simply. It is because for too
long, we have had a leadership that has been unwilling to risk
the truth, to speak without calculation, to sacrifice itself, an
administration that in its very existence communicates this day
by day until it flows down like rain. And the rain becomes a
river, and the river becomes a flood.
   Which is more important, wealth or honor? It is not, as was
said by the victors four years ago, "the economy, stupid." It's
the kind of nation we are.... It's whether we still possess the
wit and determination to deal with many questions -- including
economic questions, but certainly not limited to them. All things
do not flow from wealth or poverty. I know this first hand, and
so do you. All things flow from doing what is right. The triumph
of this nation lies not in its material wealth but in courage,
sacrifice, and honor. We tend to forget this when our leaders
forget it, and to remember it when they remember it.
   The high office of the presidency requires not a continuous
four-year campaign for re-election, but, rather, broad oversight
and attention to three essential areas -- the material, the
moral, and the nation's survival, in that ascending order of
importance.
   In the last presidential election, you, the people, were
gravely insulted. You were told that the material was not only
the most important of these three but, in fact, the only one that
really mattered. I don't hold to that for a moment. No one can
deny the importance of material well beings. And in this regard
it is time to recognize that we have surrendered too much of our
economic liberty.
   I do not appreciate the value of economic liberty nearly as
much for what it has done in keeping us fed as I do for what it
has done in keeping us ... free. The freedom of the market is not
merely the best guarantor of our prosperity, it is the chief
guarantor of our rights. A government that seizes control of the
economy for the good of the people, ends up seizing control of
the people for the good of the economy.
   Our opponents portray the right to enjoy the fruits of one's
own time and labor as a kind of selfishness against which they
must fight for the good of the nation. But they are deeply
mistaken, for when they gather to themselves the authority to
take the earnings and direct the activities of the people, they
are fighting not for our sake, but for the power to tell us what
to do.
   You work from the first of January into May just to pay your
taxes, so that the party of government can satisfy its priorities
with the sweat of your brow, because they think that what you
would do with your own money would be morally and practically far
less admirable than what they would do with it. That has simply
got to stop. It is demeaning to the nation that within the
Clinton administration a corps of the elite who never grew up,
never did anything real, never sacrificed, never suffered, and
never learned, should have the power to fund with your earnings
their dubious and self-serving schemes.
   Somewhere, a grandmother couldn't afford to call her
granddaughter, or a child went without a book, or a family
couldn't buy that first home, because there was just not enough
money to make the call, buy the book or pay the mortgage -- or,
for that matter, to do many other things that one has the right
and often the obligation to do. Why? Because some genius in the
Clinton administration took the money to fund yet another theory,
yet another program, yet another bureaucracy. Are they taking
care of you, or are they taking care of themselves?
   I have asked myself that question; and I say, let the people
be free.
   Free to keep as much of what they earn as the government can
strain with all its might not to take, not the other way around.
   I trust the American people to work in the best interest of
the people. And I believe that every family, wage earner, and
small business in America can do better -- if only we have the
right policies in Washington.
   And make no mistake about it, my economic program is the right
policy for America. Here's what it will mean to you.
   It means you will have a president who will urge Congress to
pass and send to the states for ratification a balanced Budget
Amendment to the Constitution.
   It means you will have a president and a Congress who have the
will to balance the budget by the year 2002.
   It means you will have a president who will reduce taxes 15%
across-the-board for every taxpayer in America -- it will include
a $500 per child tax credit for low and middle income families.
Taxes for a family of four making $35,000 would be reduced by
more than half -- 56% to be exact.
   It means you will have a president who will help small
businesses -- the businesses that create most new jobs -- by
reducing the capital gains tax rate by 50%
   It means you will have a president who will end the IRS as we
know it.
   It means you will have a president who will expand Individual
Retirement Accounts, repeal President Clinton's Social Security
Tax increase, provide estate tax relief, reduce government
regulation, reform our civil justice system, provide educational
"opportunity scholarships," and a host of other proposals that
will create more opportunity for all Americans.
   And I won't stop there. Working with Jack Kemp and a
Republican Congress, I will not be satisfied until we have
reformed our entire tax code, and made it fairer, flatter, and
simpler.
   The principle involved here is time-honored and true: and that
is -- it's your money. You shouldn't have to apologize for
wanting to keep what you earn. To the contrary, the government
should apologize for taking too much of it. The Clinton
administration just doesn't get it: they think they're in charge
of you. And that's why they have got to go.
   The president is content with the way things are. I am not. We
must commit ourselves to a far more ambitious path that puts
growth -- expanding opportunities, rising incomes, soaring
prosperity -- at the heart of national policy. We must also
commit ourselves to trade policy that does not suppress pay and
threaten American jobs. By any measure, the trade policy of the
Clinton administration has been a disaster; trade deficits are
skyrocketing, and middle-income families are paying the price.
   My administration will fully enforce our trade laws, negotiate
effective trade agreements, and not let our national sovereignty
be infringed by the World Trade Organization or any other
international body.
   Ladies and gentlemen, Jack Kemp and I will restore the promise
of America and get the economy moving again, and we'll do so
without leaving anyone behind. I have learned in my own life,
from my own experience, that not every man, woman, or child can
make it on their own. That in a time of need, the bridge between
failure and success can be the government itself. And given all
that I have experienced, I will always remember those in need.
That's why I helped to save Social Security in 1983, and that's
why I will be the president who preserved, protected, and
strengthened Medicare.
   Nor will I ever forget the man who rode on a train from Kansas
to Michigan to see his son, who was thought to be dying in an
army hospital. When he arrived, his feet had swollen, and he
could hardly walk, because he had to make the trip, from Kansas
to Michigan, standing up most of the way.
   Who was that man? He was my father. My father was poor. And I
loved my father. Do you imagine for one minute that as I sign the
bills that will set the economy free I will not be faithful to
Americans in need? You can be certain that I will, for to do
otherwise would be to betray those whom I love and honor most,
and I will betray nothing.
   Let me speak about immigration. The right, and obligation of a
sovereign nation to control its own borders is beyond debate. We
should not have here a single illegal immigrant. But the question
of immigration is broader than that, and let me be specific. A
family from Mexico who arrived this morning, legally, has as much
right to the American dream as the direct descendants of the
founding fathers.
   The Republican Party is broad and inclusive. It represents
many streams of opinion and many points of view. But if there is
anyone who has mistakenly attached himself to the party in the
belief that we are not open to citizens of every race and
religion, then let me remind you:
   Tonight this hall belongs to the party of Lincoln, and the
exits, which are clearly marked, are for you to walk out of as I
stand here and hold this ground -- without compromise.
   Though I can only look up, and at a very steep angle, to
Washington and Lincoln, let me remind you of their concern for
the sometimes delicate unity of the people. The notion that we
are and should be one people rather than the "peoples" of the
United States seems so self-evident and obvious that it is hard
for me to imagine that I must defend it. When I was growing up in
Kansas, it was clear to me that my pride, my home, were in
America, not in any faction or division. In this I was heeding,
even as I do unto this day, Washington's eloquent rejection of
factionalism. I was honoring, even as I do unto this day,
Lincoln's words, his life, and his sacrifice.
   The principle of unity has been with us in all our successes.
The 10th Mountain Division, with whom I served in Italy, and the
black troops of the 92nd Division who served nearby, were the
proof for me, once again, of the truth I am here trying to
convey. The war was fought just a generation after America's
greatest and most intense period of immigration. And yet, when
the blood of the sons of the immigrants and the grandsons of
slaves fell on foreign fields, it was American blood. In it you
could not read the ethnic particulars of the soldier who died
next to you. He was an American. And when I think of how we
learned this lesson, I wonder how we could have unlearned it.
   Is the principle of unity, so hard fought and at the cost of
so many lives, having been contested again and again in our
history and at such a terrible price, to be casually abandoned to
the urge to divide? Must we give in to the senseless drive to
break apart that which is beautiful, and whole, and good?
   I call on every American to rise above all that may divide us,
and to defend the unity of the nation for the honor of
generations past and the sake of those to come.
   The Constitution of the United States mandates equal
protection under the law. This is not code language for racism,
it is plain speaking against it. And the guiding light of my
administration will be that in this country we have no rank order
by birth, no claim to favoritism by race, no expectation of
judgment other than it be evenhanded. We cannot guarantee the
outcome, but we shall guarantee the opportunity.
   I will speak plainly on another subject of importance. We are
not educating all of our children. Too many are being forced to
absorb the fads of the moment. Not for nothing are we the biggest
education spenders and among the lowest education achievers of
the leading industrial nations.
   The teachers unions nominated Bill Clinton in 1992, they are
funding his re-election now, and they, his most reliable
supporters, know he will maintain the status quo.
   I say this not to the teachers, but to their unions: If
education were a war, you would be losing it. If it were a
business, you would be driving it into bankruptcy. If it were a
patient, it would be dying.
   To the teachers unions I say, when I am president, I will
disregard your political power, for the sake of the children, the
schools, and the nation. I plan to enrich your vocabulary with
those words you fear -- school choice, competition, and
opportunity scholarships -- so that you will join the rest of us
in accountability, while others compete with you for the
commendable privilege of giving our children a real education.
There is no reason why those who live on any street in America
should not have the same right as the person who lives at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue -- the right to send your child to the school
of your choice. If we want to reduce crime, drug use, or teen
pregnancies, let's start by giving all America's children a first
class education.
   I also want these children to inherit a country that is far
safer than it is at present. I seek for our children and
grandchildren a world more open, and with more opportunity, than
ever before. But in wanting these young Americans to be able to
make the best of this, I want first and foremost for them to be
safe. I want to remove the shadow that darkens opportunities for
every woman, every man and every child in America. We are a
nation paralyzed by crime, and it is time to end that.
   To do so, I mean to attack the root cause of crime ...
criminals. As our many and voracious criminals go to bed tonight,
at, say, six in the morning ... they had better pray that I lose
this election. Because, if I win, the lives of violent criminals
are going to be hell.
   During the Reagan administration, we abolished parole at the
federal level. In the Dole administration, we will work with the
nation's Governors to abolish parole for violent criminals all
across America. And with my national instant check initiative, we
will keep all guns out of the hands of criminals.
   I have been asked if I have litmus test for judges. I do. My
litmus test for judges is that they be intolerant of outrage,
that their passion is not to amend but to interpret the
Constitution, that they are restrained in regard to those who
live within the law and strict with those who break it.
   And for those who say that I should not make Bill Clinton's
liberal judicial appointments an issue of this campaign, I have a
simple response. I have heard your argument: the motion is
denied.
   I save my respect for the Constitution, not for those who
would ignore it, violate it, or replace it with conceptions of
their own fancy. My administration will zealously protect civil
and constitutional rights, while never forgetting that our
primary duty is protecting law abiding citizens. I have no
intention of ignoring violent -- I said violent -- criminals,
understanding them, or buying them off. A nation that cannot
defend itself from outrage does not deserve to survive. A
president who cannot lead against those who prey upon it does not
deserve to be president. I am prepared to risk more political
capital in defense of domestic tranquility than any president you
have known. The time for such risk is long overdue.
   In defending the nation from external threats, the
requirements of survival cannot merely be finessed. There is no
margin for error. On this subject, perhaps more than any other, a
president must level with the people, and be prepared to take
political risks. I would rather do what is called for in this
regard and be unappreciated than fail to do so and win universal
acclaim. It must be said: Because of misguided priorities, there
have been massive cuts in funding for our national security. I
believe President Clinton has failed to adequately provide for
our future defense. For whatever reason his neglect, it is
irresponsible.
   I ask that you consider these crystal-clear differences. He
believes it is acceptable to ask our military forces to do more
with less. I do not. He defends giving a green light to a
terrorist state, Iran, to expand its influence in Europe and
relies on the United Nations to punish Libyan terrorists who
murdered American citizens. I will not. He believes that
defending our people and our territory from missile attack is
unnecessary. I do not.
   And on my first day in office, I will put America on a course
that will end our vulnerability to missile attack and rebuild our
Armed Forces. It is a course President Clinton has refused to
take. On my first day in office, I will also put terrorists on
notice: If you harm one American, you harm all Americans. And
America will pursue you to the ends of the earth. In short, don't
mess with us unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences.
   And furthermore, the lesson has always been clear. If we are
prepared to defend -- if we are prepared to fight many wars, and
greater wars, and any wars that come -- we will have to fight
fewer wars, and lesser wars, and perhaps no wars at all. It has
always been so, and will ever be so.
   I am not the first to say that the long gray line has never
failed us, and it never has. For those who might be sharply taken
aback in thinking of Vietnam, think again, for in Vietnam the
long gray line did not fail us, we failed it. The American
soldier was not made for the casual and arrogant treatment he
suffered there, where he was committed without clear purpose or
resolve, bound by rules that prevented victory, and kept waiting
in the valley of the shadow of death for ten years while the
nation debated the undebatable question of his honor. No. The
American soldier was not made to be thrown into battle without
clear purpose or resolve, not made to be abandoned in the field
of battle, not made to give his life for indifference or lack of
respect.
   I will never commit the American soldier to an ordeal without
the prospect of victory. And when I am president, our men and
women in our Armed Forces will know the president is his
commander-in-chief -- not Boutros Boutros-Ghali, or any other
U.N. Secretary General.
   This I owe not only to the living but to the dead, to every
patriot grave, to the ghosts of Valley Forge, of Flanders Field,
of Bataan, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, and the Gulf. This I
owe to the men who died on the streets of Mogadishu not three
years again, to the shadows on the bluffs of Normandy, to the
foot soldiers who never came home, to the airmen who fell to
earth, and the sailors who rest perpetually at sea.
   This is not an issue of politics, but far graver than that.
Like the bond of trust between parent and child, it is the
lifeblood of the nation. It commands not only sacrifice but a
grace in leadership embodying both daring and caution at the same
time. And this we owe not only to ourselves. Our allies demand
consistency and resolve, which they deserve from us as we deserve
the same from them. But even if they falter, we cannot, for
history has made us the leader, and we are obliged by history to
keep the highest standard.
   And in this regard may I remind you of the nation's debt to
Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush. President Nixon engaged
China and the Soviet Union with diplomatic genius. President
Ford, who gave me my start in 1976, stood fast in a time of great
difficulty, and with the greatest of dignity.
   Were it not for President Reagan, the Soviet Union would still
be standing today. He brought the Cold War to an end, not, as
some demanded, through compromise and surrender -- but by winning
it.
   President Bush, with a mastery that words fail to convey,
guided the Gulf War coalition and its military forces to victory.
A war that might have lasted years and taken the lives of tens of
thousands of Americans passed so swiftly and went so smoothly
that history has yet to catch its breath and give him the credit
he is due. History is like that. Whenever we forget its singular
presence it gives us a lesson in grace and awe.
   When I look back upon my life, I see less and less of myself
and more and more of history, of this civilization that we have
made, that is called America. I am content and always will be
content to see my own story subsumed in great events, the
greatest of which is the simple onward procession of the American
people.
   What a high privilege it is to be at the center in these
times, and this I owe to you, the American people. I owe
everything to you, and to make things right and close the circle
I will return to you as much as I possibly can. It is incumbent
upon me to do so, it is my duty, my deepest desire.
   And so tonight, I respectfully ask for all of your blessing,
and your support. The election will not be decided by the polls,
by the opinion-makers, or by the pundits. It will be decided by
you.
   I ask for that vote so that I may bring you an administration
that is able, honest, and trusts in you.
   For the fundamental issue is not of policy, but of trust --
not merely whether the people trust the president, but whether
the president and his party trust the people, trust in their
goodness and their genius for recovery. For the government cannot
direct the people, the people must direct the government.
   This is not the outlook of my opponent -- and he is my
opponent, not my enemy.
   Though my opponent has of late tried to be a good Republican,
there are certain distinctions even he cannot blur. There are
distinctions between the two great parties that will be debated,
and must be debated in the next 82 days.
   He and his party who brought us the biggest tax increase in
history.
   We are the party of lower taxes and greater opportunity.
   We are the party whose resolve did not flag as the Cold War
dragged on, we did not tremble before a Soviet giant that was
just about to fall, and we did not have to be begged to take up
arms against Saddam Hussein.
   We are not the party that, as drug use has soared among the
young, hears no evil, sees no evil, and just cannot say, "Just
say no."
   We are the party that trusts in the people. I trust in the
people. That is the heart of all that I have said to you tonight.
   My friends, a presidential campaign is more than a contest of
candidates, more than a clash of opposing philosophies. It is a
mirror held up to America. It is a measurement of who we are,
where we come from, and where we are going. For as much
inspiration as we may draw from a glorious past, we recognize
America preeminently as a country of tomorrow. For we were placed
here, for a purpose, by a higher power. Every soldier in uniform,
every school child who recites the Pledge of Allegiance, every
citizen who places her hand on her heart when the flag goes by,
recognizes and responds to our American destiny.
   Optimism is in our blood. I know this as few others can. There
once was a time when I doubted the future. But I learned that
obstacles can be overcome, and I have unlimited confidence in the
wisdom of our people and future of our country.
   Tonight, I stand before you tested by adversity, made
sensitive by hardship, a fighter by principle, and the most
optimistic man in America. For my life has taught me that America
is a land without limits.
   With my feet on the ground, and my heart filled with hope, I
put my faith in you and in the God who loves us all. I am
convinced that America's best days are yet to come. May God bless
you all. And may God bless America.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   KEMP: AMERICA MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH TO STAND UP FOR FREEDOM

   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp says "freedom
is never guaranteed -- and our nation and its president must be
strong enough to stand up for freedom against all who would
challenge it."
   Accepting the nomination at the close of the Republican
National Convention in San Diego August 15, Kemp said he was
doing so in the belief that "the purpose of a great party is not
to defeat the other party, but to provide superior ideas,
principled leadership, and a compelling cause."
   What America's "economic and cultural renewal means at home
and around the globe," he said in a 25-minute address interrupted
frequently by applause, is "a world of peace. A world of hope."
   Kemp added that "with the end of the Cold War, all the `isms'
of the 20th century -- fascism, Nazism, communism, socialism, and
the evil of apartheid-ism -- have failed. Except one. Only
democracy has shown itself true to the hopes of all mankind.
Democratic capitalism is not just the hope of wealth, but the
hope of justice."

