==================================================================
Published by INEWS. Freely distributable if unaltered and complete. 
See end of document for info on free E-mail trial of INEWS.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS E-WIRE SERVICE All rights reserved. For 
information on receiving a free trial subscription to INEWS 
World News Daily via E-mail send E-mail to INEWS@AOL.COM
WORLD WIDE WEB: http://members.aol.com/inewscirc/inews.html
==================================================================

DISTRIBUTE FREELY

                        '96 ELECTION SNAPSHOT
                               VOL.1 #14


SUBSCRIPTION INFO/GENERAL INFO - INEWS@AOL.COM
TO REACH EDITOR ---------------- INEWSEDIT@AOL.COM


CONTENTS:
   CAMPAIGN '96: STATUS REPORT
   DOLE ON CHINA MFN
   NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE
   REPUBLICANS COULD HAVE CONVENTION FLOOR FIGHT ON ABORTION
   GANTT TO FACE HELMS FOR NORTH CAROLINA SENATE SEAT
   TELEVISION STATIONS OFFER CANDIDATES FREE AIR TIME
   "LIBERAL" NEWS MEDIA "CONSPIRACY" SEEN BY GINGRICH
   THE INTERNET -- NEWEST TOOL IN THE POLITICIAN'S KIT
   POLLING PRISMS
   JOURNALISTIC JUXTAPOSITIONS
   PUNDIT PEARLS
   EDITORIAL EXCERPTS
   REPUBLICAN-DEMOCRATIC SHOOT OUT
   REPUBLICAN ABORTION FIGHT
   CLINTON/DOLE POLITICS
   WORLD PRESS: CLINTON SEEMS TO BE ON A ROLL
   FREE OFFER FROM PUBLISHER
   =========================
   ---------------
   CAMPAIGN '96: STATUS REPORT

   JIM MALONE
   WASHINGTON

   The 1996 U.S. presidential election campaign has moved into
the halls of Congress. President Clinton and the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee, Senator Bob Dole, are now fully
engaged in legislative jousting in the runup period to the
national party conventions in August.
   Eventually this presidential campaign will find its way out of
Washington, DC. But for now the battle for the White House is
being fought out on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
   Republicans, led by Senator Bob Dole, have seized on a
rollback of a three-year old tax hike on gasoline as a way of
regaining momentum in the presidential race. President Clinton
says he will agree to the gas tax cut only if Republicans go
along with his call for an increase in the minimum wage. Both
proposals seem to enjoy widespread public support.
   Senate majority leader Dole, who is simultaneously running for
president and trying to run the Senate, is blaming congressional
Democrats for holding up action on the gas tax rollback:
   "So, I would just say to the president that we will continue
to send you common sense legislation. But it is very difficult
when the president's own (Democratic) Party ties up the Senate
floor (holds up action on legislation)."
   For his part, the president accuses Republicans of wanting to
send him what he calls "poison pill" legislation, bills intended
to force a presidential veto that would allow the Republicans to
score political points (favorable public opinion):
   "They (Republicans) do that in hopes of provoking a veto so
they can run negative (television) ads in the fall accusing me of
being against welfare reform. That is what I mean by poison pill
(legislation)."
   Even as Republicans try to regain control of the congressional
agenda they are still trying to patch up differences among
themselves before the party's August convention. New York
Republican Senator Al D'Amato is warning his colleagues that many
voters view the Republican-controlled Congress as too extreme.
And he says party leaders should be careful not to muzzle some
prominent moderate Republicans who are pushing for changes in the
party platform opposing abortion:
   "We have got to be a party that is tolerant. Are we going to
read (exclude) (New Jersey governor) Christie Todd Whitman out of
our party? Governor (Pete) Wilson (of California)? Governor
(George) Pataki (of New York) because they may be pro-choice (on
abortion)? These are the kinds of things taking place. We do not
need these philosophical "Ayatollahs" telling people you have to
believe my way or we have no room for you in my party."
   Senator Dole has said little about Senator D'Amato's
complaints. But Republican national chairman Haley Barbour is
appealing to his colleagues to stop criticizing each other in
public. The latest public opinion polls on the presidential race
continue to show President Clinton with a big lead. A Harris poll
showed the president ahead of Senator Dole by 31-points,
64-percent to 33-percent. A second poll, done by a Republican
firm, shows the president's lead at only 11-points.
   Longtime conservative activist and unofficial Dole adviser
David Keene says Mr. Dole still has plenty of time to make his
case to the American people:
   "But when you have a race that is not a throwaway (where
incumbent is heavily favored), it is because the incumbent is
either flawed or has some significant problems that he may not be
able to overcome. And under those circumstances the public has to
first of all get comfortable with the alternative. People have to
turn to each other, as they did in October of 1980 with (ronald)
Reagan (against Jimmy carter) and say, "yeah, we can do this. It
is OK to vote for this guy." They have not decided that about Bob
Dole yet and they might not for some time."
   Finally this week, virtually all the major U.S. television
networks have now decided that they will provide the presidential
candidates with free broadcast time to make their case directly
to the voters. A number of politicians have pushed for this idea
for years. The networks resisted, arguing that the presidential
candidates already get so much media exposure that by election
time most voters are sick of seeing the candidates on television
and hearing about the campaign.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   DOLE ON CHINA MFN

