Salon.com > Compiled by Max Garrone

Gore changes position on Eli

Fri, 31 Mar 2000 20:41:00 +0000

Al Gore redefined his position on Elian Gonzalez Thursday with a statement that said: "I have said that Elian Gonzalez's case is at heart a custody matter." Further, "It now appears that our immigration laws may not be broad enough to allow for such an approach in Elian's case. That is why I am urging Congress to immediately pass legislation ... which would grant permanent resident status to Elian, his father, stepmother, half-brother, grandmothers and grandfather."

According to the New York Times, Gore's shift was a shock to the Clinton administration and other Democrats. The Times quoted an administration official as saying, "Oh, my God, it's unbelievable!" and Rep. Maxine Waters as saying, "I was totally blindsided. The calculation doesn't make sense. If Gore did it because he's trying to get the anti-Castro Cubans, first of all, they're not going to vote for him anyway. These are Republicans. And number two, the last polls I saw a month ago showed the American public is on the side of sending Elian back to his father."

Forbes endorses Bush

Wed, 29 Mar 2000 20:48:00 +0000

Steve Forbes endorsed George W. Bush Tuesday evening, saying, according to the Washington Times, Bush "is on the right side in refusing to back down on his proposed tax cut, on Social Security -- in allowing people to invest part of their income in a taxfree savings account for retirement -- and in wanting a strong defense, as Clinton and his crowd does not."

Who's the education candidate?

Bush proposed a five-year, $5 billion plan Tuesday that would ensure that "every child" could read by third grade.

Chris Lehane, spokesman for Al Gore, responded that Bush's plan didn't go nearly far enough. "We need smaller classrooms, more teachers, modernized classrooms and an emphasis on pre-kindergarten education," he said, adding that Bush's proposed tax cut -- estimated at between $1.3 and $2 trillion over a decade -- "leaves no money for domestic programs."

Forbes to endorse Bush

Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:00:00 +0000

The Associated Press reports
that Steve Forbes is expected to endorse George W. Bush in a joint appearance
Tuesday night.

Bush's new education offensive

The AP also reports
that George W. Bush unveiled a new education plan called "Reading First" that would give $5 billion over 5 years to improve
reading among grade schoolers. According to the Bush campaign release the plan "sets a great
goal for America: that every child will read by the end of the third grade."

More on the "veepstakes"

Gail Collins sounds off
for the New York Times on the "veepstakes" with this sound bit of wisdom "if none of your elected
officials are being talked about as potential veeps, there is probably something wrong with
your state, and you should consider moving elsewhere."

Gore proposes soft-money ban

Mon, 27 Mar 2000 19:35:00 +0000

Both the Washington Post and the New York Times lead with news that Al Gore will propose an end to soft money Monday. In a statement the Gore campaign released to both papers, Gore is expected to announce: "If you elect me as your president, the McCain-Feingold bill will be the first domestic legislation I send to the Congress on my first day in office."

The campaign finance reform plan would establish "an endowment fund from donations by individuals, corporations and unions, among others, to raise $7.1 billion over seven years ... The interest from the fund would be used starting in 2008 to pay for the general election campaigns of House and Senate candidates, but only if they did not accept money from another source." George W. Bush has rejected Gore's plan as "a government takeover that replaces individual spending decisions with decisions made by an unelected government committee."

Bush gets tough with Gore

Thu, 23 Mar 2000 09:29:00 +0000

In an interview with the Washington Post, George W. Bush said that Al Gore has "a major credibility problem" on campaign finance reform and other issues and addressed a possible rapprochement with John McCain with the statement: "There'll be an appropriate time for John and I to talk."

The Post also notes that the presidential campaign has shifted into high gear much earlier than usual, possibly, according to Democratic consultant James Carville, because of the widespread belief that Bob Dole lost the 1996 presidential election by losing momentum between the primaries and the conventions. That, Carville said, has "got everyone believing that you can't let the other side get a leg up. We've got too much testosterone going on here."