   Following is the text of Kemp's remarks:

   (begin text)

   Abraham Lincoln believed, you serve your party best by serving
your country first. Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow Americans, I
can't think of a better way of serving our country than by
electing Bob Dole president of the United States here on the eve
of the 21st Century.
   By the way, this time let's re-elect a Republican Congress to
help Bob Dole restore the American dream.
   Tonight, here in San Diego, Bob Dole and I begin this campaign
to take our message of growth, hope, leadership, and cultural
renewal to all Americans.
   As I said in Russell, Kansas, Bob Dole's hometown, we're
taking our cause from the boroughs of New York to the barrios of
Los Angeles. We will carry the word to every man, woman, and
child of every color and background that today, on the eve of the
new American century, it is time to renew the American promise,
to recapture the American Dream and to give our nation a new
birth of freedom ... with liberty, equality, and justice for all.
   I am putting our opponents on notice. We are asking for the
support of every single American. Our appeal of boundless
opportunity crosses every barrier of geography, race, and belief.
We may not get every vote, but we will speak to every heart. In
word and action, we will represent our entire American family.
   And so, in the spirit of Mr. Lincoln, who believed that the
purpose of a great party is not to defeat the other party, but to
provide superior ideas, principled leadership and a compelling
cause, I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United
States.
   Our convention is not just the meeting of a party, but a
celebration of ideas. Our goal is not just to win, but to be
worthy of winning.
   This is a great nation with a great mission, and last night we
nominated a leader whose stature is equal to that calling. A man
whose words convey a quiet strength, who knows what it means to
sacrifice for others, to sacrifice for his country, to
demonstrate courage under fire. And who brings together women and
men of all parties and backgrounds in common cause.
   In recent years, it has been presidential practice, when
delivering a State of the Union address, to introduce heroes in
the balcony. Next year, when Bob Dole delivers the State of the
Union address, there will be a hero at the podium.
   There is another hero (former President Ronald Reagan) with us
tonight -- in our hearts and in our minds. He brought America
back and restored America's spirit. He gave us a decade of
prosperity and expanding horizons. Communism came down, not
because it fell. He pushed it.
   Our campaign is dedicated to completing that revolution that
(Reagan) began. I am sure he is watching us tonight. So let me
just say to him, on behalf of all of us who love him. Thanks,
Gipper.
   And so tonight, as the party of Lincoln, Reagan, and Dole, we
begin our campaign to restore the adventure of the American
Dream.
   With the end of the Cold War, all the "isms" of the 20th
century -- Fascism, Nazism, Communism, Socialism, and the evil of
Apartheid-ism -- have failed. Except one. Only democracy has
shown itself true to the hopes of all mankind.
   Democratic capitalism is not just the hope of wealth, but the
hope of justice. When we look into the face of poverty, we see
pain, despair and need. But, above all, in every face, we must
see the image of God. The Creator of All has planted the seed of
creativity in us all, the desire within every child of God to
work and build and improve our lot in life, and that of our
families and those we love. And in our work, in the act of
creating that is part of all labor, we discover that part within
ourselves that is divine. I believe the ultimate imperative for
growth and opportunity is to advance human dignity.
   Dr. Martin Luther King believed that we must see a sleeping
hero in every soul. America must establish policies that summon
those heroes and call forth the boundless potential of the human
spirit. But our full potential will never be achieved by
following leaders who call us to timid tasks and diminished
dreams.
   Every generation faces a choice: hope or despair -- to plan
for scarcity or to embrace possibilities. Societies throughout
history believed they had reached the frontiers of human
accomplishment. But in every age, those who trusted the divine
spark of imagination, discovered that vastly greater horizons lay
ahead.
   Americans do not accept limits; we transcend them. We do not
settle; we succeed.
   I learned this lesson as a child growing up in Los Angeles. My
dad was a truck driver. He and my uncle bought the truck, started
a trucking company, and he put four kids through college. From
him and my mother, a teacher, I learned to never give up. To me,
faith, family, and freedom are the greatest gifts of God to
humanity.
   I believe that today America is on the threshold of the
greatest period of economic opportunity, technological
development, and entrepreneurial adventure in our history. We
have before us tomorrows that are even more thrilling than our
most glorious yesterdays.
   And yet the genius of the American people is being stifled.
Our economy is growing at the slowest pace of any recovery in
this century. The income of working men and women is actually
dropping. And there is a gnawing feeling throughout our nation
that -- in some way, for some reason -- there is something wrong.
   Our friends in the other party say the economy is moving
forward, and it is. But it is moving like a ship dragging an
anchor, the anchor of high taxes, excessive regulation, and big
government.
   They say that is the best we can hope for. But that is because
they have put their entire trust in government rather than people
-- a government that runs our lives, our businesses, our schools.
You see, they don't believe in the unlimited possibilities that
freedom brings.
   The Democratic Party today is not democratic. They're elitists
-- they don't have faith in the people. They have faith in
government. That is why they raised taxes on the middle class.
That is why they tried to nationalize our health-care system.
That is why today they say they are "unalterably opposed" to
cutting taxes on American families. That is the problem with all
elitists, they think they know better than the people -- but the
truth is, there is a wisdom and intelligence in ordinary women
and men far superior to the greatest so-called experts.
   That is why they are the party of the status quo. And as of
tonight, with Bob Dole as our leader, we are the party of change.
   Our first step will be to balance the budget with a strategy
that combines economy in government with tax cuts designed to
liberate the productive genius of the American people.
   Now, of course, naysayers in Mr. Clinton's White House say it
can't be done. They don't know Bob Dole. They don't know Jack
Kemp.
   As he and I have said before, and we will continue to say
throughout this campaign: with a pro-growth Republican Congress,
balancing the budget while cutting taxes is just a matter of
presidential will. If you have it, you can do it. Bob Dole has
it. Bob Dole will do it.
   And I'll be with him -- at his side -- every step of the way.
   But this is just the beginning -- the first step.
   We are going to scrap the whole, fatally flawed internal
revenue code and replace it with a fairer, simpler, flatter
system. We will end the IRS as we know it.
   We will start with a 15% across-the-board tax cut, a $500 per
child tax credit, and cutting the capital gains tax by half.
We're going to take the side of the worker, the saver, the
family, and the entrepreneur. The American people can use their
money more wisely than can government. It's time they had more of
a chance, and we will give them that chance.
   On the eve of the 21st century, in the middle of a
technological revolution that is transforming the world in which
we live -- how can it be that so many families find themselves
struggling just to keep even, just to get by? As long as it takes
two earners to do what one earner used to do, how can we say this
economy is good enough?
   Our tax cut means that parents will have more time to spend
with their children -- and with each other.
   It means that a working parent can afford to take a job that
lets them be home when the kid get back from school.
   It means that the struggling, single mother in the inner city
will find it easier to work her way off welfare.
   And we cannot forget that single mother and her children.
American society as a whole can never achieve the outer-reaches
of potential, so long as it tolerates the inner-cities of
despair.
   Recently, I read the account by a reporter of his conversation
with a 10-year-old child at Henry Horner public housing in
Chicago. As the reporter told it in his book, "I asked (the boy)
what he wanted to be. `If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus
driver,' he told me. `If,' not `when.' At the age of 10, (he)
wasn't sure he'd even make it to adulthood."
   Think how much poorer our nation is deprived of that child's
future and those like him. Think how much richer our nation will
be when every child is able to grow up to reach his or her
God-given potential.
   Including those who come to America from other countries. My
friends, we are a nation of immigrants. The former president of
Notre Dame University, Father Ted Hesburgh, said the reason we
must close the backdoor of illegal immigration is so that we can
keep open the front door of legal immigration -- and keep the
light of opportunity lifted beside the golden door.
   Our goal is not just a more prosperous America, but a better
America.
   An America that recognizes the infinite worth of every
individual and, like the Good Shepherd, leaves the ninety-nine to
find the one lost lamb.
   An America that honors -- in all its institutions -- the
values that mothers and fathers want to pass on to her children.
   An America that makes the ideal of equality a daily reality --
equality of opportunity, equality in human dignity, equality
before the laws of man, as well as in the eyes of God.
   An America that transcends the boundaries between races with
the revolutionary power of a simple, yet profound idea -- love
thy neighbor as thyself.
   We must remember all that is at stake in America's cultural
renewal -- not just the wealth of our nation, but its meaning.
   Today, more than ever before, American ideals and ideas grip
the imaginations of women and men in every corner of the globe.
Isn't it exciting to think, it's 1776 all over the world.
   President Reagan spoke of America as a shining city on a hill,
a light unto the nations. In decades past, so many of those who
looked for our light did so from behind the walls and barbed wire
of tyrannical regimes.
   Now, because the American people stood strong, those people
are free.
   But freedom is never guaranteed -- and our nation and its
president must be strong enough to stand up for freedom against
all who would challenge it.
   A world of peace. A world of hope. This is what America's
economic and cultural renewal means at home and around the globe.
   This is what our cause is all about. This is why we will elect
Bob Dole the next president of the United States.
   I was so honored to be part of the tribute Monday night to
President Reagan. Afterwards, Nancy Reagan told me how touched
she was when I noted that, although Winston Churchill had been
called the last lion of the 20th century, I said, `No.' I said
history will record that Ronald Reagan was the true, last lion of
the 20th century.
   America is fortunate that last night you nominated a leader
worthy of succeeding Ronald Reagan ... a man with the strength,
determination, and vision to do the job that lies ahead ... and
the man I believe will be the first lion of the 21st century, Bob
Dole.
   Thank you, and God bless America.
   (end text)
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: DELEGATE UNITY

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   Delegates to the Republican National Convention are going home
with one word ringing in their ears: Unity. They seem to be
putting their differences aside in an effort to reach a common
goal, the defeat of President Bill Clinton.
   At times there was an almost unreal quality to the Republican
national convention in San Diego. The delegates went about their
business, glossing over all the controversial issues that have
plagued the party. There was little discord and virtually no
controversy allowed in the conference hall. The result was a
tightly scripted media event full of cheering crowds but short on
drama.
   If there were divisions, the delegates did their best to put
them aside. There was no mention of the conservative 1994 agenda
for Republican congressional candidates, the contract with
America. And the organizers, in an effort to block a return of
the strident rhetoric of the 1992 convention, went out of their
way to avoid mention of such emotionally charged topics as
abortion.
   Retired General Colin Powell struck a raw nerve with his brief
mention of support for government programs designed to help
minorities. A few voices in the hall rose in opposition, though
overall his reception was warm. And there were fears of a protest
when keynote speaker Susan Molinari, a political moderate, went
to the podium. Although the walk-out never materialized, some
delegates sat quietly in their seats and refused to join in
applause.
   In the end, conservatives and moderates in the party who are
usually at odds went along with a dictate from the Republican
leadership to focus on the areas in which they all agree.
   Indiana delegate Lloyd Coates comes from the far right wing of
the party, at odds with Colin Powell on affirmative action, and
Susan Molinari on abortion and gun control:
   "Most of the people who are here have a deep seated conviction
about some particular issue or set of issues, or the way they
feel government ought to change to reflect the values they hold."
   But he echoes the views of many delegates when he talks about
the need to subdue their political passions for the overall good
of the party:
   "I was one of six kids. If you have ever been in a family with
six kids and two parents, there are fights. And we had fights.
Vigorous fights. And after the fight is over we are still a
family. After the fight is over in the House, if the enemy comes,
that's a big spending liberal, then we all drop our fight and
beat up on the enemy until that fight is over. And then we go
back to squabbling among ourselves."
   Lloyd Coates owns his own small plastics firm. And it is worth
noting that most of the delegates who came to San Diego are not
politicians. They are businessmen, teachers, engineers, and
dozens of other professions. They are slightly better educated
than the general public, and better off financially.
   These are, by and large, the people who work in the trenches
for the party, the community activists who register voters, serve
on school boards and volunteer for campaigns. They paid their own
way to San Diego. And while their political leanings run from the
center of the political spectrum off to the far right they leave
determined to work together to elect Bob Dole.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   SAN DIEGO CONVENTION PROTEST MEDIATORS

   JOHN PITMAN
   SAN DIEGO

   Thousands of protesters descended on San Diego this (last)
week to catch some of the media attention generated by the
Republican convention. Protests are nothing new to national
conventions, and it is not at all uncommon for protesters to be
arrested, either for violence or non-violent civil disobedience.
The protests at this convention have been remarkably calm, and
police are crediting a small group of volunteers for keeping the
peace.
   In large demonstrations in San Diego, police officers have
often outnumbered the protesters. The police have been
accompanied by members of a volunteer mediation team, which has
worked to defuse situations with talk before they escalate into
violence.
   Carol Hallstrom is one of the mediators. She said many of the
demonstrations outside the convention hall have had the potential
to turn violent, especially those between protesters who support
and oppose abortion. But she said none of the protests that were
mediated escalated beyond heated words, and she described how one
especially volatile abortion march was defused:
   "The police gave us the opportunity to actually physically
intervene, using our bodies, as well as engaging the leadership
of the respective groups. (We said,) "here are some guidelines.
We will work with you to ensure that your first amendment rights
are protected. But if you proceed beyond these guidelines, then
it's going to be up to police department personnel (to disperse
you)." Everybody participated, everybody agreed and these folks
were in very close quarters with very strongly held opposing
views."
   Ms. Hallstrom added that she has been thanked for her work by
leaders on both sides of controversial issues, as well as the
police.
   The San Diego police are pleased with this experiment in
mediation, and plan to use it again in the future. A police
spokesman said the city had been prepared for violent protests,
but he added that his department only made one convention-related
arrest all week, and it had nothing to do with a protest march.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION VOLUNTEERS

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   The Republican convention, which wraps up in San Diego,
California Thursday, has provided a showcase for party luminaries
and leaders. Behind the scenes, and for the most part off camera,
there are eight thousand volunteers who help keep the event on
track and then will take the party's message back to their homes.
The volunteers include many young, dedicated Republican workers.
   When it is important to get a message to a delegate on the
floor or to escort people to their designated area, party
officials sometimes call on volunteer pages dressed in smart blue
uniform jackets and ties. These young men and women are selected
from active Republican ranks from across the nation.
   While some critics may complain about the tightly scripted
nature of the proceedings, 19-year-old Marielle Sack of
Westchester, New York thinks it is a wonderful show and she is
glad to be here:
   "I think it has been a great experience to see the energy that
is here. You really cannot capture that when you are watching it
on television, or as much of the excitement. Each speaker has
been great because they are doing their own individual thing, but
it gets tied in with the whole party message."
   Maryelle Sack has been active with young Republican groups
back home and has done volunteer work with local Republican
officials in New York. She says that while some people from her
generation may be cynical about the political process, she
believes it really does make a difference. For example, she sees
a looming national debt and high taxes as a burden for her
generation to shoulder. She has faith in Bob Dole's promise to
tackle both problems:
   "I think Bob Dole can balance the budget. He is not going to
lie to us about it and tell us it is going to happen before it
will. A plan to balance the budget is what we want, to know that
they are actually working on something like that, and definitely
the tax cuts. Taxes, if they keep going up at this rate, by the
time I have a family, it is going to be astronomical."
   But the Democrats argue that cutting taxes will increase the
deficit and, the debt burden for future generations will then
become even larger. However, Lester Ryder, a 21-year-old page
from Brevard, North Carolina, sees it differently:
   "When you cut taxes, you are allowing people to have an extra
percentage of their income to reinvest in the economy and that is
what the whole point is. If you make a 15 percent tax cut, you
are giving people 15 percent more of their income to reinvest in
their families, in taking vacations, tourism, all sorts of things
like that which they cannot do when they are paying higher
taxes."
   The pages who volunteered to come here and work on the noisy,
crowded floor of this convention all are dedicated, committed
Republicans who seldom question the party line. They see this
event as an energizing rally which will propel them back to their
hometowns across America to carry the message to others of their
generation.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION - WHAT NEXT?

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   Now that Bob Dole and Jack Kemp have accepted their party's
nomination, delegates in San Diego are charged with the
responsibility of carrying the party's message back to their
various states. Party delegates say the convention energized them
to do that.
   There was a lot of enthusiasm from the Republicans as they
wrapped up their four day convention Thursday night. And they say
their meeting this week in San Diego has given them hope that,
despite what the polls say, Bob Dole will be the next president
of the United States.
   Delegate Bill McKinney of Massachusetts say he feels better
about Mr. Dole's chances that he did a week ago:
   "Absolutely, starting from Saturday when he announced that he
was picking Jack Kemp as the running mate, everyone here is so
solid about the fact that he's going to win. I really think he's
going to pull it off now."
   An alternate delegate from Indiana, Gail McDaniel, is
confident that the past week has been a positive time which the
Republicans can translate into a victory in November:
   "I think before we all got here we were still looking for a
vision of the future and some real strong direction and focus on
how we are going to beat Bill Clinton. And if we don't go home
with that, it's not because we haven't been trying."
   Maxine Reuben has been watching the convention on television
this week. She's a Democrat from San Diego and she says in her
opinion the convention has been a nice show, but has not offered
the country many answers to its problems: OSCE rule is changed.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CHICAGO'S PAST CONVENTIONS

   MICHAEL LELAND
   CHICAGO

   This year's Democratic National Convention will be the first
such political event held in Chicago since 1968. Despite going 28
years without a major political meeting, Chicago still leads the
nation in the number of party conventions hosted. An exhibit at
Chicago's historical society takes a look past conventions held
there, and how such political gatherings have changed over the
years.
   Chicago has hosted 24 Democratic and Republican party
conventions, and just about as many conventions of other
political parties. Some reasons for this have to do with
politics. Chicago has always been a politically active city, and
the state of Illinois has been an important one in many
presidential elections. So generating enthusiasm in the state for
a presidential candidate has been a must for the political
parties.
   Chicago's choice as a convention city also has much to do with
its location in central United States. This was especially true
during the 19th century, when long-distance travel was made by
carriage or rail.
   Kathleen Zygmun is the curator of an exhibit at the Chicago
historical society called, "Parades, Protests and Politics:
Chicago's Political Conventions":
   "As you can see here on the display, there are some maps of
the railroad links and also a map of the United States from 1856
which shows how many days and sometimes weeks it would take to
get to a particular location, because transportation was so much
slower back then. So having a convention held in a central
location in the United States was advantageous to getting
delegates there in a timely manner and also a more cost-effective
manner."
   The exhibit highlights six of the major political conventions
held in Chicago, beginning with the Republican convention of 1860
which nominated Abraham Lincoln. Artifacts include not only
campaign buttons, flags and posters, but several items that
symbolize what party conventions were like years before the
carefully scripted television productions they have become today.
   Ms. Zygmun says that years ago, political conventions were
where the big decisions were made on issues important to the
party, and who the party's presidential candidate would be.
Sometimes, choosing a candidate took more than one vote of the
attending delegates. For example, in 1860, the Republicans needed
three ballots to nominate Abraham Lincoln, who today is one of
the best-known U.S. presidents:
   "He was not a frontrunner going into the convention. That was
William H. Seward from New York. He clearly had the advantage and
there were several other candidates after him (seward) before you
get to Lincoln. This table was used at the Tremont House Hotel in
the room that the Illinois Lincoln campaign manager stayed.
Supposedly in the hotel room where this table was, Lincoln's
campaign manager negotiated with several key delegation leaders
to swing their vote to Lincoln.
   At another of the conventions featured in the exhibit, in
1932, the Democratic Party had a tough time nominating Franklin
Delano Roosevelt. He went on to become the only four-term
president in U.S. history, and remains one of the most popular
American presidents. But Ms. Zygmun says getting him on the
ballot for president took a lot of work:
   "The Democratic Party through this year had required a
two-thirds vote of the delegates to nominate a candidate.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt came out of the primary elections with
a majority, but he was not able to win the nomination until the
fourth ballot after a literally all-night balloting session which
adjourned and then continued the next day."
   The 1932 Democratic convention would be the last at which a
two-thirds vote was needed to nominate a candidate. Today, a
simple majority is sufficient. The Republican Party has always
required only a simple majority for nomination.
   The 1932 Democratic meeting was the first convention at which
the nominee gave an acceptance speech. In previous conventions,
the presidential candidates rarely attended, even after they were
nominated:
   "We've got a telegram which is written to Abraham Lincoln when
he was waiting in springfield (Illinois) to hear what was going
on at the convention. It says, "for God's sake, don't come." He
obviously was very eager to find out what was going on, but the
political etiquette at the time really prescribed that the job
seek the man, the man did not seek the job."
   Other displays highlight conventions in 1896, where Democrat
William Jennings Bryan jumped from little-known candidate to
presidential nominee after delivering his "cross of gold" speech,
in which he called for the United States to adopt a bimetal
standard of silver and gold to back U.S. currency, rather than
gold alone. The 1912 Republican convention ended with a split
within the party, with supporters of Theodore Roosevelt forming
their own political party, the progressives. The 1952 conventions
in Chicago were the first to be nationally televised.
   Most Americans remember the 1968 Democratic National
Convention for the clashes between Chicago police and anti-war
protesters. Inside the convention hall, verbal clashes over
convention rules and the composition of delegations resulted in
changes being made in procedures for future party meetings.
   The television pictures of the violence during the 1968
convention is what sticks in most people's minds when they think
of Chicago and political conventions. Ms. Zygmun hopes the
historical society's exhibit will change that:
   "Chicago really has a rich history in conventions and it is a
shame to ignore the rest of it. There were a lot of other
tumultuous events that happened here besides 1968. I think a lot
of people do associate that ('68) with Chicago's convention
(history) and many people that I have spoken with seem surprised
that there was any convention besides '68."
   "Parades, Protests and Politics: Chicago's Political
Conventions" runs through January 19th, the day before the next
inauguration day:
   ---------------