   DAVID SWAN
   SENATE

   U.S. Senate majority leader and presidential candidate Bob
Dole has declared his support for renewing China's trade
benefits, but is also attacking President Clinton's record on
China and Asian affairs.
   As he did in the past, Senator Dole says China should receive
most-favored-nation status, which expires early in June and the
president is likely to extend. In a Washington speech, he argued
this serves U.S. national interests and not just economic
interests, and he rejected the notion of linking MFN to human
rights:
   "China's record on human rights and tolerance of political
opposition is indefensible. No doubt about it. You can't defend
it. But China is by no means alone. There will be a debate on MFN
for China this year, but not on MFN for Russia, where 30,000
Chechens have been slaughtered."
   But the senator warns Congress may not be ready to
automatically approve MFN for another year. Both liberal
Democrats and conservative Republicans oppose the plan, including
Mr. Dole's rival candidate Pat Buchanan. Mr. Dole sought to shift
the blame to the president, saying he has not taken the lead or
spoken out:
   "And I hope he will end his conspicuous silence on the issue
and explain what is at stake in our relationship with China, to
the Congress and yes, to the American people, because a lot of
people are confused."
   While supporting Mr. Clinton's plan to extend MFN, Mr. Dole
found nothing good about the president's broader Asian policy. He
portrayed his rival as a weak, disorganized leader, whose
indecision has hurt the nation's standing and allies in the
region.
   The senator says the United States should arm Taiwan with
advanced weapons and build new defenses against North Korean
missiles. He denounced the U.S. nuclear accord with Pyongyang,
accusing Mr. Clinton of appeasing the north while slighting the
south:
   "Until the Clinton Administration showered them with aid,
bilateral diplomacy and technology, North Korea's rulers stood as
isolated symbols of Stalinism, as fossils of totalitarian decay.
It has the fifth largest army in the world within yards of
American forces and within miles of Seoul."
   The speech marks the start of the Dole campaign's offensive
against Mr. Clinton's foreign policy. While the election is
likely to focus on domestic affairs, Mr. Dole also hopes to
persuade the voters he is the man they can trust to handle an
overseas crisis.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE

   DAVID SWAN
   SENATE

   Though President Clinton and Senator Bob Dole have locked up
their parties' nominations for president, Americans are still
choosing candidates to run for other offices in November. The
southern state of North Carolina held primary elections Tuesday,
and one of the winners is facing a rematch with one of the most
powerful figures in Congress.
   Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina is the
chairman of the foreign relations committee and perhaps the
president's toughest antagonist on foreign affairs. Among other
things, he co-authored a controversial new plan to tighten
economic sanctions on Cuba. The 74-year-old senator is seeking
his fifth term.
   His democratic opponent is Harvey Gantt, who ran against him
and lost in 1990, but earned another chance by winning Tuesday's
primary.
   Mr. Gantt is known as a traditional Democrat, with liberal
views on many issues. He was the first black mayor of North
Carolina's largest city, Charlotte, and one of the few black
Americans from any state nominated for the Senate in this
century. This year, Mr. Gantt was opposed by a white political
newcomer named Charlie Sanders, a former head of a big
pharmaceutical firm, Glaxo. After losing the primary, Mr. Sanders
threw his support to his former rival:
   "I told him that I am going to do everything I can to put him
in the United States Senate in November."
   During the campaign, Mr. Sanders argued that despite his lack
of experience, he was best qualified to challenge Senator Helms
in November. Mr. Gantt denounced the statement as a thinly veiled
attempt at racial politics and went on to win the nomination
anyway.
   But observers say race is still a key issue in this
conservative, southern state. Opinion polls show Democrats deeply
divided along racial lines, with black voters overwhelmingly
backing Mr. Gantt and more than half the whites supporting Mr.
Sanders. Race could well have been the deciding factor when Mr.
Gantt ran for the Senate six years ago and the Helms campaign
aimed this commercial at white voters.
   One commercial voiced:
   "You needed that job. And you were the best qualified. But
they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is
that really fair? Harvey Gantt says it is."
   Mr. Helms won a narrow victory in that contest. Surveys show
he would beat Mr. Gantt again if the election were held today.
But national Democratic leaders say the race is wide open. Senate
minority leader Tom Daschle says Mr. Gantt has a real chance for
victory:
   "We're excited about our prospects in North Carolina. And we
are very upbeat. I think the polling data suggests that we could
pick up that seat and we're excited about that."
   Defeating Jesse Helms would be an upset for Mr. Gantt and a
triumph for the Democratic Party. The senator says he expects a
spirited but fair campaign.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   REPUBLICANS COULD HAVE CONVENTION FLOOR FIGHT ON ABORTION
   By Stuart Gorin

   It looks like there is going to be a floor fight at the
Republican National Convention in August on the controversial
issue of abortion that could produce plenty of alienated voters
on both sides and squeeze Senator Bob Dole right in the middle.
That's obviously not where he will want to be.
   As it now stands, the Republican platform (adopted in 1992)
declares that the unborn child has a "fundamental individual
right to life which cannot be infringed" and it says the party
will work for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion.
Every party platform since 1976 has carried anti-abortion planks.
   Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, who is still competing
in Republican primary elections to have a voice at the
convention, praises Dole for selecting as the Platform Committee
chairman, Congressman Henry Hyde, a staunch abortion opponent who
has promised not to weaken the platform's anti-abortion plank.
   Still, Buchanan has formed a coalition of right-wing Christian
organizations vowing to retain this issue, and has threatened to
lead a walkout if there are any changes.
   And changes are what are on the minds of five Republican
governors, including Pete Wilson of California, George Pataki of
New York and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, who all want
to moderate the anti-abortion language or leave it out of the
platform altogether.
   Whitman, who says she is mainstream in the Republican Party,
adds she believes she is "where so many of the voters want to be"
on issues. Buchanan, the Christian Coalition and the
anti-abortion movement all have their place under the Republican
umbrella, Whitman says, but she believes they have been getting
too much attention.
   "I, as a Republican, have lots of room in my party for people
who don't agree with me," Whitman says. "I would hope that those
people who don't agree with me have room for me in their party."
   Dole, who needs a smooth-running convention to help bounce
back from the large deficit to President Clinton that the polls
show, has not committed to preserving the exact language of the
1992 platform but has let it be known that he expects the 1996
platform to contain a pro-life plank. He also said that while
there will be plenty of time for further discussion on the issue,
he would prefer that Republicans spend that time disputing
Clinton rather than one another.
   The Platform Committee will meet in early August, but if it
cannot come up with language to satisfy both pro-life and
abortion-rights supporters, then the issue could come for
discussion to the convention floor, dominate news coverage and
show party disunity.
   Said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack
Pitney, "There's no magic formula for avoiding a blowup, no safe
course for Dole. If he leaves the platform the way it is, he gets
a fight from the abortion rights people. If he tries to change
it, he gets a fight from some of the anti-abortion people."
   According to syndicated columnist Robert Novak, if Dole even
slightly modifies the abortion plank, "it will be one of the
major miscalculations in recent political history."
   Even Ralph Reed, the executive director of the Christian
Coalition, had to back away from an earlier statement that the
Republican Party could rewrite the plank with some changes
without lessening the party's commitment to protect "innocent
human life." A later report said he would reluctantly accept, but
not support, an amendment permitting abortions in cases of rape
and incest and to protect the life of the mother.
   Ironically, platforms are essentially symbolic documents often
blithely ignored by a party's own office holders. But they are
immensely important to the people who work on presidential
campaigns and vote in primary elections, as a statement of their
beliefs and ideals.
   And on the subject of abortion, the split is wide. Exit polls
at various primaries indicate that Republican voters in New
England and New York overwhelmingly oppose a platform plank
banning abortion; in Southern states they strongly favor keeping
it; and in swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, the
sentiment is sharply divided.
   The abortion issue will not divide the party, said Republican
National Chairman Haley Barbour, but it is a distraction and one
that he wishes would go away.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   GANTT TO FACE HELMS FOR NORTH CAROLINA SENATE SEAT
   By David Pitts