Slugfest in New York

Wed, 22 Mar 2000 10:18:00 +0000

After Rudy Giuliani released Patrick Dorismond's arrest records and made comments like, "That Mr. Dorismond has spent a good deal of his life punching people is a fact," Hillary Rodham Clinton responded by questioning the New York mayor's leadership. "At just the moment when a real leader would have reached out and tried to heal the wounds, he has chosen to [incite] divisiveness," she said. Giuliani, in turn, accused Clinton and Al Sharpton of "reading from the same script."

Amid these recriminations, others argue that the time has come for New York Police Commissioner Howard Safir to go.

Jack Newfield, writing for the New York Post, notes that while Giuliani defended his release of Dorismond's arrest record on the basis of the public's right to know, his own support of that right is "sporadic and selective." Eric Fettmann, also writing for the Post, says that Giuliani has been overly defensive of the police -- to the point of "demonizing the victim" -- and notes that if Dorismond's arrest record is relevant to the coverage of his shooting, then so is the history of Anthony Vasquez, the police officer who shot Dorismond. Vasquez, Fettman notes, "has shot a neighbor's dog, pulled a gun in a bar fight and been accused of domestic abuse by his wife (who dropped the complaint)."

Newsday reports that the release of Dorismond's juvenile arrest record may have broken the law because his "1987 case was sealed under the law governing Family Court."

McCain back to work

Tue, 21 Mar 2000 20:24:00 +0000

Monday John McCain returned to his day job in the Senate as reporters waited for hours outside his office for Dan Rather's sloppy seconds. According to the New York Times, McCain began planning appearances in support of Republican candidates across the country. CBS reports that McCain says he'll support George W. Bush's presidential campaign.

Gore in the chips

The impact of McCain's campaign may have left its biggest dent in the Bush war chest. The Washington Post reports that the Al Gore campaign had $1.5 million more than the Bush campaign ($9.3 million vs. $7.8 million) at the beginning of the month. Bush did have a huge advantage in total money raised -- $74 million compared with Gore's $37 million. But because he burned through money on advertising ($13 million a month, according to the Post) to stamp out the McCain insurgency, he has lost his financial edge.

Is Bush really a reformer?

Mon, 20 Mar 2000 09:16:00 +0000

The New York Times
digs into
George W. Bush's record as governor and finds that "he is not widely viewed in Texas as a
reformer." The Washington Post
takes a look
at how Bush lost the "mojo" in his compassionate-conservatism slogan and how he's
trying to "get his compassion back."

More sniping at White House

In a Sunday
appearance
on ABC's "This Week," National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston tried to calm the fight between his organization and the White House,
even asserting that the gun advocacy group had supported the Brady Bill. ABC also
reports
that Al Gore and other Democrats are busy making gun control an issue that they
can own in this election season.

Bradley and McCain bow out

Thu, 09 Mar 2000 09:38:00 +0000

Bill Bradley withdrew from the presidential race Thursday morning with a speech that called for party unity.

John McCain also withdrew from the presidential race Thursday morning.

Giuliani's shadowy finances

Back when he was a corruption-busting U.S. Attorney, Rudy Giuliani was a strong
advocate of good government reform.

But the mayor's U.S. Senate campaign committee is doing a poor job of making sure
its contributors comply with federal rules disclosing who they work for - and
thus what industries and companies are backing him, according to a study released
Thursday. The study, by the Washington, DC-based Center for Responsive Politics,
found that Giuliani's campaign only disclosed employment information for 77% of
its contributors, compared to 94% for Hillary Rodham Clinton's camp.

State-by-state winners and losers

Tue, 07 Mar 2000 19:07:00 +0000

Bradley:

Admits defeat in Tuesday's races "He won. I lost."

Bush:

California, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York and Ohio

Gore:

California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.