   ---------------
   REPUBLICANS CHARGE CLINTON UNDERMINES U.S. CREDIBILITY ABROAD

   RALPH DANNHEISSER
   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   Republicans put the focus on foreign policy at their
presidential nominating convention August 14, charging that
President Clinton is an inept leader who has squandered
opportunities inherited from his Republican predecessors.
   The indictment of Clinton's approach to problems from Bosnia
and Somalia and Ireland to Syria and North Korea was outlined for
a prime time television audience by George Bush's secretary of
state, James Baker, and Ronald Reagan's ambassador to the United
Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick.
   Their slashing attack came as part of a tightly-packed and
polished television presentation that concluded with the formal
nominations of former senator Robert Dole as the Republican
presidential candidate to oppose Clinton, and former housing and
urban development secretary Jack Kemp as his vice presidential
running mate.
   Baker charged that Clinton has undermined U.S. credibility
with allies and adversaries alike in four years marked by "drift,
not direction" and "rhetoric, not resolve" -- most particularly
by "making empty threats of military action" in both Bosnia and
Somalia.
   "My friends, a president of the United States should never,
never, never threaten the use of force unless he is damn well
prepared to back it up by action. If you're not going to pull the
trigger, don't point the gun," Baker declared.
   And Baker charged that Clinton had allowed America's military
superiority to decay. "We need to begin building an
anti-ballistic missile system now. America must have the means
and the will to defend itself and its allies," he said.
   The former secretary of state scored Clinton as well for not
pushing for expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
charging he "would rather defer to Moscow than exercise American
leadership."
   "Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic deserve NATO
membership, and they deserve it now," Baker said.
   In Asia, he added, Clinton demonstrated to China that "his
word was meaningless" by first enunciating, then swiftly
abandoning, a hardline policy against that nation based on its
human rights record. And when the president "elected to appease
the outlaw regime in North Korea," he continued, "all Asians
learned that he was weak."
   Baker complained that Clinton administration officials had
"made over 25 trips to Damascus to pay court to Syria's dictator,
and came up with exactly zero." And the president's White House
invitation to Gerry Adams, head of the political wing of the
Irish Republican Army, brought U.S. relations with Great Britain
to the worst level in over 200 years, he said.
   Kirkpatrick was, if anything, even harsher in her assessment
of Clinton's foreign policy.
   She charged that administration miscalculations had led to the
death of American troops in Somalia and in the recent bombing of
a U.S. military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. "Again and
again...(administration officials) underestimated the danger our
forces would face and failed to provide adequate support," she
said.
   Kirkpatrick won cheers from her convention audience when she
complained that Clinton had "put American troops under United
Nations command and under United Nations rules of engagement" in
hazardous situations in Somalia, Macedonia and Haiti.
   Like Baker, Kirkpatrick accused Clinton of defaulting on vital
military preparedness. "Most serious of all, the president
opposes the development and deployment of a national missile
defense that can protect...the United States itself against
attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile," she said.
   And like Baker, she contrasted Clinton with Dole, who she
predicted would be "a reliable and prudent ally, a wise and
careful president, a strong and honorable leader."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP: KEMP-IMMIGRATION

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   Republican vice-presidential nominee-to-be (contender) Jack
Kemp addressed small business leaders at the Republican national
convention site on Wednesday, emphasizing the themes of diversity
and opportunity in America. The former New York congressman also
focused on the problem of illegal immigration.
   In an unscripted and somewhat rambling speech that lasted more
than an hour, Jack Kemp spoke passionately about the need for the
Republican Party and the nation to embrace diversity. At one
point, he gave his theme physical meaning, by going into the
audience to embrace black Oklahoma Congressman JC Watts, a friend
and strong Kemp supporter.
   Mr. Kemp said the Republican Party was once the party of
emancipation, in that its first president, Abraham Lincoln,
emancipated the slaves. Today, he said, the party needs to
emancipate citizens from over-regulation and taxation.
   Speaking to the issue of illegal immigration, which has been
especially vexing for the people of California and other states
that border Mexico, Mr. Kemp was careful in his remarks. He said
states and localities should not have to shoulder the burden
alone:
   "The federal government has been absolutely irresponsible in
failing to pick up the cost. Because if the federal government is
responsible for our borders, which it is, it then has a moral
obligation and a fiduciary obligation, a political and financial
obligation, to make sure that the cost would not be borne by the
city of San Diego or the city of Los Angeles, where I grew up, or
any other city."
   Mr. Kemp said that immigrants have benefitted the United
States but he said illegal immigrants put the whole system of
legal immigration in peril. Mr. Kemp has been critical of
proposals in California and in the U.S. Congress that would deny
social services to illegal immigrants and their families, but he
avoided mention of similar ideas contained in the Republican
platform, some of which have been approved by Bob Dole.
   Mr. Kemp said he has set aside any differences he has had in
the past with Mr. Dole and, using a reference to American
football, which he once played professionally, he said Bob Dole
would be the quarterback (leader) and that he would be the
supporting role of a blocking back.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   YOUNG REPUBLICAN CONCERNS

   JOHN PITMAN
   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   The Republican Party has taken pains at this convention to
give its younger members prominent speaking roles, and many of
these younger Republicans have painted bleak pictures of a
country in decline and in need of serious economic and moral
reform.
   On Tuesday night, Susan Molinari, who is in her mid-thirties
and has a three month old child, outlined her generation's
concerns. She said young Americans are worried about getting good
jobs and keeping them; they're worried about education for their
children and health care for their parents, and they're worried
about who will take care of them when they get old:
   "For many people my age, our dreams and our hopes, which are
no different than those of our parents, are getting more
difficult (to achieve). Those dreams are becoming more difficult
because today they're under real pressures, and they're worried."
   For Ms. Molinari and the Republicans, high taxes are the
source of much of this concern.
   In a park right outside the Republican convention, however,
the atmosphere is anything but worried. The youth pavilion is
where a number of youth groups have created a small bazaar where
young people can register to vote, get information on the
Republican Party and the political process, talk, surf the
Internet, and listen to music.
   Chris Hull, a 26-year-old spokesman for the youth pavilion,
says:
   "This is a place where kids can come and sit with elected
leaders and find out what they believe."
   But despite the brightly colored tents and blasting music,
many of these young Republicans, some of whom will be voting for
the first time this year, share the same concerns as their
party's elders, especially on economic issues.
   Some young Republicans in the youth pavilion said they
supported the party's strict stand on social issues, like
abortion. But others, like Kristin Marconi, a 17-year-old from
Kane, Pennsylvania, say they believe the party will become more
moderate in coming years:
   "More moderate Republicans are being accepted now by the more
right-wing Republicans. We're just expanding the party, making it
bigger, and accepting a broader variety of views."
   Eighteen-year-olds first earned the right to vote 26 years
ago, and today there are about 10 million Americans who are
classified as "young voters." This group has traditionally been
very conservative, supporting both presidents Ronald Reagan and
George Bush. But the tide turned slightly in 1992, when a small
majority of young people supported Bill Clinton. The Republican
Party obviously wants to win them back.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: TOBACCO

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   It used to be an adage of politics that tough decisions were
made in smoke-filled rooms. Today, however, smoking and tobacco
have become a political issue. It's an emotional issue that has
both health and constitutional implications.
   The San Diego Convention Center is smoke-free, but that does
not mean the tobacco industry's influence isn't here. Parked on
the wharf just outside the convention hall are two big pleasure
boats that take delegates on cruises in San Diego bay. They are
being rented by U.S.T., Incorporated, the country's largest maker
of smokeless tobacco products, and Philip Morris, the nation's
largest cigarette manufacturer. They are here to wine and dine a
stellar lineup of politicians vital to the industry's future
prosperity.
   The biggest nightmare for these and other tobacco interests,
and the driving force behind their lobbying activity this week,
is government regulation of the tobacco industry. The government
now requires manufacturers to print warning labels on cigarette
packaging. Also, the industry is concerned about the Clinton
Administration's proposal to regulate nicotine as a drug, which
could dampen sales and availability of tobacco products.
   Bob Dole made headlines recently for declaring that cigarettes
are not addictive. He later backed off that statement, but not
before the Clinton campaign snapped it up as a possible political
weapon, saying Mr. Dole has been bought and paid for by the
tobacco industry. Mr. Dole and the Republicans have received
three-and-a-half million dollars for their campaigns this year,
while the Democrats have been given about 500,000 dollars.
   For the Republicans, the tobacco issue is one of individual
rights. For the Democrats, it's one of health.
   Bill Althaus of the National Smokers Alliance wants some sort
of compromise. He says there needs to be a balance that
recognizes the concerns for health, but also doesn't deny the
right to smoke which he says is protected by the first amendment
of the constitution:
   "It doesn't seem to me that it makes sense to trample the
first amendment in pursuit of some vague notion that if you have
black and white ads it's going to make a difference. The issue is
families, communities, local law enforcement, if you want to stop
kids from smoking, families need to educate them. Certainly there
is enough information out there. I doubt if there's anyone on
earth unaware that there are risks to smoking. So you have
education, you have families and communities and you have the
laws on the books. So let's enforce them."
   Mr. Althaus warns both parties not to back too far away from
allowing smokers their personal rights. He notes there are
50-million adult smokers in the United States, more than enough
to elect a presidential candidate if they were registered voters.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: FOREIGN POLICY

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   At the Republican National Convention in San Diego, foreign
policy issues came to the fore Wednesday with speeches by former
United Nations ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick and former Secretary
of State James Baker. Both criticized the Clinton
Administration's overseas and defense policies.
   In her speech before the Republican convention, Jeanne
Kirkpatrick went through a list of what she characterized as
Clinton Administration mistakes around the world.
   The former U.N. ambassador under President Reagan said current
policies had allowed foreign enemies to attack U.S. citizens
without having to pay a price. She cited the specific cases of
Serbs shooting down a U.S. military plane on a routine flight
over Serbia and Cuba downing of a civilian plane in international
waters near Florida:
   "Unfortunately, Bill Clinton and his administration do not
understand how to protect and preserve American strength and
credibility. For this reason, they make threats they do not carry
out, accept promises on which they never collect, and acquiesce
in the mistreatment of American officials."
   Mrs. Kirkpatrick also criticized the Clinton Administration
for allowing U.S. forces to enter conflict zones under United
Nations command.
   In his remarks, James Baker, the former Secretary of State in
the Bush Administration, compared the leadership shown by U.S.
presidents during the cold war with what he described as the weak
approach taken by the Clinton Administration. He said this was
especially evident in Europe:
   "For 45 years we worked to liberate the brave peoples of
Central Europe. Now they are reaching out to us. But Bill Clinton
would rather defer to Moscow than exercise American leadership.
Poland, Hungary and the Czech republic deserve NATO membership,
and they deserve it now."
   He said the record in Asia is even worse, claiming Mr. Clinton
has appeased the North Korean and Chinese regimes.
   Mr. Baker and mrs Kirkpatrick also accused the Clinton
Administration of allowing U.S. military preparedness to diminish
and for denounced its opposition to an anti-ballistic missile
system that was originally proposed by the Reagan Administration.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   JC WATTS PROFILE

   DAVID SWAN
   SAN DIEGO

   Among the many Republicans speaking at this week's party
convention is Congressman JC Watts, one of the representatives
swept into office two years ago when the party took control of
the House and Senate.
   Though still in his first term in Congress, 38-year old JC
Watts is considered a rising star in the party. Like
vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp, he first became famous for
playing (American) football.
   Mr. Watts grew up and played college football in Oklahoma. He
is the first black Republican elected to Congress from any
southern state since the reconstruction period after the civil
war. Mr. Watts is also a minister of the Southern Baptist Church,
which is evident in his speaking style. At the convention Tuesday
he seemed to return to his old position as youth minister, urging
young people to live by the rules, obey their parents and not use
drugs or alcohol:
   "I know its tough, young people. That's why I'm asking you to
fight and stand and be counted as a leader in America today. You
can help."
   This focus on values and personal responsibility is a key part
of the Republican message, which the party often accuses
President Clinton of copying. Mr. Watts did not directly attack
Mr. Clinton in his address to the delegates Tuesday night. But
like other speakers who questioned the president's ethics, Mr.
Watts told his audience a person's character is important:
   "You see friends, young people, high school students, college
students, character does matter. And you know, I've got a pretty
simple definition of character. Its simply doing what's right
when nobody's looking."
   Mr. Watts is one of the few prominent blacks in a party often
accused of neglecting minorities and sometimes showing outright
hostility to their interests. He is also a leader of the
so-called "freshman class", the Republicans elected to the House
of Representatives in 1994. Though somewhat less conservative
than other freshmen, Mr. Watts rejects the idea that costly
government programs can solve social problems:
   "Compassion can't be measured in dollars and cents. It does
come with a price tag however. But that price tag isn't the
amount of money spent. The price tag is love, being able to see
people as they can be and not as they are."
   Mr. Watts is running for reelection this year. But many
observers believe he has a long career ahead, one that might take
him beyond the House of Representatives.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE IS A LEADER WHO "SHARES OUR DREAMS," MOLINARI SAYS

   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   "The unique American spirit that defied a king and challenged
a continent and conquered space still beats in the heart of every
one of us, but we must have a leader who shares our dreams," said
Representative Susan Molinari (Republican of New York) in the
keynote address of the Republican National Convention in San
Diego August 13.
   Thirty-eight year old Molinari, a symbol of the party's new
generation, said presidential hopeful Bob Dole is that leader.
   Closing the second night of convention, Molinari said that the
American dream "seems to be slipping out of reach for too many of
us," but "Bob Dole and Jack Kemp and the Republican Party can
make that dream easier to achieve again."
   She said that under President Clinton, taxes have been higher
and Medicare will soon be bankrupt. "Think about Bill Clinton. He
promises one thing and does another," Molinari said. "Have you
forgotten that Bill Clinton promised to balance the budget first
in five years, then ten, then nine, then seven -- only to veto
the first balanced budget in 25 years?"
   Molinari received a standing ovation when she closed her
address with a call for the election of a president "not just for
this generation, but for generations to come. We must choose the
better man ... and that man, we know, is Bob Dole."
   Republicans devoted the second day of their four-day
convention to listening to America on such issues as small
business, health care, welfare, crime and education; to
perceptions of the Clinton record; and to accolades for Dole --
the man they will formally nominate August 15 as their
presidential candidate.
   Among many speakers, Illinois Governor Jim Edgar said Dole's
proposed 15% tax cut will put money back in the hands of small
business owners.
   New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman said Dole "knows
where to find the answers our country seeks -- in our
neighborhoods and communities; our town halls and statehouses; in
all those places where people run their own lives."
   Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican of Texas) noted that
with Dole "character counts. His word is his bond."
   Congressman J.C. Watts (Republican of Oklahoma) said the dream
for him was to have risen to his position from a poor, rural,
black community.
   Following is the text of Molinari's keynote address:

   (begin text)

   REMARKS OF REP. SUSAN MOLINARI
   before the Republican National Convention
   Third Session - August 13, 1996

Good evening, I'm Susan Molinari and I am proud to represent a
congressional district in New York, the home of the next Vice
President of the United States -- Jack Kemp.

Last night, I called Jack for some advice on what I should say
tonight. And he gave me a few suggestions. In fact, he's STILL giving
them. I had to put him on hold just now so I could come out here and
make this speech. I'll get right back to you, Jack.

I was honored when Bob Dole asked me to give tonight's keynote speech,
and I have some good news. This speech is a lot like a Bill Clinton
promise. It won't last long and it will sound like a REPUBLICAN
talking.

I don't know about you, but I think this is one of the GREAT
conventions of all time.

Colin Powell and Nancy Reagan last night made me PROUD to be a
Republican and PROUD to be an American.

I think all of us were moved by General Powell and Mrs. Reagan because
both of them spoke to us from the heart -- each in their own way.
Tonight, I hope to do no less.

Tonight, I, too, want to talk to you about the American dream because
it seems to be slipping out of reach for too many of us. And I want to
tell America how Bob Dole and Jack Kemp and the Republican Party can
make that dream easier to achieve again.

For the Molinari family, OUR American story began in 1904, when
Guyatano and Marie Molinari bundled up their young son and left Italy
in search of a dream. They found it on 104th Street in Queens. That's
where my great-grandfather opened his barber shop, and I like to think
the red, white, and blue striped pole spinning outside his storefront
symbolized HIS American dream.

He passed on his passion for hard work, his faith in family, and his
love of his adopted country to his small son, who passed it on to my
father who passed it on to me. Along the way, the American dream got a
little bit bigger, and in just two generations, a seat in a Queens
barber shop led to a seat in the United States Congress.

Guyatano Molinari lived a simple dream. It was the same dream shared
by a generation. Find a job, marry your sweetheart, have children, buy
a home, maybe start a business. And in the process, always provide a
better life for your children.

When my husband, Bill, and I had Susan Ruby three months ago, we began
to understand those dreams. You begin to think less about how the
world IS -- and MORE about what kind of world you'll leave behind.

For many people my age, our dreams and our hopes are no different than
those of our parents, but people today are under REAL pressures, and
they are worried.

They WORRY about their jobs -- and whether they will still have them
tomorrow. They WONDER whether they can provide security for their
parents as they grow old -- and opportunity for their children as they
grow up.

They WORRY about drugs -- and violence, and every morning at the
kindergarten door, they hesitate, if only for a moment, to let go of
that small hand clinging SO tightly to theirs.

I don't know a mom today who isn't being stretched to her limit trying
to hold down a job, while trying to hold down the fort at home, too.
How many times have we said to ourselves, there just aren't enough
hours in the day, and the truth is, there aren't.

Well, Republicans can't promise you any more hours in a day, but we
can help you spend more hours at home with your family.

We know people are having trouble just staying afloat, and it's easy
to see why. Bill Clinton passed the largest tax increase in history,
and now Americans pay ALMOST 40 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR THEY earn in
taxes -- THE MOST EVER.

Every year Bill Clinton has been in office, taxes have been higher,
and family incomes have been lower.

Bob Dole and Jack Kemp have a BETTER idea -- an economic plan for
EVERY American who is working harder and taking home less.

The Dole-Kemp plan will give every working man and woman in this
country A 15% ACROSS THE BOARD TAX CUT!

It's a plan for ALL of us ....

It's a plan for a single mother with two kids in Detroit who is trying
to pay her bills and pay for childcare, too. She'll get $1000 from the
Republican's child tax credit.

It's a plan for a grandmother in St. Louis who was hit hard by Bill
Clinton's tax increase on Social Security benefits. She'll get to keep
ALL the benefits she's earned AND deserves.

And it's a plan for a young couple in Pittsburgh trying to buy their
first home. For them, it will mean lower interest rates and mortgage
payments they can AFFORD.

WE CAN DO BETTER WITH BOB DOLE AND JACK KEMP. And, THAT'S what this
convention and this election is all about.

Clearly, the American people understand we simply can't go on like we
have for the last four years. Something HAS to give or people are just
going to GIVE up.

We say, "We CAN create real opportunity for everyone with a dream."

We can do better.

Under Bill Clinton, Medicare will be bankrupt in less than five years.
But this president would rather play politics than muster the
political courage to rescue it. Republicans will SAVE Medicare and
PROTECT Social Security so people can stop worrying about their
parents' and their grandparents' health and security -- we must do
better.

We are a generous people, but when a welfare system traps millions of
children in poverty and dependency, common sense tells us that we need
change for THEIR sake.

And, I'm proud to say that because of Bob Dole and the common sense
Republican Congress, WE FINALLY ENDED WELFARE AS WE KNOW IT.

We've got to stop the EXPLOSION in drug use by our kids that we've
seen over the last three years.

We must elect a president this fall with zero tolerance for drugs in
our schools, our playgrounds, and in our workplaces. This is a fight
we CANNOT lose. We can do better. WE CAN ELECT BOB DOLE.

I got to know Bob Dole during my first term in Congress. He asked me
to work with him to stem the growing trend of crimes toward women and
children.

