Dole Quits Presidential Race

.c The Associated Press

By RON FOURNIER

WASHINGTON (AP) – Elizabeth Dole, who had hoped to make history as the
nation’s first female president, dropped out of the rapidly shrinking
Republican presidential race today. She said a lack of money doomed her
spirited candidacy.

“The bottom line is money,” she said. “It would be futile to continue.”

Her departure leaves front-runner George W. Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain
and conservative millionaire Steve Forbes in the top tier of the GOP field –
a trio of candidates likely to carry their fight well into the primary
season. She is the fifth GOP candidate to drop out this year.

Four other candidates are vying for conservative voters, including Pat
Buchanan, who plans to bolt the GOP on Monday to seek the Reform Party
nomination.

The first woman to mount a top-tier presidential campaign, Mrs. Dole’s
campaign attracted new voters – particularly young and professional women –
to the Republican Party. She finished strong in an early political contest –
Iowa’s non-binding straw poll in August – and displayed a practiced polish on
the campaign trail.

But the wife of 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole was unable to overcome
the huge financial advantage of Bush, the Texas governor who raised more than
ten times as much money in 1999. She also was unable to convert the raw
enthusiasm of her rallies into improved poll ratings.

She is likely to be considered by the eventual nominee as a potential running
mate, but Dole said today she has not given any thought to a vice
presidential nod. She also said she had no plans yet to endorse a rival.

With her husband at her side – she gave him a peck on the cheek at one point
- Dole told supporters that her long career in public service is not over.

“To my friends, I say, `Take heart. We will meet again and often,”’ she
said. “While I may not be a candidate for the presidency in 2000, I’m a long
way from twilight.”

She said she wanted to help the GOP bring women into the party’s fold.

McCain and Forbes stood to benefit from a narrower field that would give them
more room to attract attention. Bush advisers had hoped Dole would stay in
the race to deflect attention and split up votes going against the
front-running, establishment candidate.

Still, consultants say Bush is likely to inherit most of Dole’s supporters.

Bush called her a trailblazer who was an inspiration to women. “I’m proud to
call her a friend,’ the Texas governor said.

McCain said he was sorry Dole had decided to withdraw from the presidential
race, but that she had done so for the “wrong reason” – money woes. “The
right reason is because you’ve lost the battle of ideas,” he said.

Forbes spokeswoman, Juleanna Glover Weiss welcomed the smaller field. “Fewer
people talking means more of an opportunity for Steve to talk about what he
believes in.”

At the White House, spokesman Joe Lockhart used the news to criticize the
GOP. “It underscores at least among Republicans how little the ideas mean
and how much the money means,” he told reporters.

Dole sounded embittered by the reality of politics, which found her
cash-strapped and being outspent 75-to-1. She singled out Bush, the son of a
former president, and Forbes, a wealthy conservative.

“I’ve learned that the current political calendar and election laws favor
those who get an early start and can tap into huge private fortunes or who
have a pre-existing network of political supporters.”

She proudly listed her campaign promises, including a pledge to strengthen
America’s foreign policy, improve education and get guns out of schools.

Dole’s race for the White House came to an end just less than three months
after a surprisingly solid third-place finish in Iowa’s straw poll. The
finish gave her a chance to boost her campaign, which was already sagging in
polls and money-starved.

She was unable to capitalize. In the most recent campaign spending reports,
Dole reported raising more than $1 million from July to September. By
comparison, Bush raised $20.2 million during the same period.

Though second place in many national polls – hovering around 10 percent – she
was trailing McCain in New Hampshire and lagged well behind Bush elsewhere.

Just last week, Dole fought off rumors of the impending demise of her
campaign by announcing that she would formally kick off her presidential bid
on Nov. 7. She said she hoped that date will turn into the anniversary of her
election to the White House.

On Tuesday night, Dole canceled a campaign appearance in Indianapolis at the
last minute. A campaign official said Dole was ill, and a letter faxed to
Indiana GOP Chairman Mike McDaniel referred to “unforeseen circumstances”
that prevented her attendance.

In March, when she formed a presidential exploratory committee, Dole
explained her reasons for seeking the White House this way:

“I believe our people are looking for leaders who will call America to her
better nature. Yes, we’ve been let down, and by people we should have been
able to look up to.”

Dole, 63, earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1958 and a
master’s degree in education from Harvard in 1960, as well as a law degree
from Harvard Law School in 1965.

She worked as a consumer advocate in the Democratic Johnson administration
and as a Federal Trade commissioner in the Republican Nixon administration.
Ronald Reagan named her to head the White House Office of Public Liaison
after his election in 1980.

In 1983, President Reagan appointed Dole transportation secretary. She was
the first woman in Reagan’s Cabinet and the first female transportation
secretary.

She resigned in September 1987 to help her husband’s presidential campaign.
He was defeated in his bid for the GOP nomination by George Bush, who won the
White House in 1988 and named Elizabeth Dole his labor secretary. She left
that post to head the Red Cross.

AP-NY-10-20-99 1154EDT