   Harvey Gantt, former mayor of Charlotte, beat challenger
Charlie Sanders 53-42 percent in North Carolina's Democratic
Senate primary May 7, and in the November general election will
face incumbent Republican Jesse Helms, who also is the powerful
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
   It will be a replay of the contest six years ago when Gantt
challenged Helms. He lost in 1990 in what many observers called a
racially charged contest. Gantt is African American. Helms is
white.
   Gantt told cheering supporters in Charlotte that he would win
this time around. "I'm six years older, I'm six years wiser, I'm
six years grayer, and I'm also six years tougher," he remarked.
Helms issued a low-key response saying, "I am a conservative
senator. Mr. Gantt is a liberal nominee. We will no doubt
disagree on various issues, but I hope we can agree at the outset
to disagree agreeably."
   A key issue in the 1990 campaign was a series of commercials
run by Helms implying that if Gantt was elected, the jobs of
whites would be at risk because of Gantt's support for
affirmative action. Gantt claimed that the commercials cost him
the election. But Helms said it was Gantt's liberalism that
doomed his campaign.
   Ironically, the same issue surfaced in the Democratic primary.
Sanders, a retired businessman and Gantt's challenger for the
nomination, implied during the campaign that Gantt was too
liberal to win in the general election against Helms in North
Carolina. Sanders also suggested that as a white man running
against Helms, the veteran Republican would be deprived of the
race issue. This prompted Gantt to accuse Sanders of injecting
race into the Democratic primary.
   In the last six years, the number of registered voters in
North Carolina has grown from 3.35 million to 4.03 million. There
also has been a sizable increase in registered Republicans, whose
numbers are now triple those of Democrats.
   In the contest for the presidential nomination in North
Carolina, President Clinton and Senator Bob Dole won by large
margins. There was little interest in this race, however, since
back in March both men secured enough delegates to win their
parties' nomination. Although the Republican primary was not
winner-take-all, Dole gained all 58 delegates to the Republican
Convention.
   Clinton and Dole also won in two other primaries May 7 that
also drew scant attention -- in Indiana and in the District of
Columbia (Washington, D.C.). On the Republican side, 52 delegates
were at stake in Indiana, winner-take-all, and 14 in the District
of Columbia, also winner-take-all. On the Democratic side, 89
delegates were at stake in a proportional primary in Indiana, and
36 in the District of Columbia, also a proportional primary.
   In Indiana, most interest focused on the race for the
Republican gubernatorial nomination. By law, Democratic Governor
Evan Bayh was barred from seeking a third term. Indianapolis
Mayor Stephen Goldsmith soundly defeated two other candidates to
win the Republican nomination; the Democratic gubernatorial
nominee will be Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon.
   The next primary elections will be held May 14, in Nebraska
and West Virginia.
   -------------

   -------------
   TELEVISION STATIONS OFFER CANDIDATES FREE AIR TIME

   Responding to a call from a public interest lobbying group,
all but one of the major television networks in the United States
have announced they will offer segments of free air time to the
major presidential candidates in the weeks leading up to the
November election.
   The one network that did not agree to the request, ABC-TV,
said its regular coverage of the campaign is "comprehensive," but
added that it will still announce a plan for offering the
candidates a one-hour prime time "dialogue" on a night in the
last week of the campaign.
   -------------