We worked closely together to produce legislation that gave women and
children STRONG new protections against sexual predators by closing
loopholes that let RAPISTS and CHILD MOLESTERS go free.

It seems we have ALWAYS counted on Bob Dole to do what's right for ALL
Americans -- and he's never let us down.

Now -- think about Bill Clinton. He promises ONE thing and DOES
another.

He hopes we will FORGET his broken promises.  But I ask you:

Have YOU forgotten that Bill Clinton promised a middle-class tax cut
and then passed the LARGEST tax increase in American History?

Have YOU forgotten that Bill Clinton promised common-sense health care
reform, only to impose a huge Washington-run health care system on all
of us?

And have YOU forgotten that Bill Clinton promised to balance the
budget first in FIVE years, THEN TEN, then NINE, THEN SEVEN -- only to
veto the first balanced budget in 25 years?

Americans KNOW that Bill Clinton's promises have the lifespan of a Big
Mac on Air Force One.

While that may be funny, what's NOT funny is what he is doing to the
promise of America.

Two hundred years ago, it was the promise of freedom that inspired the
first generation of Americans to found a nation.

A hundred years ago, another generation bound up the wounds of a civil
war and opened the West. Thirty years ago, this generation dreamed of
the stars and walked upon the moon.

And like those Americans who came before us, WE have the same
opportunity for greatness. OUR dreams can be JUST as big.

This November, we will elect the LAST president of this century and
the FIRST of the new millennium. WE can CHANGE the direction of our
country.

It can be a NEW day for America -- an Age of Dreams as BIG and BOLD as
any that have come before; and WE -- every one of us here and every
American across this land -- WE can be the patriots and the pioneers,
the dreamers and the doers. WE can restore the American dream ....

At the end of the day while I'm rocking Susan Ruby to sleep, I look
down and wonder what her life will be like. I want the best for her. I
want a country free from danger, a nation and a world where she is
free to believe in greatness and achieve her fullest potential.

But she will never know that life if we continue down the rudderless
path we have been on for four long years. We have a choice. We can
change the future for our children.

The unique American spirit that DEFIED a king and CHALLENGED a
continent and CONQUERED space still beats in the heart of EVERY one of
us, but we MUST have a leader who shares our dreams.

So I leave you -- with one last wish I have for MY child -- and for
EVERY child.

I want my daughter's earliest memories of our nation's leader to be of
a man who still dreams despite adversity. A man -- who dreams of peace
-- because he has known the HORRORS of war. A man -- who dreams big --
because he knows what it means to begin life with so little. A man --
who asks the best from each of us because he's NEVER given America any
less of himself.

I want my daughter to have a future that still loves heroes, where
character still matters, and America's leaders inspire and comfort us
with the courage of their vision.

There is nothing sadder than to look into the eyes of a child without
dreams and see nothing but the empty stare of lost hope. That's not MY
America and it's not Bob DOLE's America either.

On the day my great-grandfather first opened the door to his small
barber shop decades ago, HIS dream made MY dreams possible.

Each generation -- by its actions -- must open the door for the next.
We must leave behind a legacy of hope and opportunity.

So, this November, let us look deep into the eyes of our children and
listen hard to the still small voice that lies within each of us --
for we must elect a president not just for THIS generation, but for
generations to come.

We must choose the better man -- for a better America -- and that man,
we know, is Bob Dole.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GINGRICH:  COMPASSION MEASURED BY GOOD WORKS, NOT TAX DOLLARS

   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   "True compassion is measured by our own good works, not by how
many tax dollars we spend to support a failed federal
bureaucracy," says Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
   Addressing the Republican National Convention in San Diego
August 13, Gingrich said, "We've learned that the only way to
truly help people is to empower them to help themselves."

   Following is the text of Gingrich's remarks:

   (begin text)

   REMARKS OF REP. NEWT GINGRICH
   before the Republican National Convention
   Third Session - August 13, 1996

Thank you all very much.  We share a common dream.

Thirty-three years ago, the greatest Georgian of the 20th Century, Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. stood before the Lincoln Memorial and
declared, "I have a dream." On that day, he outlined a vision of
America as a better nation -- a nation of freedom, compassion, and
charity for all.

Tonight, I'd like us to reflect on that vision. Because in every
respect, our philosophy represents the most compassionate, charitable,
and hopeful vision for America today.

We, too, have a dream. Our dream is of a Monday morning when we wake
up and not a single child has been harmed in America.

A Monday morning when it is easy to find a job, or create a job, and
your own government doesn't punish you for trying.

A Monday morning when working Americans keep enough of the money they
earn so that they have the resources to be better parents, better
neighbors, and better volunteers.

A Monday morning when every child in America goes to an effective
school that works. And lives in a neighborhood that is safe, free of
drugs, violence, and crime.

My friends, we can realize this dream. And the power to make it happen
lies within each of us. It is the spirit that helped create America.
The spirit that compels us, when we face a problem, to solve it.

When we find an opportunity, to seize it. And when we see a person in
trouble, to offer a helping hand-up, not merely a hand-out. True
compassion is measured by our own good works, not by how many tax
dollars we spend to support a failed federal bureaucracy. We've
learned that the only way to truly help people is to empower them to
help themselves. Progress with humans comes slowly, one person or one
family at a time. It requires a personal relationship that no
impersonal government bureaucracy can ever deliver.

The solutions are found in our own neighborhoods -- in the courageous
struggles of everyday heroes and heroines. Remarkable Americans, like
Jennifer Arnold of Alpharetta, Georgia. After being diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis, Jennifer established a private, volunteer charity
called Canine Assistants. Her organization rescues dogs from shelters
and trains them to be the legs for those who cannot walk and the arms
for those who cannot reach.

It is the ultimate example of helping others help themselves. As one
disabled child, when naming his dog, said, "I will name him `Freedom'
because freedom is what he will mean for me." It is a tremendous honor
to have Jennifer here with us tonight, along with her canine
assistant, Nicholas.

In San Diego, we are helping build two Habitat for Humanity houses.
It's an experience that teaches you first-hand about the real spirit
of America, as you see volunteers of all backgrounds labor alongside
families to build their homes. Last week, I worked beside Michelle
Bell, a single mother of two, who summed up the essence of truly
helping others when she said, "With the help of these people, I've
built this home and learned how to take care of it. It gives me a
place to build my life."

In New Jersey, Reverend Lee Schmookler runs one of the state's most
successful private shelters. When describing the rescue mission, which
once saved him from suicide, he says, "At that mission I found people
who loved me and accepted me. I wasn't a client for which they were
being paid. I was a life worthy of love." That is as powerful a
statement as you will ever hear about the value of private and
volunteer efforts to this country.

And it goes to the very soul of America. As Tocqueville wrote, "The
genius of America is to be found in its voluntary organizations, its
houses of worship, and in the hearts of individual Americans."

This is the very spirit of America, the spirit that has made this the
free-est, the fairest, the most generous nation on the face of the
earth.

As we move into the fall and beyond, let's vow to remember the
principles we are fighting for.

This is not about power or glory or political games.

This is about the kind of country we want for our children and our
grandchildren.

With your work and commitment, and under the heroic leadership of
President Bob Dole, we are going to build a better tomorrow for all
Americans. And with your courage, we are going to secure the future
for freedom -- because that's what America is all about.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   HISPANIC AMERICANS A GROWING FACTOR IN U.S. ELECTIONS

   STUART GORIN
   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   The past two decades have seen a 20 percent increase every
presidential election year in both voter registration and votes
cast by Hispanic Americans, says the head of the country's
largest ethnic voting rights organization.
   The Hispanic vote will be an important factor in the 1996
election at both the national and state level, Antonio Gonzalez,
head of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, told
international journalists attending the Republican National
Convention Aug. 13.
   In 1996, he said, there are 6.5 million registered Hispanic
voters in the United States -- compared to 5 million in 1992 --
with 90 percent of them concentrated in nine states: Arizona,
California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York and Texas.
   Gonzalez also said figures that seem to indicate low voter
turnout among Hispanics in the United States are misleading
because they compare percentages of those who cast ballots with
total numbers in the voting age population. That is misleading,
he said, because nearly half of the Hispanics in the United
States are not U.S. citizens.
   The numbers are changing as more and more immigrants obtain
citizenship, but to obtain comparable voting statistics the
numbers for non-citizens must be taken out, Gonzalez added.
   Noting that there is a lot of "immigrant bashing" going on in
the United States, especially in the Republican Party, Gonzalez
said that within the Hispanic community, there is a perception
that "anti-immigrant means anti-Hispanic."
   There is a backlash of anger among immigrants, both legal and
illegal, over policies that adversely affect them, and "there is
a lot of organizing going on" to try to counter efforts such as
welfare reform changes, Gonzalez said.
   He said it would be a challenge for the Republicans to
overcome this backlash, but Bob Dole's selection of Jack Kemp as
his running mate would help because the former Housing and Urban
Development secretary "is a friend" on the issue of immigration.
Still, he said, "the question is not yet decided."
   Referring to immigrants as "the backbone of our economy,"
Gonzalez said they are unfairly blamed for some of the country's
economic woes but they work very hard at jobs that most Americans
do not want. The future of the United States, he said, "is tied
closely to Mexico and the Pacific Rim, and we must build on those
strengths to guarantee survival."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: WYOMING

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   While the Republican convention is taking place in San Diego,
President Clinton is vacationing in the town of Jackson hole,
Wyoming. That is just fine with one group of GOP delegates.
   It may be small. But what the Wyoming delegation lacks in
size, it makes up for in enthusiasm.
   Judy Catchpole walks around the convention hall with a whistle
around her neck. When others are cheering and yelling she adds
her own noise to the din in the hall:
   "There are wonderful people here. And when you are with
wonderful people who share your joy for life and commitment to do
good things, it is a great place to be. And I feel sorry for the
folks back home that can only watch it because there is an
electricity in the air. It is exciting."
   The Wyoming delegation is probably the most energetic bunch in
the hall, not adverse to standing on chairs and dancing in the
aisles. After all, they represent the most Republican state in
the nation.
   It is a state of blue skies and mountains that seem to melt
into the clouds. The people of Wyoming see themselves as the
descendants of the original pioneers that settled the west. They
speak of family pride, self-sufficiency and small government. And
Wyoming delegate Becky Constantino says it is not surprising that
they got some of the best seats in the convention hall:
   "Wyoming is a great state. Wyoming has an all-Republican
congressional delegation. All seven of the top elected officials
in the state are Republicans. And we have the best, most die-hard
(dedicated) Republicans anywhere. And that is why we are down (in
the) front."
   Wyoming is also one of President Clinton's favorite states.
For the second year in a row, he is vacationing in the resort
town of Jackson Hole. That is just fine with Judy Catchpole. She
toys with the cord holding the whistle around her neck as she
composes a message to the vacation White House:
   "We are pleased to have President Clinton in the state of
Wyoming vacationing... Because that means he's not in Washington
D.C. Governing."
   The chairman of the Wyoming delegation, Wally Ulrich, is a
resident of Jackson Hole. He offers a bit of investment advice to
President Clinton:
   "Well, he might want to look up some of the realtors there. In
fact, my stepdaughter is a realtor there, and (Clinton should)
find a house there because after what I have seen at this
convention, he is probably going to need a place to stay and it
won't be the White House."
   President Clinton probably will not return to Wyoming during
the election campaign. And no doubt, his campaign organizers put
the state in the Republican column long ago. They think it is a
nice place to visit, but they wouldn't want to live there.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON'S BOOK TO BE RELEASED NEXT WEEK

   DEBORAH TATE
   JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING

   President Clinton has written a book outlining his vision of
the future. It is to be in American bookstores next week, just
days before the start of the democratic national convention in
Chicago. But White House aides are insisting the book is not a
campaign document.
   One of the best-kept secrets in leak-prone Washington is no
longer.
   The president of the United States had been writing a book
this year, and the White House press corps never knew, until now,
with the announcement by the publisher, Times Books, a division
of Random House.
   The book is entitled "Between Hope and History: Meeting
America's Challenges for the 21st Century."
   President Clinton, riding horseback at his vacation ranch,
stopped to talk to reporters early Wednesday evening to discuss
the book:
   "It's basically my philosophy about where America is, and
where I think it ought to go. It's not an exclusive list of all
the things I intend to do, but it makes the argument about why I
think the direction we are going is right, why we are better off
than we were, and what I hope we will do."
   The book talks about opportunity, responsibility and
community. Those just happen to be the themes of the Democratic
National Convention, which opens later this month in Chicago.
   The book also just happens to go on sale next Wednesday, five
days before the convention opens.
   Although the content and the timing of the book make it appear
to be a campaign document, White House aides insist it is not.
   Aides say the president will not be receiving money for the
book. The federal election commission has rules about incumbent
presidents making money by writing books. The publisher says Mr.
Clinton has followed FEC rules.
   The president will not go a book tour, but aides say he may do
selected media interviews about the work.
   Mr. Clinton wrote the book with the assistance of William
Nothdurft, an independent policy consultant who helped Vice
President Al Gore write a book earlier in the administration.
   According to White House aides, Mr. Nothdurft conducted
conversations with the president late last year and used his
speeches to produce a first draft of the book. Mr. Clinton then
reworked the draft to put it in his own voice.
   The president says he finished it just last weekend, during
the first two days of his vacation in Jackson Hole.
   It is not the first book by Mr. Clinton. In 1992, when he was
governor of Arkansas, he co-authored a book with then-Senator Al
Gore, titled "Putting People First." That book was released in
time for Mr. Clinton's first campaign for president.
   During his appearance before reporters, Mr. Clinton was also
asked about the decision by his Republican challenger Bob Dole to
name former housing Secretary Jack Kemp his vice presidential
running mate:
   "I am going to leave them alone. Let them have their
convention. I like Al Gore, that's my comment. He is the best
vice president in history."
   Mr. Clinton has avoided talking about the Republican
convention taking place in San Diego, California this week,
leaving that to his campaign officials there.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   MEXICO MONITORS U.S. CAMPAIGN

   BILL RODGERS
   SAN JOSE

   As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up, Mexico is closely
watching the speeches, conventions, and other activities of the
major U.S. political parties and presidential candidates. U.S.
immigration policy is one of the main issues Mexicans are
concerned about.
   Immigration is the hot issue for most Mexicans, and they will
be watching the major presidential candidates closely to hear
what they have to say about the subject. Immigration to the
United States, especially illegal immigration, has been a
traditional safety valve for Mexico, where poverty affects more
than half the country's 93-million people.
   Yet the problem of how to deal with illegal immigration to the
United States has become an important U.S. election campaign
issue this year, especially for the conservative wing of the
Republican Party. The party's campaign platform approved at the
Republican convention in San Diego calls for denying automatic
U.S. citizenship for children born on U.S. soil to parents living
in the United States illegally. It also calls for denying
government services to illegal immigrants, except in emergency
cases, and it urges the official recognition of English as the
common language of the United States.
   Barbara Driscoll, a political scientist at the national
autonomous university in Mexico City, believes these proposals
will not be welcome in Mexico. Ms. Driscoll says Mexicans already
are alarmed by what they view as anti-immigrant rhetoric coming
from U.S. politicians:
   "People in the United States tend to think that U.S. politics
does not affect people outside the united states, but it does,
and it can very directly. While the Clinton Administration has
been very careful to hedge its bets in terms of Mexico, some of
the rhetoric that has come out of the really conservative part of
the Republican party, here I am referring to Pat Buchanan and
some of the social conservatives, is very alarming to people in
Mexico."
   This concern began to grow in 1994, when voters in the state
of California approved an initiative that denied public services,
such as education and medical care, to illegal immigrants. The
passage of proposition-187 created fears in Mexico that similar
punitive laws would be approved by other American border states.
   More recently, the videotaped beating of several illegal
Mexican immigrants by two California police officers last April
also caused anger and dismay in Mexico. The widely-publicized
incident heightened Mexican concerns over the way U.S.
authorities were trying to enforce immigration laws to stop the
flow of illegal immigrants.
   Mexico's concerns over the immigration issue are not likely to
go away after the U.S. election is over in November. Professor
Driscoll, who is a specialist on US/Mexican relations, predicts
Mexicans will continue to emigrate illegally to the United States
as long as there is a widespread disparity in wages and living
standards between the two nations. She believes this will force
Americans to find a new way of dealing with Mexican immigrants:
   "The immigrants that have come to the U.S. in the last
20-years represent a new challenge for the United States and for
Americans in general. It does not mean that the United States as
a society cannot come to terms with these groups. What is
important is for people to continue discussing it and trying to
find ways to establish bridges between those communities and to
depoliticize some of the issues associated with immigrants:
Culture, language, education, that sort of thing. Not that they
should not be discussed, but if you politicize them to the point
where people do not really see what is happening, then it is very
difficult to engage in productive dialogue."
   But productive dialogue on controversial issues usually is a
rare commodity in a U.S. election year. Mexico will have to wait
until the election is completed, and the victors declared, before
it can determine how and in what direction U.S. immigration
policy will develop.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   U.N. SPOKESMAN CRITICIZES STATEMENTS MADE AT GOP CONVENTION

   JOE CHAPMAN
   NEW YORK

   The chief spokesperson for the United Nations Wednesday
criticized some positions being taken by the Republican party at
its national convention in San Diego, California.
   Sylvana Foa, the chief spokesperson for the United Nations,
suggests the Republican Party position on the United Nations is
not only ill-informed, but intended to appeal to people already
prejudiced against the international organization:
   "What came out in some of these statements and in the foreign
policy platform, sort of showed a really sad amount of people
being ill informed about how the U.N. works. I think it's
worrying that a party that would seek to lead America would be so
ill-informed about how the United Nations actually functions and
how soldiers are committed to peacekeeping operations."
   Ms. Foa referred obliquely to the political debate about a
U.S. soldier who was disciplined for refusing to serve with a
united nation peacekeeping force. The dispute is an internal
matter for the United States, she suggested, adding that the
choice about sending troops is entirely up to the United States:
   "Everyone in this room is aware that no country commits
soldiers to a peacekeeping operation if they don't want to. And
the United States can veto any peacekeeping operation and even if
it votes for it, it doesn't have to send soldiers to fight in
that peacekeeping operation."
   Ms. Foa is an American who has worked since the 1960s as a
correspondent in the United States and many other countries. she
says she is concerned about what she sees as entirely spurious,
largely irrelevant, issues in the Republican positions, known as
planks in its platform:
   "I don't know, there were things in there that really bothered
me. About the parks. I mean the U.N. is not trying to take over
America's parks. We simply give plaques and awards for what great
parks you have. That doesn't mean we're now expressing our
sovereignty over your parks. The U.N. is not trying to take over
the IRS. And impose a global tax."
   Ms. Foa was bipartisan in her criticism, noting the opposition
to secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali by the Clinton
Administration. She says Mr. Boutros-Ghali simply serves as a
magnet for almost any kind of criticism, and mockingly referred
to a mythical position description for his job:
   "In the fine print, it says you will serve as a scapegoat for
any member state that needs a scapegoat, needs something to blame
the problems of the world on. You will take on all the problems
of the world we can't resolve. And you will get blamed when you
don't resolve them even though we don't give you the resources to
resolve them."
   Ms. Foa says she is concerned about whether the Republicans
are trying to appeal to a well-informed electorate, or simply
pander to those whom she terms "already paranoid" about the
United Nations.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DEMOCRATS AT GOP CONVENTION