McCain:

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont

Super Tuesday preview

The poll results and delegate counts going into Tuesday's caucuses and primaries:

California

California holds the most delegates of any state and thus has a huge amount of influence on the nominating conventions and fall election. It has a "blanket" ballot in which voters can select candidates regardless of their party affiliation but delegates are selected only by voters in each party. This means that one candidate could win the "popular" voting while another could win all the state's delegates.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. PST

Bush ads backfire

Fri, 03 Mar 2000 10:06:00 +0000

Wednesday the Bush campaign started running ads in New York which accused McCain of opposing
federal funding for breast cancer research in a New York hospital. In the interim Salon revealed
that breast cancer is a subject close to McCain's heart and Friday the Associated Press discovered
that Bush denied $40 million in funding for breast cancer screening while governor of Texas because
"most of the money comes from the federal government."

Also on Wednesday, a group called Republicans for Clean Air started running ads in New York accusing McCain of opposing clean-fuel initiatives and praising Bush's environmental record. The mystery of the group's backers has finally unravelled. Long time Bush backer Sam Wyly announced Friday that he founded Republicans for Clean Air and was financing their advertising buys in New York, Ohio and San Francisco to the tune of nearly $2 million. Wyly has donated nearly $700,000 to Bush campaigns since 1997.

Dems debate while Republicans take late night

Thu, 02 Mar 2000 09:24:00 +0000

Salon has the jump on the presidential toy market with its new line of action figures featuring hand-tailored clothing and a full range of poses! The Associated Press caught the McCain doll interacting with its model and his wife, Cindy, aboard John McCain's "Straight Talk Express."

We don't disagree, but one of us has to win

Bill Bradley and Al Gore conducted a weird, mellow debate Wednesday night, especially in contrast to the contentious debate held Feb. 21 in Harlem's Apollo Theater. Lessons learned from President Clinton were clearly on view: Both candidates left the podium for every answer, but Bradley often missed creating a direct connection with a questioner while Gore never missed a chance to draw a direct line between issues and people. The candidates never really clashed.

McCain meltdown! Oops, never mind

Wed, 01 Mar 2000 20:59:00 +0000

The frenzy of modern media-driven campaigns has forced campaign press flacks to be hyper aware of every little thing that happens on the campaign trail and tip off reporters when a potential news bit breaks, hoping beyond hope that they will seize upon the next big thing. For every one that sticks, there are a hundred that don't.

One such flare ignited Tuesday evening on the John McCain bus caravan, when this reporter received a call from a Bush campaign spokesperson talking about how McCain had an apparent meltdown on Michael Reagan's syndicated radio talk show, hanging up on Reagan when the debate got too contentious. This was the mythical, mercurial McCain the Bush campaign had been hoping would rear his ugly head.

Within microseconds, the Bush campaign blasted an e-mail to political reporters, titled: "Subject: JOHN McCAIN LECTURES MICHAEL REAGAN ON NATIONWIDE RADIO."

Reporters seized on McCain spokesman Howard Opinsky who publicly scoffed at the reports, then quickly placed a phone call to the Straight Talk Express to find out what in the hell had happened.

Turns out McCain was conducting the interview via cell phone, before the bus veered out of range. He did not hang up on Reagan, they were simply disconnected.

McCain will debate, Bradley won't quit

Tue, 29 Feb 2000 20:44:00 +0000

John McCain reversed his decision not to debate front-runner George W. Bush, saying at a Tuesday campaign stop, "Governor Bush wants to debate, there will be a debate." In order to participate with Bush and Alan Keyes in the Tuesday event in Los Angeles, McCain offered to cancel plans in New York and participate via satellite. He also offered to debate Bush Wednesday via satellite on MSNBC's "Hardball," or in person Sunday on "Meet the Press."

The flip-flop followed a spate of uncharacteristically negative press on McCain's decision to skip the debate. It even created internal divisions within the McCain camp, with top California strategist Dan Schnur and close advisor Warren Rudman both advising McCain to do the debate. The announcement appeared to be a total surprise: Just 15 minutes before, McCain strategist Mike Murphy had said that the campaign would not reverse its decision. (By Jake Tapper and Anthony York)