   -------------
   "LIBERAL" NEWS MEDIA "CONSPIRACY" SEEN

   The faltering public opinion among Americans of Republicans
and their presumed presidential candidate, Senator Bob Dole, is
the result of a "passive conspiracy" by the news media, in the
view of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
   Speaking May 7 to a meeting of Republican women, Gingrich said
that President Clinton, who has a current lead of about 20 points
in various opinion polls, has been "misleading the American
people" about the Republicans and has been abetted by an
unquestioning "liberal" news media.
   Writing in the Washington Post, James Glassman said it was a
"shameful open secret of American journalism," glossed over by
the press itself, that reporters are liberal Democrats.
   Glassman pointed out that a recent survey of 139
Washington-based journalists by the independent Freedom Forum and
the opinion research firm the Roper Center, indicated 89 percent
voted for President Clinton in 1992. This compares to just 43
percent of the American public. Former President Bush, who gained
37 percent of the national vote in 1992, received only seven
percent of the votes in the journalists' survey.
   Questioned on their political orientation, 61 percent of the
journalists said they were "liberal" or "moderate to liberal,"
while just nine percent admitted to being "conservative" or
"moderate to conservative."
   But when White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry was asked
if the survey results surprised him, he replied: "If they
actually voted for Clinton, why don't they actually be nicer to
him in print?" McCurry added that he preferred to deal with
conservative journalists because "they bend over backward to be
fair, and I think we get a fairer shake from them."
   Last year, a Times Mirror Center survey said liberals
outnumber conservatives in broadcast journalism by more than
three to one, and in print journalism by more than four to one.
The survey pointed out that at the same time, twice as many
Americans identify themselves as conservative as identify
themselves as liberal.
   -------------

   -------------
   THE INTERNET -- NEWEST TOOL IN THE POLITICIAN'S KIT
   By Judy Aita

   This election year, voters with computers will be able to
stroll down "Republican Main Street" and drop in on the
Republican National Committee Headquarters, buy a shirt in the
gift shop, take "classes" at the school, chat with candidates in
the cafe or mail their comments in the post office.
   They will be able to see and listen to what the Democratic
National Committee thinks is funny, browse through press
releases, check out party events, "sign the guest book" and let
Democratic candidates know what's on their minds, or add their
names to a petition to get the statue of women's suffrage leader
Susan B. Anthony out of the Capitol basement into the rotunda.
   American politics has moved into cyberspace.
   In the past two years, the Internet has exploded on the
American scene as businesses, universities, government agencies
-- and now candidates and political parties -- rush to get on
board what pundits are calling the communication system of the
21st century. But will this imposing newcomer figure prominently
in the 1996 presidential, congressional and local elections?
   The two major political parties say the Internet is useful and
may even save them money, but will not replace any of their
traditional ways of reaching voters; political consultants say
the Internet is here so candidates might as well be on it, but
cyberspace really won't be influencing votes.
   Even traditional media outlets, while preparing for the future
with their own "cyberzines" and plans for interactive television,
don't see themselves being replaced anytime soon by the World
Wide Web.
   A study conducted for the Times-Mirror Company, publishers of
the Los Angeles Times newspaper and owners of other newspapers
and radio and television stations, found that while about 18
million American homes have the computers and necessary extras to
connect to the Internet, only 3 percent have ever signed on to
the World Wide Web. Only 8 percent of Americans have even heard
of it. But over the coming months and years, political web sites
will become part of the lore, history and statistics of American
politics.
   "Fundamentally it is a flawed conception that you're going to
win elections by getting swing voters to visit your web site.
It's not going to work," said political consultant Jennifer
Lazlo. "What you can do is provide information that will help you
in fund-raising. You can do searches to get information on your
opponent or your constituents or on your district or on voting
records. And you can use it as a way of getting volunteers
engaged by feeling they are a part of something."
   Lazlo added that "it's being used in every campaign I'm
working on right now. Almost every candidate who's running in a
major race now has an Internet web site where you can get
biographical information on the candidate, look for their
positions on major issues, and find their position papers."
   The candidates are in cyberspace, Lazlo said, "mostly because
people want to have (a web site) so they can say they have it.
It's the new toy. The sites are about as useless an allocation of
resources and money as just about anything."
   She added that "The problem with the Internet is that the only
people who are on it are basically white males who are educated,
who are already following elections so closely that they've
already made up their minds who they're going to vote for. I just
don't see it having the kind of impact that people would like it
to have.
   Lazlo used working mothers and others who have little spare
time in a day filled with work and family responsibilities as
examples. They don't sit at the computer and take the 30 or 40
minutes needed to get on the Internet and search each candidate's
web site, she said, "to decide whether (Republican candidate) Bob
Dole or (President) Bill Clinton has a better position on school
lunches."
   "The people who haven't made up their mind on elections are
lower income or those who follow the news least, who are less
educated. So it's not going to help win you votes," Lazlo said.
They are going to get the candidates' positions through
television commercials while watching an entertainment program or
listening to the radio on the way to work, she explained.
   Most television commercials are 30 seconds long, Lazlo noted.
"A lot of campaigns are now even doing 15-second commercials.
Sound bites on news channels (news stories) are eight seconds. If
you can't tell somebody why you should be elected and the other
guy out of office in eight seconds, you don't have it," she said.
   Pointing out that television programs change images about
every three seconds, Lazlo said "people think you're going to sit
and wait at the computer for 30 seconds just to get a photo of a
candidate on the computer screen. It's just not realistic."
   But how the Internet is helpful to a campaign, she said, is to
research voting records on issues, get ratings according to
various interest groups, and see lists of campaign contributions.
"It makes opposition research a lot easier. Unfortunately, local
committees are not using it for that," Lazlo pointed out.
   "You can get all kinds of census information about different
districts. You can find out a lot about different kinds of voters
-- women or minority voters or rich or poor districts -- crime
statistics...because the Census Bureau has put all that
information on the web," Lazlo said. "Those are things done by
serious researchers who are trying to figure out peoples' overall
records."
   -------------