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   San Diego, California has been invaded by tens of thousands of
Republicans, who are attending their presidential nominating
convention. Buta few high-profile Democrats are also on hand to
give their spin on events and issues.
   Here at the convention center, hallways are crowded with
famous Republican figures, who make the rounds with news
organizations to comment on the proceedings. But there are also a
few well-known Democrats here, providing an alternative view.
   White House advisor George Stephanopoulos has been paying
calls to news organizations who have operations inside the
convention hall. He says it really is not all that unusual for
officials from one party to visit the convention of another
party:
   "It is a good tradition. We are just trying to get the facts
out. We will respect their convention. We are not going to walk
on their floor, but we are going to participate in interviews."
   One of the main points the White House advisor seeks to make
in interviews at this event is the relatively good shape of the
American economy under Bill Clinton's presidency and the need to
continue policies that are working:
   "We now have the lowest unemployment and the lowest inflation
in 30 years. We have had economic growth and we are proud of our
record. Their criticism falls on deaf ears when you set it up
against our record."
   Asked about the rousing speech given by former army General
Colin Powell at the GOP convention Monday night, Mr
Stephanopoulos said he was also very impressed. But he said the
Powell appearance highlighted the differences between his ideas
and those of the majority of Republican delegates on such issues
as abortion, immigration and affirmative action:
   "It was a good speech. There were a lot of things I agreed
with. Just strike the word Republican a few times and there is
nothing we could disagree with. The irony of Colin Powell's
appearance is that the convention that applauded him would have
never nominated him."
   Also on hand is one of the leading liberal Democrats, Senator
Christopher Dodd, the Democratic National Committee chairman. He
focused on the discrepancies between the views of Bob Dole and
Jack Kemp compared to those found in the GOP platform:
   "The nominee for the presidency has not even read the platform
and does not intend to. Now, I do not agree with the Christian
Coalition and these hard right people who wrote this platform,
but I want to tell you, if my president said that he was not even
going to read the platform written by people who claim to support
his candidacy, I would be irate."
   As for his own party, Senator Dodd said there is unprecedented
unity behind President Clinton this year. He said even the
president's intention to sign the recent welfare reform bill will
not, in his opinion, produce a clash when the Democrats hold
their convention in Chicago later this month.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FORBES PLEDGES TO PROMOTE DOLE/KEMP TAX CUTS

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   Former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes has
expressed enthusiasm for the Dole-Kemp ticket and has pledged to
work with the party to promote tax cuts. Mr Forbes also says is
open to serving in a Dole administration.
   Speaking to a luncheon group Tuesday, Steve Forbes said he
would not actively seek a cabinet post if Mr. Dole is elected,
but he is receptive to being asked:
   "I am not going to be sending in resumes or job applications
or banging on the door. If it comes to pass, fine, if it does
not, fine."
   Mr. Forbes said he thought he would be more effective outside
the government as an advocate for tax reform:
   "Often times in this open country of ours, you can have more
impact on policy working out in the field, doing what the
marxists call "agit prop," (agitation propraganda) working with
people, getting ideas across, molding public opinion, so that we
can move forward."
   Steve Forbes expressed enthusiastic approval of Mr. Dole's
choice of Jack Kemp as a running mate. Both Mr. Kemp and the
billionaire magazine publisher advocate tax cuts to stimulate the
economy. They call for eventual elimination of the current tax
code, in favor of a simplified approach called a "flat tax."
   As for charges made by Democrats that Jack Kemp is an
extremist on such issues, Mr. Forbes bristled:
   "Boy, that is a real extremist, Jack Kemp. You give him two
minutes on a platform, this bubbling, enthusiastic, dynamic,
forward-looking individual is the antithesis, the exact opposite,
of a gimlet-eyed, hateful extremist. But, in their (critics')
eyes, the idea that somebody can be articulate about letting the
American people free from the burdens of government, from too
high taxes and from having real opportunity, boy that is
extreme."
   Mr. Forbes said Clinton Administration policies are preventing
a surge in economic growth and taking money out of average family
incomes in the form of high taxes. He said if Republicans can get
this message across in the weeks ahead, they will win back the
White House.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: GAY RIGHTS - LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   The Republican Party platform states an unalterable opposition
to extending antidiscrimination laws to include homosexual men
and women. Their support for the Republican ticket this November
is neither expected nor sought. There is one homosexual
organization whose support is being encouraged by Bob Dole.
   Outside the convention hall where the Republicans are meeting,
a group of about 100 protesters and on-lookers are telling why
they will never support Bob Dole. Their speeches deride what they
call a mean-spirited Republican platform and what they believe is
a conservative movement to deny their civil rights.
   Russell Roybal is with the homosexual rights organization
sponsoring this rally. He says he fears a Republican victory this
year would reverse advances that have been hard won:
   "Well I think the Clinton Administration has taken some
significant steps, but I think it's far from our perfect world.
Definitely the GOP (the Republican Party) and the things that are
going on across the street today, they're masquerading as the
party of moderates when, in fact, we know they are the party of
hate, basically. They don't want people like us to exist."
   There is another group of homosexuals who are very much a part
of the Republican Party. They are the Log Cabin Republicans.
Their mission, as they state in their literature, is to educate
the Republican Party about the concerns and issues of the
homosexual community.
   Rich Tafel is the executive director of the Log Cabin
Republicans. He says to build trust within the party, his
organization is working within the party:
   "If we didn't exist, the only image you'd have of the gay
issue are liberal gay protestors versus the Republican Party, and
that's a losing proposition for the advancement of, in my
opinion, gay people. It has to happen within."
   Mr. Tafel says four years ago at the Republican convention in
Houston, anti-homosexual bias was rampant. His group's job this
year, he says, is to insure there isn't a repeat. In a sense, the
first victory in that battle has been won. Bob Dole on Monday
asked for the group's endorsement.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP ABORTION DEBATE

   JOHN PITMAN
   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   The abortion debate within the Republican Party did not end
with the drafting of the party's platform. Delegates who oppose
abortion succeeded in keeping strict anti-abortion language in
the party's platform. But supporters of abortion rights maintain
their view represents the majority view not only in the
Republican party, but in the whole country. Both sides are
holding rallies in San Diego, and vow to keep the issue in the
headlines until the election in November.
   About 300 anti-abortion activists, many of whom are also
delegates to the Republican convention, stood and sang a pro-life
song Tuesday at a luncheon sponsored by the Republican nAtional
Coalition for Life.
   The activists came to be entertained, this was, after all, a
party to celebrate the victory in the platform committee. But
they also came to hear from the leadership of the pro-life
movement: Men like Ralph Reed, of the Christian Coalition, and
Pat Buchanan, who has made opposition to abortion a cornerstone
of two presidential campaigns.
   Mr. Buchanan opened his remarks with a veiled threat to the
Republican Party:
   "If ever a political party ceases to be a pro-life party, it
ceases to be our party..."
   Many of the people at the rally, like Floyd Brown, a
Republican delegate from Washington state, said they, too, would
leave the Republican Party if it ever abandons its commitment to
anti-abortion causes:
   "I think the most important thing a party needs to have is
principles. And when they walk away from principle, they walk
away from me and thousands of others who believe in protecting
the lives of the unborn."
   These activists oppose more than abortion, which one said is
nothing less than "murder". They also oppose government funding
for family planning organizations, as well as United Nations
population programs.
   Across town on Tuesday, the National Organization for Women
(NOW) sponsored its own rally to promote abortion rights.
Patricia Ireland, the president of "NOW", referred to pro-life
Republicans as "extremists" who had taken over the Republican
party. And she said the abortion debate is no longer only about
abortion:
   "We must be strong. We must be vigilant. We must persevere in
our fight to preserve birth control and abortion. And we must
also work for the right to have and raise our families. And that
means child care, health care, and jobs that pay a living wage."
   The pro-choice rally also attracted some Republican delegates
who support abortion rights. Kenneth Ray is a delegate from
Temecula, California. He says policies aimed at limiting abortion
run counter to other Republican goals like reducing the budget
deficit:
   "What do these religious right fanatics think we're going to
do with one-point-five million unwanted babies at the same time
we're pursuing welfare reform?"
   There is one thing activists on both sides of the issue can
agree on. It will take years, if ever, for the country to settle
the debate.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FORMER RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER KOZYREV AT GOP CONVENTION

   NICK SIMEONE
   SAN DIEGO

   Perhaps travelling farther than anyone else to attend San
Diego's Republican convention is former Russian foreign minister
Andrei Kozyrev. He turned up at a session Tuesday where several
former Republican secretaries of state critiqued the Clinton
adminstration's record on foreign policy.
   Andrei Kozyrev is attending the Republican as well as the
Democratic convention later this month and admits to having warm
relations with members of both parties. But on arms control, the
man who was viewed by many in Moscow as too close to the west
credits Republicans for what he calls the greatest achievement in
Russian-American relations:
   "President Bush and President Yeltsin did sign the start two
treaty which is a major arms control or even disarmament issue.
And I should report to you that by now, the Russian nuclear
arsenal, American also, are cut by 50 percent."
   Still, the former Russian foreign minister would not be drawn
out on whether he would prefer to see a Republican or a Democrat
in the White House.
   Some observers here consider it ironic that Mr. Kozyrev is
attending a convention that is full of tributes to Ronald Reagan,
a president who once referred to the former Soviet Union as an
evil empire and called on Moscow to tear down the Berlin Wall.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: CHRISTIAN RIGHT

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   Fundamentalist Christians have been in the center of
Republican Party policy planning this year. They have succeeded
in having their concerns about a number of social issues included
in the party's platform. But there are some Christian activists
who feel the party has betrayed them.
   Abortion was the most divisive issue for Republicans coming
into this convention. But the conflict was defused before the
first speech and it was resolved in favor of the pro-life
Christian right. Christian Coalition chief Ralph Reed succeeded
in keeping the platform strongly anti-abortion, even when Bob
Dole wanted an official party statement indicating the
Republicans could accommodate other points of view.
   Now that the convention has begun, the party platform has
little meaning unless Mr. Dole carries through on its promises.
And to be more inclusive, Mr. Dole and his advisors have
indicated that, when asked about abortion on the campaign trail,
they will talk about an openness to different opinions on the
issue. Rejecting the official party line that allows no wavering
on the abortion question has some Republicans on the religious
right outraged.
   The Christian Action Network is one of those organizations.
The group's Martin Moyer says some party leaders are trying to
fool the public:
   "Some of the individuals that Bob Dole has surrounded himself
with, in an effort to downplay how important the pro-life issue
is to this party, are in one sense almost deceiving the American
public as to where the party stands on this. This is quickly
becoming a party without conviction, without truths, and a party
that is meaningless because it wants not to take a stand on any
of these issues."
   For that reason, Mr. Moyer says his organization cannot
endorse Bob Dole. Four years ago, the loss to Bill Clinton was
blamed, in part, on extremists, including religious extremists.
But Mr. Moyer says that's not true. He says it is a mistake for
the party to waver in its support of religious fundamentalism:
   "This will be a test, because there is no religious extremist
side this time that's visible in this campaign. So when they
lose, they're not going to be able to come back this time and say
it is your fault."
   Mr. Moyer says he is not alone, he says many Christian
fundamentalists will chose not to vote at all this year rather
than compromise their principles. And if Bob Dole loses in
November, he says, four years from now Christian fundamentalists
will have a greater place at the bargaining table.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   BLACK REPUBLICANS

   NEAL LAVON
   SAN DIEGO

   Fewer than three-percent of the 1,990 delegates to the 36th
Republican National Convention in San Diego are African
Americans. But the 52 black delegates are making their presence
felt and are proud to claim they are members of the Grand Old
Party.
   Ron freeman is a Republican delegate from the Midwestern state
of Missouri. He is a tall, athletically built man who used to
work in urban renewal projects. He says he is drawn to the
Republican party because of his belief personal freedom should
not be bestowed by government, and because of the historic role
the party played in the liberation of African Americans from
slavery in the nineteenth century:
   "The Republican Party has been the party of the emancipation.
It has been the party that has worked to see blacks established
as free people. And you look at the Democratic Party's
initiatives to get a contrast. Democratic initiatives have always
said that if you are a black man, your success is going to be
dependent upon your connection with government. And when you look
at the Frederick Douglasses of the world, you look at the Martin
Luther Kings, and you look at the Harriet Tubmans, great
Americans throughout the history of this nation have not been
lifted up by government edict, but they have been lifted up by a
drive that is internal, that says I am committed to building and
developing a future for myself and my family."
   Another African-American delegate, Jacqueline Fleming from
Maryland, says her experience in the black community in that
eastern state indicates that a message of economic reform could
find some willing converts:
   "From my experience with Afro-American economic reforms, they
welcome reforms, they want better education reforms, Republicans
can put those in their reforms and their plank."
   But polls show African Americans strongly support the
Democrats and President Bill Clinton, who got 85-percent of black
votes in 1992. Only five-percent of African-Americans voted
Republican in the last election and independent candidate Ross
Perot outpolled the Republicans in the black community, receiving
seven-percent of the votes.
   Professor of politics and government at the University of
Maryland and one of the nation's top experts on African American
politics, Ron Walters, says there will always be black
Republicans, but the party's increasingly conservative philosophy
may limit their numbers:
   "Well, there always will be some blacks inside the Republican
Party, if for no other reason than tradition and history. I also
think that as the incomes in the African-American community rise,
as they accept more business responsibility, then I think you
will have a class of people who will be attracted to Republican
policies. The problem, I think, for the Republicans right now
that the party faces, is that you have an ideological schism and
to the extent that the Republican party becomes far more
conservative, then of course, it loses the opportunity to expand
its base, not only in the black community, but in the white
community as well."
   Monday, Colin Powell, the black American who is one of the
most admired people in the country, addressed the Republican
convention and received a rousing reception. Ron Walters says the
former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, may now be the
leader of the progressive wing of the party and is a man whose
personal and political popularity brings strength to the
moderates.
   Mr. Walters believes if General Powell would be on the
Republican ticket this year, he might pull 15-percent of the
African-American vote, in effect, tripling the Republican share
of the black electorate.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: THE INTERNET

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   The Republican Party convention marks the beginning of a new
era. It is the first political convention of the information age.
Computer technology is connecting millions of people around the
world to events in San Diego, California.
   There is change in the air at the convention hall, for this is
a convention in cyberspace. All you need to join the action in
San Diego is a computer, a modem and access to the information
superhighway.
   You can link with web sites set up by news organizations,
private organizations, and election campaigns. There is even an
Internet service run by a cable television network best known for
broadcasting rock music videos, MTV.
   Michael Alex is a spokesman for MTV's home page:
   "The Internet is a medium that exists around the world. It is
now a fact in people's lives and now in 1996 it has real value.
It is no longer a curiosity. And this is not a curiosity. It is
another medium that people use to get information out, like
radio, like television, like print."
   The Internet is part of an ongoing MTV project called Choose
or Lose. It is designed to link young voters with the political
process:
   "The Internet is very much a young persons' medium. Young
people are at least as facile with computers and as skilled at
producing this material as are their elders, or people over the
age of 30 or 40. So this is certainly a medium in which young
people have as much to say and as much control as, if not more
than, their elders do."
   Don't tell that to Mary Mostart. She is almost 70. The former
journalist is now immersed in a second career as the Internet
editor for a radio talk show:
   "It's a whole new world for talk radio."
   Her boss is Michael Reagan, son of former President Ronald
Reagan, who has made the Internet a big part of his nationally
syndicated program.
   Michael Reagan says two to three thousand listeners a day
visit his site on the Internet. Some dial in for information,
others to share comments that are read during the broadcast. MTV
estimates hundreds of thousands of people have logged on to its
home page. Add up all the computer networks that deal with
politics,and the number of visits is in the millions. And MTV's
Michae Lalex leaves no doubt, this is only the beginning:
   "In the future, yes, politics will always be considering the
Internet."
   At the Republican convention, organizers have established a
room called "Internet alley." It is one of the busiest spots in
the building, filled with people trying out various computer
networks, searching for the latest information. It is hard to
believe that two years ago, the Internet was in its infancy. And
the notion of a convention in cyberspace seemed unthinkable.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   RETURN OF THE YIPPEE

   JOHN PITMAN
   SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

   Twenty-eight years ago, at the height of the Vietnam War, two
young anti-war protesters formed a group called The Yippees,
which helped stage large demonstrations at the Democratic
Convention in Chicago. Those protests turned violent, and during
the next two decades the Yippees and their founders, Abbey
Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, became marginalized voices of dissent
from the left. The last place you might expect a Yippee to turn
up in 1996 is the Republican convention.
   One Yippee calls himself "Wild bill". He spends most of his
time standing outside the San Diego Convention Center heckling
Republican delegates as they arrive:
   "Yippee! Yippee! Yippee! Flat Tax! Flat Tax! Flat Tax!"
   "Wild Bill" says he joined the Chicago Yippees in 1968, after
serving in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and turning against the war.
He flew to San Diego just for this convention, and says his group
also plans a massive rally at this year's Democratic Convention
in Chicago.
   But the war in Vietnam has been over for more than 20-years.
What do the Yippies stand for today?:
   "Of course, the war in Vietnam has ended, so the new theme for
our march in Chicago is stop the war on the people, because we
believe there is a war on people in this country. If you are poor
and homeless, if you are a woman who needs an abortion and you
are afraid you might get killed going to a clinic. Or if you are
a young person born into this new welfare program and your mom
can not find a job and you are kicked off welfare, we consider
that a war on people."
   "Wild Bill" is a full-time protester. He is a short, round man
with a full beard, a denim vest, and a straw cowboy hat wrapped
with a red-white-and-blue bandanna. He says he has not been
satisfied with either the Democrats or the Republicans since the
1960's:
   "You know, we are for nobody for president. We believe the
people should take over the government."
   Pitman: How would that work? What kind of government do you
envision?
   Wild bill: Well, it would be a rotating presidency. You know,
every year, if the guy or the woman was not doing a good job, we
would hold another election real quick and get somebody else in
there. And we would paint the White House all different colors.
   So the Yippees live on, at least one of them who has not given
up on the idea the slogan "power to the people" has meaning.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   RENGEL SAYS DOLE/KEMP WERE ONCE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ADVOCATES

   NELSON BROWN
   NEW ORLEANS, LA

   A black member of the U.S. Congress says the Republican
convention's expected nomination of Robert Dole and Jack Kemp is
hypocritical in respect to civil rights.
   In an address to the Urban League Tuesday, Rep. Charles Rangel
said the campaign rhetoric adopted by presumed presidential
nominee Robert Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp does not match
the candidates' civil rights records in Congress.
   The Democratic lawmaker from New York City said the two
candidates were once among the strongest advocates of affirmative
action and other progressive civil rights policies.
   Vice-presidential candidate Kemp has recently embraced Mr.
Dole's opposition to affirmative action, a policy designed to
offset past discrimination in employment and education.
   Mr. Rangel accused both men of abandoning their own principles
to embrace Republican Party conservatism:
   "These are the people who understand that all Americans didn't
start off with the same footing, that we should have an even
playing field. But if you take a look at that (the Republican)
convention, you would find out they are reading from a script."
   Mr. Rangel said the script was written by House speaker Newt
Gingrich, the Christian Coalition and what he called the
right-wing of he Republican Party.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FORD SAYS DOLE EVEN MORE QUALIFIED TODAY TO BE PRESIDENT

   San Diego, California

   Former President Gerald Ford says America desperately needs "a
leader of principled, proven integrity ... who would rather
tackle tough problems than talk about them" and he believes Bob
Dole is that man.
   When Dole was his running mate in 1976, Ford told the
Republican National Convention August 12, "I found Bob Dole fit
to be president then; I find him even more qualified today."

   Following is the official text of Ford's remarks:

   REMARKS OF PRESIDENT GERALD FORD
   before the Republican National Convention
   Second Session - August 12, 1996

   (begin text)

Thank you, Governor Bush, delegates, fellow Americans.

Welcome to the thirty-sixth Republican National Convention. It is
definitely not true that I've seen them all.

I have seen most of them since 1940 when I was one of the young rebels
who stormed onto the Convention floor in Philadelphia shouting We Want
Willkie! That was my first whiff of political campaigning -- I'll tell
you a secret: I did inhale.

And I still love it.

Ask my wife Betty. For our honeymoon I took her to a rally for Tom
Dewey.

Haven't heard the last of that yet.

A few years ago, when I suddenly found myself President, I said I was
a Ford, not a Lincoln.

Today, what we have in the White House is neither a Ford, nor a
Lincoln.

What we have is a convertible Dodge.

Isn't it time for a trade-in?

As we gather here this week, our Republican hearts and minds are in
hospitable San Diego and our FBI files are in the White House.

What is it, in a few words, that all Republicans believe?

We believe -- along with millions of Democrats and Independents --
that a government big enough to give you everything you want is a
government big enough to take from you everything you have.

What we all want is an across-the-board change in Washington. Let's
complete the fundamental Federal reform the American voters mandated
for Congress two years ago.

Above all, we desperately need a leader of principled, proven
integrity who believes as we do... an expert at building consensus...
a Commander-in-Chief who has earned his salutes... a President who
would rather tackle tough problems than talk -- and talk and talk and
talk about them.

We want President Bob Dole... and Vice President Jack Kemp!!!

Never forget, my friends, the primary purpose of a political party is
to win.

Since I first ran for Congress in 1948 we have generally won when we
practiced a policy of inclusion, of expanding our Republican tent to
welcome every American who believes in liberty and justice for all,
special privilege for none and a decent respect for the convictions of
others.

We have won -- on merit, on character, on performance.

Ours is the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, who lived and died
for the proposition that all Americans -- indeed all people are
created equal, with unalienable God-given rights.

Ours is the Republican Party of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who reminded us
that America is not good because she is great; but, rather -- America
is great because she is good.

Ours is the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, whose
persistence in building and maintaining America's military and
industrial superiority finally persuaded the Communists they could
never hope to defeat us, and thus ended the Cold War.

Ours is the Republican Party of Bob Dole, another plain-speaking son
of the American heartland, who persevered in the service of his Kansas
neighbors to be Congressman, a Senator, our party's nominee for Vice
President, Minority and Majority leader of the Senate.

And God willing, with your help and mine, the next President of the
United States. My friends, I know a thing or two about Bob Dole. And
if there was anything I didn't know, I checked it out before choosing
him as my running mate in 1976.

I found Bob Dole fit to be President then; I find him even more
qualified today.

Remember, when you read today's national polls, Ford and Dole came
from 30 points behind that August to win 49.9 percent of the actual
ballots cast. We lost a cliff hanger. The only poll that counts THIS
YEAR is still three months away.

Our second President, John Adams, was the first to move into the White
House. It was on a hilltop where sheep grazed and citizens walked up
to the door. No fence, no concrete roadblocks, and the roof leaked.

Adams wrote home to his wife, telling her about a prayer he had
composed for the new President's House. For all his successors, Adams
wrote: "May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." I
say amen. God bless our country and all Americans. Thank you, and good
night.

   (end text)
   ---------------

   ---------------
   POWELL SAYS HE WANTS TO HELP FILL REPUBLICAN "BIG TENT"

   San Diego, California

   Colin Powell, the retired general and chairman of the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he became a Republican because he
believes "America must remain the leader of the free world" and
because he wants to "help fill the big tent that our party has
raised to attract all Americans."
   Addressing the opening night session of the Republican
National Convention August 12, Powell said "You all know that I
believe in a woman's right to choose and I strongly support
affirmative action. And I was invited here by my party to share
my views with you because we are a big enough party -- and big
enough people to disagree on individual issues and still work
together for our common goal: restoring the American Dream."
   Powell also said Bob Dole is the most qualified candidate to
be the next U.S. president "by virtue of his beliefs, competence
and character," and he expressed his pleasure that Dole "had the
great wisdom" to pick as his running mate Jack Kemp, whom he
called "an incredible American, a man of passion and conviction."
   Following is the text of Powell's remarks:

   REMARKS OF COLIN POWELL
   before the Republican National Convention
   Second Session - August 12, 1996

   (begin text)

My fellow Americans, my fellow Republicans.

I am honored to be with you this evening.

I am especially honored to be here with the distinguished Americans
you have just heard from.

With President Gerald Ford, a man who at a time of national despair
brought dignity and respect back to the presidency.

And with President George Bush, who took us through the end of the
Cold War and the defeat of communism.

The statesman who led us to a great victory in the Persian Gulf war.

With Mrs. Nancy Reagan, who has so movingly represented President
Ronald Reagan.

Ronald Reagan, who is in our prayers tonight.

Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, who gave voice and image to the
power of democracy as the way to a better future for all the people of
the world.

He will be remembered for many things, but, for me, the soldier,
Ronald Reagan will always be the President who restored the fighting
strength and spirit of America's Armed Forces.

I come before you this evening as a retired soldier, a fellow citizen
who has lived the American Dream to the fullest.

As someone who believes in that dream and wants that dream to become
reality for every American.

My parents came to this country as immigrants over 70 years ago.

They came here, as had millions of others, with nothing but hope, a
willingness to work hard and a desire to use the opportunities given
them by their new land.

A land which they came to love with all their hearts.

They found work that enabled them to raise a family.

Work that allowed them to come home every Friday night with the fruits
of their labor, a decent wage that brought sustenance and, more
importantly, brought dignity into our home.

They raised two children to whom they gave a precious gift -- a set of
core beliefs.

A value system founded on a clear understanding of the difference
between right and wrong and a belief in the Almighty.

Integrity, kindness and Godliness, they taught us, were right.

Lying, violence, intolerance, crime and drugs were wrong and, even
worse than wrong, in my family, they were shameful.

We were taught that hard work and education were the keys to success
in this country.

We were taught to believe in ourselves.

We might be considered poor, but we were rich in spirit.

We might be black and treated as second-class citizens.

But, stick with it, because in America, justice will eventually
triumph and the powerful, searing words of promise of the Founding
Fathers will come true.

We were taught to always, always believe in America.

My parents found here a compassionate land and a compassionate people.

They found a government that protected their labor, educated their
children, and provided help to those of their fellow citizens who were
in need.

They found their dream in America and passed that dream on to their
children.

Here, tonight, over seven decades after they landed on these shores,
their son has been given the privilege of addressing the Republican
party,

-- assembled in convention to present to the American people our
vision of how that dream can be passed on to future generations.

Our vision rests on values.

Values because they are the conscience of a society.

Values which must be lived and not just preached.

Children learn values by watching their parents in their homes.

Values which are then reinforced in their churches and places of
worship, in their schools and in the communities in which they live.

And values fuel families.

Families that are bound together by love and commitment.

Families that then have the strength to withstand the assaults of
contemporary life --

to resist the images of violence and vulgarity that flood into their
lives every day.

Families that come together as communities to defeat the scourge of
drugs and crime and incivility that threatens us.

That's why we Republicans believe that the family, fueled by values,
must be restored to the central place in American life if we are to
keep the dream alive.

Yet, families cannot thrive and pass on these beliefs if parents
cannot bring home a decent, living wage from a hard days work.

We Republicans believe that the good jobs needed to sustain families
come from a faster-growing economy where the free enterprise system is
unleashed to create wealth.

Wealth which produces new industries which produce more good jobs.

In this richest nation on earth, we still have not solved the problems
of poverty, of hunger, of poor health care, of inadequate housing, all
of which tear away at the roots of strong families.

And for which government assistance is a poor substitute for good
jobs.

So we are the pro-growth party.

We are the party committed to lessening the burden of taxes, cutting
government regulations and reducing government spending, all for the
purpose of generating the higher economic growth that will bring
better jobs, wages and living standards to all our people.

At the same time, let us never step back from compassion.

The message we must convey to the American people is that we fight for
welfare reform, we fight for health care reform and other reforms not
just to save money, but because we believe there are better ways to
take care of Americans in need than the exhausted programs of the
past.

We must be firm but we must also be fair.

We have to make sure that reduced government spending does not single
out just the poor and the middle class.

Corporate welfare, and welfare for the wealthy must be first in line
for elimination.

All of us -- all of us, my friends -- must be willing to do with less
from government if we are to avoid condemning our children and
grandchildren with a crushing burden of debt that will deny them the
American Dream.

It is the entitlement state that must be reformed, and not just the
welfare state.

And we must do it in a way that does not paint all of government as
the enemy.

Ineffective government, excessive government, wasteful government are
the enemy.

That is the kind of government that we Republicans intend to defeat.

A nation as great and diverse as America deserves leadership that
opens its arms not only to those who have already reaped the rewards
of the American Dream, but to those who strive and struggle each day
often against daunting odds to make that dream come true.

The Republican party must always be the party of inclusion.

The Hispanic immigrant who became a citizen yesterday must be as
precious to us as a Mayflower descendant:

-- the descendant of a slave or of a struggling miner in Appalachia
must be as welcome -- and find as much appeal -- in our party as any
other American.

It is our diversity that has made this nation strong.

Yet our diversity has sadly, throughout our history, been the source
of discrimination.

Discrimination that we, as guardians of the American Dream, must rip
out branch and root.

It is our party, the party of Lincoln, that must always stand for
equal rights and fair opportunity for all.

And where discrimination still exists or where the scars of past
discrimination contaminate the present we must not close our eyes to
it, declare a level playing field, and hope it will go away by itself.

It did not in the past.

It will not in the future.

Let the party of Lincoln be in the forefront, leading the crusade, not
only to cut off and kill discrimination, --

but to open every avenue of educational and economic opportunity to
those who are still denied access because of their race, ethnic
background or gender.

I have been asked many times why I became a Republican.

I became a Republican because I believe our party best represents the
principles of freedom, opportunity, and limited government upon which
our nation was founded.

I became a Republican because I believe the policies of our party will
lead to greater economic growth.

Which is the only real solution to the problems of poverty that keep
too many Americans from sharing in the wealth of this nation.

I became a Republican -- like YOU, -- because I truly believe the
federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our
lives.

We can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more
entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run
them and fewer results to show for it.

I became a Republican because I believe America must remain the leader
of the free world.

Republican leadership, a Republican President, will bring greater
conviction and coherence to our foreign policy --

and will guarantee that our Armed Forces remain the strongest and most
capable on earth.

I became a Republican because I want to help fill the big tent that
our party has raised to attract all Americans.

You all know that I believe in a woman's right to choose and I
strongly support affirmative action.

And, I was invited here by my party to share my views with you because
we are a big enough party --

and big enough people to disagree on individual issues and still work
together for our common goal: restoring the American Dream.

I am a Republican because I believe in that dream, and I believe we
are the ones to keep it alive.

Later this week we will nominate our leader.

He is a man of proven courage.

He showed his courage in war.

He showed even greater courage in overcoming the wounds of war.

He too has lived the American Dream.

My family began its American Odyssey on the sidewalks of New York.

His story began half a continent away.

And yet it is a story with common threads.

One that is shared in many ways by millions of Americans from every
state, from every generation, and from every race and creed.

Our candidate's life began in the wheat fields of Kansas where he was
born to poor struggling parents who believed in him.

The values they bred in him guided him to a career of distinguished
service that took him to the leadership of the United States Senate.

That's where I met him.

We worked together closely on vital matters of war and peace when I
served as national security advisor and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.

We could always count on him.

I know this man.

In an era of too much salesmanship and too much smooth talking, Bob
Dole is a plain-spoken man.

A man of strength, maturity and integrity.

He is a man who can bring trust back to government and bring Americans
together again.

He is a fighter possessed of endless energy, drive and commitment.

Bob Dole is the candidate most qualified by virtue of his beliefs,
competence and character to become the next President of the United
States of America.

And I want you to know how pleased I am and how pleased I know you
are, that Bob Dole had the great wisdom to pick as his running mate an
incredible American, --

a man of passion and conviction, a caring man, my friend, your friend,
the next Vice President of the United States, Jack Kemp.

Yes, we Republicans have leaders and principles that are worthy of our
aspirations.

Let us take our case to our fellow citizens with respect for their
intelligence and fair-mindedness.

Let us debate our differences with the Democrats strongly, but with
the civility and absence of acrimony that the American people long for
in our political debate.

We stand on the eve of a new century.

A new era, filled with change, anxiety, excitement and opportunity, is
dawning...

But many of the basic things -- many of the most important things in
our lives and in the life of our nation remain constant.

The pride of bringing home that first paycheck.

The thrill you can't help feeling each time the band strikes up the
Star-Spangled Banner and another magnificent young American wins
Olympic gold.

The daily challenges and joys of raising a family.

The tremendous ripple effect of family, friends, and neighbors
cooperating in ways that make home, neighborhood and nation better
places for us all.

These are the things that remain constant.

These are the things that unite us.

There are other eternal truths, other eternal constants in our lives.

Our constant devotion to the principles of freedom, democracy and the
free enterprise system.

Our constant belief in the promise of this country, a country where
the best is always yet to come.

A country that exists by the grace of a divine providence.

A divine providence that gave us this land, told us to be good
stewards of it and to be good stewards of each other.

A land that God has truly blessed and that we are proud to call
America.

   (end text)
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON TO TAKE "21st CENTURY EXPRESS" AUGUST 26-28

   WASHINGTON

   President Clinton will take a train tour through America's
heartland states August 26-28 on his way to the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago.
   Clinton/Gore '96 Campaign Manager Peter Knight said in a
written release August 13 that "The train tour and the campaign
reflect President Clinton's commitment to reach out to Anerica's
families. Continuing a great Democratic tradition, President
Clinton's trip through the heartland will celebrate the nation's
hopes, dreams, and values."

   Following is the official text:

   (begin text)

   President Clinton will take his campaign and his vision for
America's future through the nation's Heartland on the "21st
Century Express," a three-day train tour that will bring him to
the shores of Lake Michigan as he approaches the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Clinton/Gore '96
Campaign Manager Peter S. Knight announced today.
   The tour begins August 26 in Huntington, West Virginia and
goes through Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan, ending in Michigan
City, Indiana on August 28.
   "The train tour and the campaign reflect President Clinton's
commitment to reach out to Anerica's families," said Knight.
"Continuing a great Democratic tradition, President Clinton's
trip through the heartland will celebrate the nation's hopes,
dreams, and values."
   During the tour, the President will focus on the three bedrock
values underlying his vision for the country and on which he and
Vice President Gore have built the Administration's
accomplishments: opportunity, responsibility and community. Each
day, the President will highlight one of these values, honoring
the nation's achievements and proposing new ways to meet
America's challenges.
   Along the route, the President will be joined by citizens whom
he regards as heroes. These are individuals -- some of whom he
has met or worked with during his career in public service -- who
exemplify the values of opportunity, responsibility, and
community.
   Some of the cities on the tour are Ashland, Kentucky; Columbus
and Toledo, Ohio; and East Lansing and other stops in Michigan.
   Logistical details for the train tour will be released at a
later date. For more information, contact the Clinton/Gore '96
press office in Washington, D.C. at 202/496-1037.
   (end text)
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: NANCY REAGAN

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   The Republicans in San Diego were energized Monday night by
the philosophical legacy of former President Ronald Reagan. Mr.
Reagan, now 85 years old and suffering from alzheimer's disease,
was unable to appear at the convention. But his memory lived
through a video tribute and an address by his wife, Nancy.
   For the Republican party, the name "Ronald Reagan" evokes
inspiration. He is an icon of almost-religious proportions. His
eight-year reign as president during the 1980's remains a symbol
of what the Republican Party did right.
   Now that the party can no longer call upon him, Republicans
fear President Clinton's ability to reach the people with what
they describe as a down-home, media-savvy Reaganesque style.
   The best of times returned for the Republicans on the first
night of their convention, however, when they were swept back
tens years by a film recalling the glory years. Then, a major
highlight came when Nancy Reagan addressed the convention. In
doing so, Mrs. Reagan recalled her husband's vision:
   "If he were able to be here tonight, he would once again
remind us of the power of each individual, urging us once again
to fly as high as our wings will take us and to never, never give
up on America."
   Wiping a tear from her eye, Mrs. Reagan recalled her husband's
speech before the Republican convention four years ago, when he
bemoaned it probably would be the last speech he would make.
Despite the fact this appears to have comer true, Ronald Reagan
was still in the convention hall Monday night, at least in
spirit.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CONVENTION PROTESTS

   JOHN PITMAN
   SAN DIEGO

   Political conventions are all about getting people's
attention. Organizers here at the Republican convention obviously
want people to pay attention to the party, its candidate and what
they stand for. But political conventions have also traditionally
provided a forum for protesters who oppose the party to get their
message out. In past years, protesters have been permitted to
rally pretty much wherever they like. But this year, most
protesters have been restricted to a fenced in parking lot 50
meters away from the convention site.
   A Mexican-American protest against immigration reform was one
of only a handful of rallies that are being permitted outside the
protest site. The march attracted about 400 people, but a cordon
of police officers on horseback and motorcycles kept the marchers
well away from the convention center. In fact, police and
reporters were virtually the only non-marchers to witness the
event.
   Celito lIndo is a march organizer, and he was not happy about
the restrictions:
   "They won't let us get close to the convention center, which
we believe is a violation of civil and human rights. It's our
right as American citizens to protest anywhere we like, and them
telling everyone they have to protest in a certain area is a
violation. It's unconstitutional."
   But most protesters are not even allowed onto city streets.
Sixty-five groups, from Amnesty International to AIDS advocates
to environmentalists, each have signed up for a 55 minute protest
slot in the city's official protest area. The area is just an
empty parking lot across the street from the convention center.
It is surrounded by a four meter high chain link fence, and city
officials have named it: The Free Speech Park.
   Dan Thomas is a volunteer for the San Diego city government.
He says protesters are being isolated because of security
concerns. But he adds this is the first time these kind of
restrictions have been imposed, and they may be loosened at
future conventions:
   "It is in process. This very much will be developed at future
conventions as to how to locate a site most effectively for the
city and the protesters."
   That evolution cannot come fast enough for most of the
protesters here in San Diego. One man compared the area to a
concentration camp; another called it "fascist."
   The fenced-in protest site does seem here to stay. And it's
not just a Republican idea. The city of Chicago has also set
aside fenced areas for protests during the Democratic convention
later this month.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION SECURITY

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   Security is extremely tight at the site of the Republican
national convention. The number of law enforcement personnel
almost equals the number of delegates. Even before the first
speech was delivered and the first bit of confetti was thrown
into the air, there were long lines at the security checkpoints.
   At first glance the San Diego convention center's checkpoint
"D" looks like a maze of metal detectors and X-ray machines. But
a closer examination reveals an organized structure designed to
get tens-of-thousands of people into the San Diego Convention
Center each day without compromising security.
   Each person entering the building must pass three checkpoints,
showing identification each time, and put all belongings through
a scanner. At "rush hour" along the building perimeter, the lines
are long and tempers may be short. But convention spokesman Tim
Fitzpatrick says it is all worth it:
   "Well, I think to provide a safe environment, we do lose a
certain measure of our freedom. But that is a balance we think
has to be taken to protect the people that are here for the event
and for the people here in San Diego."
   The security plan for the convention started to take shape
over one-year ago. Dozens of agencies are involved: From the
federal Secret Service, which protects presidential candidates,
to the California highway patrol, and local police departments
from Southern California.
   They work with images in their minds, images of the remains of
twa flight-800, and the bombings in Atlanta and Oklahoma City.
But Tim Fitzpatrick says the security precautions in San Diego
are part of a trend that has evolved over decades:
   "I think it is more of a long-term incline. The secret service
started providing protection for presidential candidates since
1968 when Robert Kennedy was shot. So I think over the years, we
have been required to put a little more effort into producing a
strong security plan."
   The San Diego organizers have one unique problem. This is the
first U.S. political convention held on a bay. And while the
views are spectacular, the delicate waves and the nearby docks
have necessitated some changes in traditional convention
security. This time, they brought in the Coast Guard.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: MEDIA COVERAGE