   -------------
   POLLING PRISMS

   -- A new Harris poll of 1,004 likely voters nationwide
indicates that President Clinton has built up a 31 percentage
point lead over Republican Senator Bob Dole. If Ross Perot were
added to the equation as a third party candidate, he would gain
16 percent but Clinton would still win by 25 percent. Pollster
Humphrey Taylor said in an analysis accompanying the survey that
Clinton's re-election campaign was running smoothly while the
Dole campaign was in disarray over disagreements concerning
abortion and the minimum wage.
   -- A poll sponsored by the Markle Foundation finds that six
months before the general election, only 55 percent of the
population are paying any close attention to the presidential
campaign. The poll interviewed 1,891 adults nationwide. Analysts
say absence of a Democratic nomination fight and lack of a clear
defining issue in the campaign may be contributing to the lower
interest.
   -- A Mason-Dixon poll shows Dole with a six-point lead over
Clinton in the state of North Carolina, even when factoring in
Perot. Another Mason-Dixon survey shows a statistical dead heat
between Dole and Clinton in Indiana, which has backed Republican
presidential candidates since 1964.
   -- In California, two polls show that consumer activist Ralph
Nader, who will be on the November ballot as a presidential
candidate representing the Green Party, could receive between 7
and 11 percent of the vote. If he does, the pollsters say, he
could cut into President Clinton's base and cause problems if
there is a close race.
   -------------

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

   -- The Hill columnist Albert Eisele: "Dole is too good a
politician to give in to the panic that is sweeping his party. He
knows that the electoral college numbers are still in his favor,
that the election will be decided in that string of Rust Belt
states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois where a passel of
Republican governors is ready to pull out all the stops on his
behalf. The Republican nervous Nellies should take a deep breath,
quit whining and admit they're stuck with a less-than-perfect
candidate. Unlike T.S. Eliot, instead of 'mixing memory and
desire,' they should quit looking for another Dwight Eisenhower
or Ronald Reagan, and let Bob Dole be Bob Dole."
   -- Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne, Jr.: "The
Democrats' public glee over their large advantage in the polls is
an entirely accurate reflection of how they feel in private.
Democrats are not only amazed at their good fortune. They are
also astonished at the difficultly Bob Dole and the Republicans
are having in coming up with a new strategy to regain the
political initiative.... But Dole's recent push for repealing the
gas tax increase passed in 1993 suggests the Republicans will not
forever remain on defense. And if Democrats want to win Congress
as well as the White House, they will have to convince voters
that they have something in mind to do -- and the capacity to do
it. The one thing the electorate does not want is a repeat of the
first two Clinton years, when Democrats split asunder and blew
the chance to deliver the changes they promised."
   -- Syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell: "Neither Bob Dole nor
the congressional Republicans in general have any impressive
track record at getting their points across to the public. The
way Bill Clinton outmaneuvered them completely on the government
shutdowns made the Republicans look like rank amateurs.... The
Republican message is much closer to what most Americans believe.
That is why Clinton intercepted that message in his State of the
Union address and is running with it now, during the election
campaign. Once re-elected, he will of course drop the pretense
and go back to the usual liberal big-spending, growing
government, racial quotas and soft-on-crime judicial appointees."
   -- New Republic columnist Hanna Rosin: "Democratic pollsters
have been jetting to places like Tacoma, Washington and Waukegan,
Illinois in search of noncollege-educated women earning less than
$30,000 a year. What they've found is an open hydrant of
disaffection just waiting to be tapped.... The Democrats'
decision to focus on blue-collar women is grade-school simple.
It's based on the concept of 'drop-off' voters, people who voted
in the 1992 presidential elections but stayed home from
congressional races two years later, when the Democrats were
hammered. Almost half of the 'drop-off' voters were working-class
women, pollsters have found, and sparking these women's interest
in 1996 could win Democrats back the House and the White House."
   -------------