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   Despite all the hoopla, the flag-waving, the speeches and the
build-up, what this convention, in fact all conventions these
days, is about is media coverage. With the candidate chosen and
his running mate named, you might wonder what news there is to
cover in San Diego. For the Republicans, the news is Bob Dole and
how he will change America for the better. But to tell that
story, they need the media, and there's more than enough
reporters to do the job. In fact for every Republican delegate in
San Diego, there are seven reporters, editors and technicians.
That's 14,000 members of the press.
   Every medium is represented, four-thousand newspaper
reporters, photographers and editors are here. The news magazines
are here. But despite all of those reporters, this convention is
really geared to the needs of television.
   On the floor of the San Diego Convention Center, the podium
and seating are laid out so that the speakers benefit from the
best camera angles. The prominent neon signs are those of the
major American television networks, NBC, cbs, abc and cnn. For
the first time, there's also something called GOP TV, the
Republican's own television channel. The need for such a thing
underscores a clear conflict between the media and the
politicians: Their objectives in presenting this convention
differ greatly.
   The politicians are looking for promotion possibilities, they
are trying to sell their product. The media, however, are looking
for news.
   The fact is, there will be very little news made here over the
next four days. For that reason, the media will be calling upon
their commentators and analysts to dig through the propaganda.
That, inevitably, leads to charges of media bias.
   Reporter Jake Thompson from the Kansas City Star says this
conflict is natural given the way these conventions have evolved:
   "The conventions are quite stilted because there's not much of
a fight any more about who'll be the nominee. They want to
control the bad news and promote the good news. They're much
better at that than they used to be. But overall, it's still
America's first chance for 1996 to get a good strong dose of what
both the political parties believe the election will be about and
then voters get to tell them if they believe that's true or not."
   To circumvent the conventional media, the Republicans want
their own way of ensuring their message gets to the public in a
favorable, unfiltered manner. GOP TV will also carry the
convention in its entirety. That's something none of the networks
will do. In fact, most networks will broadcast only the
highlights. That's because surveys show only one in ten Americans
will hear what the Republicans have to say, filtered or not.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: FOREIGN PRESS

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   More than one thousand foreign reporters and photographers are
in San Diego for the Republican national convention, many are
using sophisticated broadcast technology to send the story home.
   Take a walk from the convention hall, go across the driveway,
away from the bay, and prepare to enter another world.
   It is a high technology trailer park. Spread out before you
are row after row of brown and white trailers holding millions of
dollars worth of the latest broadcast technology. The music from
a rally across the road provides background noise for thousands
of reporters and editors from around the nation and the world.
   Next to the trailers that are a home away from home for many
U.S. broadcasters are the temporary newsrooms of television crews
from Asia and Africa and Europe and Latin America. Not that long
ago, most of the foreign journalists covering American politics
worked for newspapers. These days, an increasing number are using
television cameras and microphones.
   Peter Orlov of Russian state TV is one of them:
   "It is a very important country, after all, the United States.
And what happens here is very important for Russians. And
likewise what happens in Russia is very important for the
states."
   But Russia's recent election campaign was nothing like this:
   "It was very important but not that huge! Not just the size
but the amount of money brought in, the amount of the
construction brought in before the convention, the building, the
hall is just incredible! I like this!"
   The news reports that Peter Orlov sends to Moscow are produced
in a trailer he shares with reporters from Finland, China and the
Middle East. Next door are the studios of the European Broadcast
Union. Down the lane are the British and the French. And while
English tends to be the common language of business, you are just
as likely to hear Japanese and Spanish and German spoken in this
global broadcast village.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   QUESTIONS ABOUT KEMP

   NEAL LAVON
   SAN DIEGO

   Political analysts are in general agreement that the choice of
Jack Kemp for vice president brings advantages and opportunities
to the Republican national ticket. But one veteran political
professional warns that, based on Mr. Kemp's past career, he may
also pose some risks for the party.
   Stuart Rothenberg is editor and publisher of the Rothenberg
political report, a national newsletter that focuses on electoral
politics.
   Mr. Rothenberg says Jack Kemp's charisma, personal energy and
intellectual zeal will add excitement to a convention that sorely
needs it. He says most Republicans can support Jack Kemp, and the
choice will most likely unify the party rather than add to the
numerous political disagreements already displayed in San Diego.
   But Mr. Rothenberg says Jack Kemp also offers something else
the party, and its conservative philosophy, needs:
   "The Republican Party has been regarded of late as being sharp
around the edge, a little too nasty, a little too mean-spirited.
Kemp offers an unusual brand of conservatism where he thinks it's
important for the Republicans to reach out to African-American
voters, the poor, the less well-off, and not be too tough, too
nasty toward immigrants. And that's a softer and kinder, a kinder
and gentler image that would probably help the Republicans."
   But Mr.Kemp has long-standing differences with his
presidential running mate, Bob Dole, and with portions of the
Republican Party's platform. Throughout Mr. Kemp's political
career, he has been known to voice those differences freely, even
to his own and his party's political disadvantage. In addition,
during his unsuccessful 1988 presidential campaign, Jack Kemp
earned the reputation of a lackluster campaigner who could not
connect with the concerns of most Americans.
   Mr. Kemp also has a habit of frustrating his supporters
through indecision or a lack of interest in the rough and tumble
of American electoral politics. He had numerous backers who were
eager to form a 1996 presidential campaign team. But near the end
of last year, Mr. Kemp signalled he would not be a candidate.
   Stuart Rothenberg says that, for now, the prediction of the
political fraternity is that Mr. Kemp will show a sense of
discipline and an ability to minimize his long-standing and
well-known differences with Mr. Dole. But as the campaign wears
on, the possibility exists that Jack Kemp could return to form
and possibly cause problems for the Republican ticket:
   "In the near term, for a few days, for a few weeks, he can
certainly regurgitate the party line, and he can certainly insist
that he's a loyal supporter of Bob Dole. In the long run, I think
there's some doubt. A lot of political operatives wonder how long
Jack Kemp can sit in the back seat without wanting to drive the
car. And the car should be driven, must be driven, by the
presidential nominee, Bob Dole. And many people wonder whether
Kemp is suited for the VP role."
   Senior campaign officials insist that the reason Mr. Kemp was
chosen as Bob Dole's vice presidential running mate was because
of his long-standing identification with economic issues,
particularly tax cuts, the centerpiece of the Republican
campaign. And Mr. Kemp's strong beliefs in the issue, his past
willingness to speak forcefully in their support could help the
Republicans close the current gap against President Clinton and
the Democrats.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   REPUBLICAN MOTORCYCLISTS

   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGO

   While Republicans generally have a somewhat stodgy,
conservative image, there are many divergent groups who are drawn
to conventions.
   Some Republican leaders, notably Jack Kemp, like to see the
party as a big tent. That is, they would like the Republican
party to include a diverse group of Americans and you could not
include a more diverse group than these ten thousand
motorcyclists who have gathered here in a big parking lot just
outside the Republican National Convention site.
   They were led here today by Colorado Republican Senator Ben
Nighthorse Campbell, who once was a Democrat but switched to the
Republican Party. One of the issues that is important to him and
to many of the people here is freedom of choice.
   And the choice that most concerns them is the choice of
whether to wear a helmet or not while riding their motorcycles.
Many states, including California, have laws that require riders
to wear a helmet. But a quick, informal survey at this rally
revealed that there are indeed many Libertarian, Republican
bikers.
   National political conventions, of course, draw all kinds of
activists. There are the anti-abortion activists, the
anti-immigration activists, et cetera. At this convention, you
also have the motorcycle activists.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: SOUVENIRS

   TERRY WING
   SAN DIEGO

   Republicans are in San Diego to sing the praises of their
party and their candidates this week, but they are also eager to
point out what they see as the weaknesses of President Clinton
and the Democrats. And in the best tradition of capitalism, An
army of vendors is set up within the convention center eager to
profit on those feelings of pride and anger.
   On the floor of the convention, the delegates wear their pride
in the form of red, white and blue hats, buttons, T-shirts and
even things as comical as fake elephant noses. Many of those
items come from the convention's souvenir store.
   Dozens of sales booths are crammed into a large room, with
people hawking everything from scarves and expensive Piaget
watches to bumper stickers, posters, and buttons. You name it,
the vendors can put a Republican symbol on it. Even a cigar.
David Baker is the owner of a business that sells cigars:
   "A lot of our customers are Republicans, I think a lot of
Republicans enjoy cigars. Republicans enjoy the freedom and they
enjoy the freedom to enjoy life a little bit and cigars are a way
to enjoy life. And I think if the Republican party would all sit
down to a fine cigar, they'd be a lot more united."
   What better souvenir to have from this convention than a
picture of yourself with Bob Dole. That might be hard to pull
off, unless you know Jim Whitener:
   "We can digitally capture an image and have it photographic
quality, which has never been done before. With all the graphics,
we can put them on that magazine cover. For example, this is me,
Jim Whitener, political strategist. Bob Dole consults with the
political advisor."
   There is no symbol more associated with the Republican Party
than the elephant. Here at the souvenir store you can get stuffed
elephants, plastics elephants or brass elephants. But Robert
Keter is an expert in elephant art. His products are brought from
his home in Kenya:
   "We have here different kinds of elephants. The big ones are
made out of rosewood and the other ones are made out of mahogany.
People like the way they are (made), they are well made. They
start from five bucks until (up to) 50 dollars. The most
expensive one is the big one...I'm selling for around
100-dollars."
   The souvenir emporium here also sells a wealth of goods that,
well, aren't very nice. Dorothy Bitter sells a variety of items
that are true to her name including cork screws that use a play
on words to indicate that Democrats swindle the public:
   "This happens to be a donkey, this happens to be a Democrat.
And this part of our little corkscrew, as we said, happens to be
'political screw (what else do you have?) we have the very famous
rip Bill apart doll. The heads rip off, the arms rip off, you can
throw the legs across the room when you've had enough."
   That's not the end of the tackiness. There's a "Clinton would
make a great speed bump" bumper sticker. Michael Johnson prints
notepads that depict a three-dollar bill with a picture of Bill
Clinton on it:
   "In America, there's a saying 'as strange as a three-dollar
bill or as phony as a three-dollar bill.' And so the phrase is
something of an insult. It's meant light hearted, in a light
hearted way. But it is something of an insult."
   And the people that are buying it are taking it that way?
   "Absolutely, and I tell you with a pad of these you'll never
buy a drink."
   The reactions to some of the items for sale range from "tacky"
to "disgusting". In fact, that's the way some people feel about
the entire political process. But to show this business is
non-partisan, the chances are good we might see the same
tastelessness in Chicago when the Democrats hold their convention
later this month.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GOP CONVENTION: THE DEMOCRATS

   PAULA WOLFSON
   SAN DIEGO

   For a few days, San Diego California is the home town of the
Republican Party. The city is full of delegates and party
officials and just hangers-on.
   There are 24 phone lines leading into the green awninged
building in San Diego. In a suite of offices that once housed a
sportswear firm, the phones are ringing almost non-stop.
   About a ten block walk from the San Diego Convention Center is
the Democratic National Committee's "Rapid Response Office." It
almost looks like a slightly scaled down replica of the
Clinton-Gore campaign 1992 headquarters, the so-called "war room"
of Little Rock, Arkansas.
   It is a place to watch politics in action. The words come out
of the mouths of Republicans, and the Democrats respond,
Democrats like Ann Lewis, the communications director for
Clinton-Gore '96:
   "We are committed to what we call "rapid response" which means
if you tell a lie about us, we are going to tell the truth about
you and we are going to do it in the same news cycle."
   It is not unusual to see Ann Lewis on television during this
convention week, or presidential advisor George Stephanopoulis,
or Democratic National Committee chairman Chris Dodd. Their task
is to provide a counter-point to the Republican convention, to
sell their own interpretation to the news media. According to
Lewis:
   "We will be anywhere where the American people are getting
their political information. That is what our job is, to be sure
that voters know what is going on, that they have all the facts
because they are going to make a very very important choice in
November."
   The reporters call this the art of the "spin", taking a story
and turning it around to suit your perspective. And the Democrats
are not the only ones who do it. Ann Lewis has no doubt the
Republicans will be in Chicago when the Democratic National
Convention is called to order later this month.
   This whole notion of a "rapid response" in politics is an
offshoot of the information age. Americans watch the political
process unfold live on television and radio, and within seconds
they can pull in a deluge of data on the Internet. Speed is the
order of the day, and images come and go in the blink of an eye.
These days, the only reply that counts is the one that is almost
instantaneous.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   U.S. OPINION ROUNDUP: JACK KEMP FOR REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENT

   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE
   WASHINGTON

   From one end of the nation to the other, newspapers Sunday and
Monday have been commenting on Republican presidential candidate
Bob Dole's choice of former adversary Jack Kemp to be his running
mate.
   Jack Kemp is a former cabinet member in the Bush
Administration in charge of housing and urban development, and
before that he represented Buffalo, New York, in Congress for
several terms. Mr. Kemp first made headlines as a professional
football quarterback for the San Diego chargers and, later, the
buffalo bills. He is an articulate speaker, and for years has
championed the economic theory known as supplyside, which calls
for lowering taxes to stimulate economic growth and, as a
consequence, boost federal government income.
   Jack Kemp and former Senate majority leader Bob Dole have
clashed many times on that economic theory, and several other
issues, so most political observers were surprised to learn that
Mr. Dole was to choose Jack Kemp as his vice presidential running
mate. Some newspapers reacted to the Saturday announcement in
their Sunday editorials. Many others commented today, Monday. We
begin our sampling in the Midwest with the Sundayorld-Herald in
Omaha, Nebraska, which thinks the choice strengthens the Dole
candidacy:
   "By picking Jack Kemp to be his running mate, [Mr.] Dole added
a seasoned campaigner who can be expected to give the Republican
ticket a strong boost with his enthusiasm and ideas and the
personal base of support that [Mr.] Kemp has built over the
years... He is an avid proponent of cutting tax rates to generate
economic growth, the same philosophy that [Mr.] Dole embraced in
framing his growth proposals. "
   In New England, the Boston Globe sees the choice of Jack Kemp
somewhat differently:
   "Jack Kemp does little to broaden the appeal of Bob Dole's
presidential candidacy, but he can help energize [Mr.] Dole's
base... Kemp can add spark to the ticket, assuming that the
sparks of personal disagreement that have occasionally flown
between the two men can be damped... Kemp's stature should do
[candidate] Dole more good than harm."
   Farther north, the Portland [Maine] Press Herald is more
positive, suggesting that, what it calls, "Jack Kemp's
'conservatism with a heart' should fit [Mr.] Dole well:
   "If [Mr.] Dole is going to overtake Bill Clinton this fall, he
needs to refocus and reinvigorate his campaign, and on both
counts, [Mr.] Kemp may be the one for the job... For all [Mr.]
Kemp's conservative credentials, his is a conservatism with a
heart, which should bolster [candidate] Dole's own better
instincts."
   In the northern Midwest, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, marvels
at how Mr. Dole could put past differences aside in his drive for
the White House:
   "In choosing [Mr.] Kemp, [Mr.] Dole is sidling up to a
personality and a philosophy that are popular with a large
segment of the Republican party and beyond, but, by most
accounts, haven't been favorites of [Mr.] Dole... [However]
[candidate] Dole is enough of a pro to put personal animus aside
and evaluate [Mr.] Kemp's potential contribution to the ticket.
That contribution is substantial. [Mr.] Kemp brings national
stature and a distinct following, both within the Republican
Party and among other constituencies he touched as a vocal
congressman and cabinet official in the Reagan-Bush years."
   In the nation's capitol, the Washington Times is delighted
with the choice and offers these thoughts:
   "Mr. Dole scored a coup with his economic plan last week. He
has now brought in an excellent salesman for it. Mr. Kemp is as
well-suited as anyone to making the case for higher economic
growth through lower taxes. It will be up to Mr. Dole to make
sure the case for balancing the budget is made equally
forcefully... Finally, Mr. Kemp brings a sense of excitement to
the GOP side of this race. enthusiasm may not, by itself, be
enough to bring victory, but it's hard to imagine victory without
it. "
   In San Diego, California, home of the Republican nominating
convention this week, the Union-Tribune suggested:
   "[Mr.] Kemp (has) the potential to win back for the Republican
ticket a big chunk of those voters who once were known as Reagan
(conservative) Democrats... [Mr.] Kemp also stands out as the
GOP's most passionate voice for the inclusion of blacks and
Hispanics in the party and for the empowerment of minorities long
shackled to government aid programs."
   In New York, the Daily News also approves, calling Mr. Kemp
"an outstanding choice," and suggesting the campaign for
president is now "a real race." Across town, The New York Times
calls it a "bold" choice, and described the decision as a "sign
of both the Dole campaign's new hope and its previous
desperation." The paper concludes:
   "The convention will mark the third time Mr. Dole has
introduced himself to the public during this election. The first,
when he announced his candidacy, and the second, when he resigned
from the Senate, began with some promise and then fizzled out. He
cannot afford any more false starts."
   Finally, the Washington Post calls Bob Dole's decision a
"smart" one, noting that choosing a man with whom he has
previously feuded with over political philosophy bodes well for
making the Republican party more inclusive. And on that note, we
conclude this brief sampling of U.S. editorial reaction to the
choice of Jack Kemp as Bob Dole's running mate.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   REFORM PARTY CONVENTION

   JOHN PITMAN
   LONG BEACH, CA

   The reform party has completed the first of its two nominating
conventions and opened the balloting to choose its presidential
candidate. Former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm wants the job
and says the time has come for the party to choose new
leadership.
   Party founder Ross Perot shows no sign of backing down:
   "Last September, the independent voters announced that we
would create a new independent party. The experts said it
couldn't be done. It has been done and you did it!"
   Although Ross Perot spoke second in Long Beach, the reception
he received from the delegates proved he remains first in their
hearts and minds, and likely on their nominating ballots.
   As he did in 1992, when, as an independent, he won 19 percent
of the presidential vote, mr. Perot used large, colorful economic
charts and graphs as he ridiculed the two established parties for
not eliminating the massive federal budget deficit.
   Mr. Perot also hammered away on another favorite topic:
International trade. As he did in 1992, he condemned the
Republicans and the Democrats for allowing the trade deficit to
balloon to more than 30 billion dollars a year. He was also
critical of the North American Free Trade Agreement and recent
trade deals with Japan. He said he is not opposed to free trade,
but would renegotiate all current trade deals to favor American
businesses if he becomes president.
   Mr. Perot did not offer any specific remedies to the problems
he outlined. But he promised to work "night and day" to fix them
if elected. The Texas billionaire said he is motivated to run
again by his concern for future generations:
   "We're determined to pass on the American dream to those we
love the most: Our children and grandchildren. And that is why
I'm here and I know that is why you're here, too. It's for them,
it's not for us."
   Mr. Perot's rival for the nomination, Richard Lamm, the former
Democratic Governor of Colorado, struck many of the same themes.
He said he would focus on three areas of reform if elected:
Campaign finance and political reform, immigration reform, and a
budget reform.
   Mr. Lamm has been criticized in the past for his call to limit
immigration. In his speech, he repeated his belief that
unrestricted immigration not only threatens the country's
economy, but its social fabric:
   "Of course in the past, unrestricted immigration has been good
for America. But because it was once good doesn't mean it will
always be good. We are no longer an empty continent that can
absorb all the world's "huddled masses." We must place as a first
priority our own huddled masses."
   A recent Reform Party poll shows Mr. Perot leading Mr. Lamm by
more than a two-to-one margin, but Mr. Lamm says he remains a
legitimate contender. In his speech, he thanked Mr. Perot for
founding and financing the reform party, but then suggested the
time may have come for him to step aside.
   Voting began Sunday as soon as Mr. Perot finished speaking.
The estimated 800,000 reform party members have one week to cast
their votes by mail, telephone or computer. The winner will be
announced next Sunday at the second party convention in Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   BLUE DOGS HOPE TO HAVE THEIR DAY
   By Stuart Gorin

   Now that their party's platform committee has crafted a
"moderate" agenda to propose at the August nominating convention,
there's a small group of Democrats in Congress who couldn't be
happier.
   They couldn't be happier than a pack of blue dogs. In fact,
that's exactly what they are -- members of the congressional
"Blue Dog Coalition."
   The Blue Dogs are less than two dozen moderate Democrats who
espouse middle-of-the-road approaches to issues within a minority
party that is heavily weighted to the political left. Most of the
Blue Dogs are Southerners who are often at odds with their own
party for being too liberal; at the same time, they consider the
Republicans too rigidly conservative.
   The coalition was formed shortly after the new Republican-led
House of Representatives took power in 1995. It took its name
from paintings by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue, who features
a blue dog in a series of political situations.
   The Blue Dogs are not to be confused with Yellow Dog
Democrats. In the not-so-distant past, when America's South was
heavily Democratic, Southern Democrats were called Yellow Dogs
because voters in their districts were so anti-Republican that it
was said they would "vote for a yellow dog so long as he was a
Democrat."
   The Blue Dogs are optimistic about increasing their numbers in
the next session of Congress, despite losing several in
defections to the Republican Party and another half-dozen
announcing their retirement. The coalition has created its own
political action committee and is talking to interested
candidates throughout the United States and helping with their
campaigns.
   Says California Congressman Gary Condit, a leader of the Blue
Dogs, "we are focusing on open seats, looking for people who have
won primaries and share our point of view."
   The newest Blue Dog is the coalition's first African American
member -- Georgia Congressman Sanford Bishop, who says he joined
recently because of its philosophical positions as well as its
methodology, which "allows for open, frank discussion without arm
twisting, across party lines. It's the way that we ought to do
things."
   Blue Dog issues include their own versions of welfare reform,
regulatory agency overhaul, environmental laws and a budget that
would postpone tax cuts until it is balanced. Condit says the
Blue Dogs are on target in terms of the issues about which the
American public cares.
   Admitting that moderates "don't engender passion on any
particular issue," another Blue Dog, Utah Congressman Bill Orton,
says however that "most of the public is fed up with radical
wackos (crazy extremists) on either side," so the drawback is
more than offset.
   Concerning the Democratic Party platform, drafting committee
members with "record-breaking speed" over two days last week
produced a 26-page draft spelling out what they call a "moderate,
achievable" agenda that seeks to cut government, reduce crime and
offer broader educational opportunities. It sets broad themes
rather than specific proposals.
   In an attempt to avoid discussion of the controversial topic
of abortion, the Democrats strongly supported a woman's right to
choose but added language respecting divergence on the issue.
   The Democrats' 187-member Platform Committee will meet August
5 to consider the draft, and a final version will be voted upon
at the August 26-29 Chicago convention.
   Still, the current draft has the support of President Clinton,
whose re-election campaign helped with its creation. The Dallas
Morning News notes that even though many Republicans accuse the
president of "talking conservative while pursuing liberal goals,"
the platform draft "reflects Mr. Clinton's assertion that he is a
centrist Democrat."
   The newspaper adds "the platform struck a politically centrist
theme, an attempt to appear more in step with the bulk of voters
and away from the more liberal outlook of a decade ago."
   And that's just fine with the Blue Dogs.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE UNVEILS NEW CAMPAIGN SLOGAN

   Trying to reverse his declining political fortunes, Republican
presidential hopeful Bob Dole named Congresswoman Susan Molinari
of New York the keynote speaker for the Republican National
Convention, and unveiled a new campaign slogan: "A better man for
a better America."
   Dole, who continues to run 20 points behind President Clinton
in public opinion polls, said his campaign is really "just
beginning," and that at this point "it's better to be the
underdog."
   Businessman Steve Forbes, a Dole supporter who unsuccessfully
ran against him in the Republican primaries, said the former
Senate majority leader "recognizes that he's got to come out with
an agenda," and that once he does, his new campaign slogan "is
going to resonate."
   Meanwhile, Dole plans to cut down speaking to journalists in
an attempt to avoid the kind of unplanned remarks that have
plunged his campaign into disarray in recent weeks, such as his
stating that the use of tobacco is not addictive.
   But in one recent interview when accompanied by his wife,
Elizabeth Dole, head of the American Red Cross, it was she who
stated the message that he has been slow to get across. "The
message is very strong," Mrs. Dole said. "It's more
opportunities, it's smaller government, it's stronger and safer
families, if you wanted to just sum it up."
   And that in a nutshell, said the Washington Times, is "the
positive economic message Republicans have been demanding of
their presidential candidate."
   In choosing Molinari to deliver the major convention speech,
Dole said she will "bring the Republican message all across the
nation." Molinari, whose husband, Bill Paxon, also serves in
Congress but from another district, is staunchly pro-choice. Her
selection follows Dole's decision to soften the party platform's
anti-abortion plank.
   Dole said he is proposing new "tolerance" language elsewhere
in the platform recognizing a diversity of Republican viewpoints.
The move appeared acceptable to a cross section of party members
but it drew scorn from the most outspoken on both sides of the
abortion issue.
   "While the party remains steadfast in its commitment to
advancing its historic principles and ideals," Dole's proposed
insert reads, "we also recognize that members of our party have
deeply held and sometimes differing views on issues of personal
conscience like abortion and capital punishment."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MAY BE FADING AS CAMPAIGN ISSUE
   By David Pitts

   Latest indications are that presumptive Republican
presidential nominee Bob Dole may be backing away from making
affirmative action a prominent campaign issue.
   Last week, senior House Republicans were quoted as saying that
Dole would not make affirmative action a campaign issue
nationwide, or even in California where an initiative is on the
ballot in November asking voters whether they want to eliminate
race and sex preferences in state education, contracting and
employment. In the latest polls, most Californians support the
initiative.
   Earlier in the year while the primaries were still in full
swing, Dole was not only vocal in support of the California
initiative, he voiced firm opposition to affirmative action in
general.
   While campaigning last March for the California primary in
Orange County, Dole said, "We ought to do away with preferences.
This is America. It ought to be based on merit." Dole backed up
his anti-affirmative action rhetoric by earlier sponsoring
legislation to abolish all affirmative action programs in the
federal government.
   But on recent visits to California, Dole has ignored the
subject. He has voiced an opinion only when asked, saying that
affirmative action needs to be restricted rather than ended. He
also has backed away from his sponsorship of the bill to abolish
the federal affirmative action programs.
   In a television interview July 15, Dole spoke against
preferences and quotas, but seemed to endorse the concept of
affirmative action. "The important thing is that everyone has a
chance to participate," he remarked.
   Last week, the Republican leadership in the House of
Representatives indicated it also is backing away from the bill
to abolish federal affirmative action programs -- 260 in total --
at least during this session of Congress. Neither House Speaker
Newt Gingrich nor House Majority Leader Dick Armey sees it "as a
priority," reported the Washington Times.
   The newspaper said that House Republicans "are divided" on the
issue and "have set aside the sweeping bill that would have
repealed race and gender preferences," in favor of a move to kill
one affirmative action program that sets aside contracts that
mostly go to minority-owned firms.
   In national television appearances July 14, Gingrich and
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott confirmed the reports. When
asked whether the bill to abolish affirmative action programs in
the federal government would be brought to the floor, Gingrich
responded, "certainly not this summer," saying that House
Republicans would try to end affirmative action set-aside
contracts instead. Lott agreed with this view in a separate
appearance.
   The debate on affirmative action is complicated by the fact
that it is not just one program in one area of American life, but
a series of programs evolving over 35 years and affecting
employment and education throughout the private sector as well as
in federal, state and local government.
   Although affirmative action benefits women as well as some
other groups, it is largely perceived by the public at large as
primarily helping African Americans, says Nicholaus Mills, author
of "Debating Affirmative Action." Thus, affirmative action has
become mired in racial politics, he adds.
   There is another reason why affirmative action is becoming
more salient as a political issue, Mills says: "Unlike the debate
over political correctness or multiculturalism, the debate over
affirmative action is one in which a broad section of the
population believes it has a personal stake in the outcome."
   But the developments of the past week are a signal that the
Dole campaign is now less inclined than it was to make
affirmative action an issue in the presidential campaign and may
be moving closer to President Clinton's position of "mend it, but
don't end it."
   Dole's retreat from a full frontal assault on affirmative
action also came during a week in which he was widely criticized
for declining an invitation to speak before the annual conference
of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), the nation's oldest and most prestigious civil rights
organization.
   Dole gave a number of explanations for not appearing before
the NAACP, saying that, at first, he had not been aware of the
invitation, but later contending that NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume
was trying "to set me up." He described Mfume as one of the
"leading liberal Democrats."
   Mfume said that the NAACP wanted to hear Dole's "vision for
America," although he also called Dole's civil rights record
"less than stellar." Some Republicans also criticized Dole's
decision not to attend, most notably retired General Colin
Powell.
   President Clinton, by contrast, accepted the NAACP invitation.
Speaking July 10, Clinton cited statistics indicating African
Americans had made significant economic progress under his
administration. He also reiterated his view that affirmative
action programs, with modifications, should be continued. "I
think it would be a mistake to end them and walk away," he
remarked.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FREE AND OPEN PRESS ESSENTIAL FOR FAIR ELECTIONS
   By Robert Fullerton

   The "most important aspect" of conducting democratic elections
"is to have a free and open press," says Brian Hancock of the
Federal Election Commission (FEC), the independent regulatory
agency which administers and enforces America's campaign finance
laws.
   In our country many times before, we or the Department of
Justice were able to "locate a problem with vote tampering or
ballot box stuffing, anything like that, the media often finds
out first and publicizes it," said Hancock, a specialist in the
FEC's Office of Election Administration.
   "Once the American public hears about it...they (voters) can
make their judgments...known at the ballot box," he said on a
recent U.S. Information Agency Worldnet television program.
   Hancock appeared on the program with Lisa Rosenberg, director
of the FEC "watch" project for the non-profit, non-partisan
Center for Responsive Politics, to discuss election commission
empowerment in other nations. The center is funded by groups and
individuals who, Rosenberg said, "are interested in monitoring
the democratic process."
   "Our purpose in 'FEC watch' is to educate the public and to
inform it when we think the FEC is not doing its job up to par,"
she noted. "We also try to assist it" by pointing out violations
of the law "that we think need to be looked at," and to provide
input when new federal regulations are drawn up.
   Created by Congress in 1974, the FEC is responsible for the
disclosure of federal campaign finance information, the issuance
of regulations and advisory opinions, the Presidential Election
Campaign Fund, and the investigation of campaign finance law
disputes. Its six commissioners are appointed to six-year
staggered terms by the president, with the consent of the U.S.
Senate. The seats are divided equally between the two major
political parties.
   Asked how the commission's 300 staff members are organized and
how it is funded to conduct elections, Hancock explained that "in
the United States -- unlike in other democracies -- the FEC does
not conduct federal elections; instead it is charged with
enforcing federal campaign finance laws."
   Rosenberg asserted that funding "is one of the biggest
problems the (Congressionally funded) FEC has as far as retaining
its independence and vigorously enforcing the law." She said some
legislators believe the FEC "is meddling in Congress' business
when it enforces the law." The FEC "very often fines members of
Congress," who in retaliation "threaten to cut" its funding, she
added.
   Hancock noted that FEC rules are "fairly strict" on campaign
spending: candidates are limited on contributions they can "get
from individuals, how much they can receive from private groups
and political action committees" during an election year.
Restrictions also are placed on political groups and parties.
"There are rules they have to follow," Hancock said, adding that
"those are all codified."
   Still Rosenberg pointed out that loopholes (ways) exist that
enable "wealthy individuals and corporations to get around the
strict limits of individual giving," allowing them to provide
"unlimited amounts of money to political parties, which can then
funnel the money back to the candidates." She said the system
could be improved "by shutting down the ways that money can get
into the process."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   POLITICAL CONSULTANTS ARE IMAGE MAKERS OF MODERN ELECTIONS
   By Dan Pinegar

   In the modern day election in which "image is everything," the
hiring of political consultants and consulting firms is likely to
continue until the fundamentals of politics are changed, in the
opinion of two political communication and consulting experts.
   A consultant creates a political image by using a
comprehensive campaign strategy which links a politician's own
message to the creative and organizational insight beneficial to
a campaign.
   Deno Seder, a partner in Seder/Laguens, a political consulting
firm which has been involved in more than 200 campaigns for
various candidates, said in a U.S. Information Agency Worldnet
interview July 9 that, "the role of political consultants and
pollsters has become critical in the modern American election
era."
   Not only do they advise candidates, Seder said, but "they
serve a vital function ... in media use, direct mailing and the
use of volunteers." In fact, he added, with the increased
attention to political pollsters, an entire industry has formed
to meet the needs of consultants and candidates.
   Seder noted that "the role of a consultant in a political
campaign tends to be that of an image maker, where the consultant
finds out what the people want based on a quantitative poll, and
then feeds that back to the campaign staff, and the candidate
becomes a cameo performer."
   Steven Keller, a professor of political communications at
George Washington University, who has given advice to
presidential appointees, trade organizations, and government
agencies, said in the same interview that "consultants are just
trying to polish that image
   Both Seder and Keller believe that "all politics are local."
They also agree that constituents are not all that interested in
foreign policy. "I think," Seder noted, "by and large, issues of
paramount concern to American voters are domestic issues."
   Political consultants, Keller said, "find out what the people
want, and give it to them," but he added that ultimately this may
not be in the best interests of democracy.
   Speaking on how he thought the current election would be
headed and what he thought the campaign issues would be, Keller
said, "We are going to see an assault, a barrage, from both
campaigns on the other candidates' character and fundamental
values."
   In a video clip on campaign advertising, Ron Faucheax, editor
and publisher of Campaigns and Elections magazine, said that
"ultimately it is the candidate who is out there. It is the
candidate whose name is on the ballot; and, even though political
consultants can give you advice as to how to present yourself, if
you really don't have it, they can't give it to you, and if you
really do have it, the other side can't take it away from you."
   But people like adviser James Carville and political
consultant George Stephanopoulos clearly were able to help
candidate Bill Clinton in his 1992 Democratic presidential bid,
in the view of both Keller and Seder. These "political junkies,"
Seder noted, are "sometimes too insulated and isolated from the
rest of the country." And because of this, he said, the focus
becomes more on the winning of a campaign.
   Seder noted that, "in the quest to win, we are seeing a
lessening of the importance of party allegiance, and more
emphasis on winning, and then once we win we can go back to
policy and party."
   Keller added that consultants can only do so much. "Dole is
Dole," he said, "and no consultant has been able to change that;
and Clinton's character problems are very much evident, and no
consultant has been able to change that."
   ---------------

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

   -- Clinton, Dole Address Governors: The subject was welfare,
as both President Clinton and Bob Dole spoke via satellite to the
annual meeting of the National Governors Association July 16 in
Puerto Rico. Dole accused the president of reneging on a promise
to quickly approve state waivers to welfare rules, forcing them
to settle for less flexibility. The White House said earlier that
such requests had been put on hold pending congressional debate
on welfare reform. Clinton promised the governors, however, that
if Congress failed to approve such legislation, he would issue an
executive order allowing states to cut off welfare benefits after
two years if able-bodied recipients refused to take jobs.
   -- Clinton, Dole TV Ads: Turning to what both sides said would
be a "central issue" in the presidential campaign, President
Clinton and Bob Dole have introduced television ads in which each
portrays the other as a proponent of big tax increases. The
Republican ad showed a 1992 pronouncement by Clinton that he
would not raise taxes on the middle class and a voice-over
stating that "six months later he gave us the largest tax
increase in history." The Democratic ad quoted Speaker of the
House Newt Gingrich as saying that Republicans called Dole "the
tax collector of the welfare state." The ad also scrolls a list
of tax increases that Dole supported during his congressional
career.
   -- Clinton Whitewater: President Clinton said he would "like
to remind 0everybody" that the Arkansas Whitewater incident "has
gotten a lot of exhaustive attention, perhaps more than it
deserves. And every reading of the evidence, as opposed to
another round of questions, fails to demonstrate any wrongdoing"
by either himself or his wife Hillary. The president was
interviewed July 15, the first day of programming for the new
MSNBC cable television network created by NBC Television and the
Microsoft Corporation.
   -- Buchanan: Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, who still
has not abandoned his quest for the Republican presidential
nomination, said he will make a speech at the Republican National
Convention in San Diego "even if it's outside the meeting hall."
Buchanan also said he is "going to be heard" by the platform
committee, adding that he wanted to change the proposed tolerance
language on abortion.
   -- Tauzin Unopposed: Three months before Election Day,
Louisiana Congressman Billy Tauzin, a Democrat-turned-Republican,
was guaranteed re-election when the deadline passed for anyone to
file to oppose him. No one did, even though more than 70 percent
of the voters in Tauzin's district are registered Democrats. He
becomes the first member of Congress in modern times to switch
parties and then run unopposed in the subsequent election.
   -- Arkansas Governor: Following his conviction on Whitewater
charges, Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, a Democrat, announced
he would resign from office July 15. But when the date came, he
disclosed that he had changed his mind, and pending appeal of his
conviction, he would only step aside temporarily. In the public
outcry that followed, Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee, a
Republican, who was waiting to be sworn in as the next governor,
said that if Tucker did not resign, he would call for impeachment
proceedings. This was no time for partisan politics, Huckabee
said. The Democratic state attorney general agreed, saying he was
filing suit in state court to have Tucker removed. Several hours
later Tucker did send the lieutenant governor a note of
resignation, and Huckabee replaced him in a ceremony concluded
with cheers and applause by state legislators.
   -- Women Organizing for Change: An unprecedented campaign to
mobilize one million women and supportive men for grassroots
political activism -- called Women Organizing for Change (WOC) --
has been launched on the Internet. Its goal is to set a new
agenda promoting equality and justice in all areas, including
jobs, education, health care, family policy, taxes and the media.
WOC's organizers say they represent an alternative to the agenda
of the group that took control of Congress in 1994.
   ---------------

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

   -- Wall Street Journal writer George Melloan: "The very
absence of any war, cold or hot, threatening vital U.S. interests
makes it hard for challenger Dole to elevate national security
and broader foreign policy issues to the level of political
importance they deserve. In this sense, Mr. Dole is the victim of
the successes of former presidents of his own party.... But just
as Mr. Clinton is a beneficiary of the past firmness of
Presidents Reagan and Bush, the next president, whoever he is,
could be the victim of Mr. Clinton's laid back approach to
defense and foreign policy. It takes years to build military
readiness, but not long at all for that capability to wither
away. It has been withering rather rapidly on Bill Clinton's
watch."
   -- Washington Times correspondent Donald Lambro: "The dominant
topic of discussion among conservative Republicans here and
elsewhere is about why Bob Dole has not made the economy, jobs,
incomes and taxes the cornerstone of his campaign against
President Clinton. Despite the national news media's cheerleading
for the Clinton economy, there is a significant body of polling
data that shows substantial voter dissatisfaction about
poor-paying jobs, stagnant incomes and higher taxation that has
forced growing numbers of Americans to take two jobs just to make
ends meet. Mr. Dole's closest advisers are waiting for him to
make a final decision on the economic growth program he intends
to run on in the fall."
   -- New York Times Magazine writer Jason DeParle: "Dole's ties
to religious conservatives have always had an air of ambiguity,
despite two impressive credentials -- his solid anti-abortion
voting record and his popular, evangelical wife. The movement
runs on ideological fervor; Dole is a Beltway operator
distrustful of insurgencies.... Maybe he even believes that
beneath the roar, the Christian right is a paper tiger. But when
he arrives in San Diego next month, Dole will be surrounded by
delegates disproportionately chosen from the movement's ranks.
And they have readied themselves for rebellion, against the
leadership of the party and even the conciliators in their own
ranks."
   -- Syndicated columnist Mona Charen: "A leading Democrat who
might not wish to have this advice attributed to him suggested
that if Mr. Dole has difficulty staying on message, he might
consider naming his Cabinet choices, one or two per week,
starting now, culminating with the vice presidential choice at
the convention. Each nominee would provoke a discussion of the
relevant policy area. If, say, Richard Cheney were to be
secretary of state, the contrast with Warren Christopher would
dominate the news and Sunday talk shows for a solid week. It
would be a chance to talk about foreign policy.... The country
would get a picture of what a Dole administration would do. Of
course, this strategy relies on Mr. Dole's ability to make
excellent choices. And judging by the past few weeks, that bar
may be too high."
   ---------------

   ---------------
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