   -------------
   PUNDIT PEARLS

   -- Heritage Foundation president Edwin Feulner: "The
conservative agenda articulated in the House Republicans'
'Contract With America' remains largely unfulfilled. Perhaps too
much was attempted. Perhaps compromise was dismissed too easily
in the fervent desire for real change. Perhaps the message became
too unfocused and thus susceptible to redefinition by the special
interests and the media. These are understandable, forgivable
mistakes. I say learn and move on. What do conservatives need to
learn? For starters, when they campaign against each other in
primaries, they have to stop attacking other conservatives for
espousing great conservative ideas. For example, the defining
issue of the 1996 presidential campaign should have been -- and
still could be -- the flat tax. One candidate, so intent upon
defeating flat-tax candidate Steve Forbes that he was willing to
say practically anything, called the flat tax idea 'nonsense.'
Tell that to Hong Kong, whose flat-tax economy has been the most
consistently expanding in the world for the last 30 years."
   -- Connecticut polling analyst Maurice Carroll: "So it turns
out that an inspection of exit-poll results after the Republican
primaries shows what we all had guessed without a poll. Sure
enough, the people who voted for Senator Bob Dole for president
were a middle-of-the-road crowd, regular Republicans who'd voted
for George Bush four years earlier, who saw themselves as
ideological moderates, who don't want the anti-abortion plank in
the party platform, and who think the government should worry
more about economic rather than moral problems. The political
lesson? At the Republican National Convention, Dole will probably
not have to worry as much about the far right as had seemed
likely from some of the super-heated stuff we read during the
early primaries."
   -------------

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

   -- Baltimore Sun: "Republicans are attacking Republicans these
days with an intensity that comes more naturally to Democrats. It
could be a temporary thing, one that will be replaced by harmony
if the Dole campaign ever gets out of the doldrums. But
especially on the abortion issue, the Republican Party seems
entangled in a moral question as profound as that which split the
Democratic Party between the Jim Crow (segregationist) South and
civil rights northern liberals for a century after the Civil
War."
   -- The Hill: "With just six months to go before the 1996
presidential and congressional elections, the most conspicuous
feature on the American political landscape is the disturbing
absence of strong leadership at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
On Capitol Hill, where the 104th Congress has driven the national
legislative agenda for the past 16 months, the Republican
revolution has been transformed from a roaring lion of reform
into a feeble feline of politics-as-usual.... Republicans and
Democrats alike would be well-advised to heed the words of
President Harry Truman, who observed that leaders make history,
not the other way around."
   -------------

   -------------
   REPUBLICAN-DEMOCRATIC SHOOT OUT

   It wasn't like a big gun fight in the Old Wild West, but the
Republicans and Democrats had their own shoot out -- and the
Republicans were the top guns.
   A couple of dozen members of Congress participated in the
competition at a trap and skeet center outside of Washington, and
the crockery and clay discs went flying in pieces. Republicans
won 388 to 370 although Democrats began closing fast at the end.
   The challenge match was held to raise money for charity, and
because of a new gift ban passed by Congress, the top scorer
couldn't accept the top prize -- a pen set.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   REPUBLICAN ABORTION FIGHT

   JIM MALONE
   WASHINGTON

   Republicans concerned about President Clinton's big lead over
Senator Bob Dole in public opinion polls have another worry these
days, an internal party fight over the issue of abortion. Both
sides of the abortion question are gearing up for what is
promising to be a divisive debate at the Republican convention in
San Diego in August.
   Abortion is perhaps the single most divisive issue in American
politics. Over the past 20 years, abortion rights supporters have
found a home in the Democratic Party while abortion opponents
have become a key constituency in the Republican party.
   But now some Republican moderates who favor abortion rights
are urging changes in the longstanding abortion plank in the
Republican party platform which calls for a constitutional
amendment banning abortion.
   That, in turn, has sparked an angry response from pro-life
activists in the party like presidential candidate Pat Buchanan:
   "You know there is a great battle going on inside my party now
as to whether or not we are going to abandon the cause of the
right to life of the innocent unborn. And so I am asking now, as
I am asking you, really to stand with me in that particular
cause, the cause of the right to life of the innocent unborn."
   Mr. Buchanan's sister and campaign manager, Bay Buchanan,
warns any attempt to alter the anti-abortion language of the 1992
Republican platform would be political suicide for the Republican
party. She says any watering down of the party's pro-life stance
on abortion would force hundreds of thousands of Christian
conservatives to leave the party, crippling Senator Dole's
chances against President Clinton in the November election:
   "This is the '92 pro-life plank (the stance on abortion
adopted at the 1992 Republican convention). We are saying no word
can be changed, no words can be added. It is to remain as is."
   But pro-choice advocates in the Republican Party argue that
Senator Dole is doomed to defeat unless the party moderates its
anti-abortion stand and appeals to so-called moderate swing
voters in November. New Jersey congresswoman Marge Roukema says
Republicans need to attract women voters who agree with the
party's conservative views on economic issues but who find its
stands on abortion and other so-called values issues extreme:
   "It is amazing to me that the very people in our party who
want to get government out of our lives are really, on this most
personal issue that should be an issue between the woman, her
family, her doctor and her religious counselor, that those same
people are trying to tell the American people what is right in
every occasion."
   Political analysts are split on the impact of an abortion
fight within the Republican party. David Keene is a conservative
Republican activist and an unofficial adviser to the Dole
campaign. He says the party cannot change its abortion stance
because it relies too much on the votes of pro-life supporters:
   "The fact is that we have two parties that while they both
have within them people who disagree and agree on others issues,
and that is why they are there, have a consensus position on the
right to life question, the abortion question. And I do not think
the Republican party can afford to change its consensus position
any more than the Democratic Party can afford to change its
consensus position."
   Independent political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says
Republican moderates must now decide whether or not it is worth
the price of party unity to push for a change in the abortion
language. He says if they do, it will become the story of this
summer's Republican convention and could tear the party apart:
   "But in this case it is the (Republican) moderates, it is up
to them. Do they want to cause problems? Do they want to be the
Pat Buchanan (a divisive force) of 1996 for the Republicans? If
they (Republican moderates) push on abortion, believe me, the
national media will be more than happy to cover that fight,
minute by minute and blow by blow."
   All eyes now are on Senator Dole. As the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee, he will have the last word on
the party platform at the convention. But the decision will not
be an easy one. Any change in the abortion language could erode
his base of support among Christian conservatives. But leaving
the platform as is could hand the Democrats a powerful weapon as
they seek to portray the Republicans as a party held hostage by
ideological extremists.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   CLINTON/DOLE POLITICS

   DAVID BORGIDA
   WHITE HOUSE

   President Clinton's political aides, emboldened by public
opinion polls that show the president well ahead of presumptive
Republican nominee Senator Bob Dole, are no longer shrinking from
the kind of political combat they avoided weeks ago. In fact,
with the economy doing well, they now seem to actually be
enjoying the frontrunner role as the 1996 presidential campaign
heats up.
   "It's the economy, stupid!" That was the guiding philosophy of
the 1992 Clinton campaign and with recent government figures
showing a solid economy, Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry no longer
is staying out of the political fray; he is jumping right into
it.
   To Senator Dole's recent criticism of the president's foreign
policies, that the president is taking the country down what
Senator Dole called "a dangerous road of weakness ", Mr. McCurry
Monday offered this response to the allegations:
   "They were patently untrue and so unpersuasive they seemed to
make no impact at all on even the audience he addressed. The
president is confident that we have asserted the United States
leadership position in this world, we have done that effectively,
and when you look around the world at how we are advancing
America's interest, the foreign policy record of this president
is a very strong one."
   Mr. McCurry, once the State Department spokesman but also an
experienced political operative, even lashed out at the
Republican-controlled Congress directly, a not-so-subtle jab,
too, at the Senate majority leader, Senator Dole:
   "The Republican Congress now seems to have walked away from
the goal of balancing the budget and doesn't seem to want to sit
down with the president and get the deal done that can make sure
the American people get a balanced budget."
   With house speaker Newt Gingrich seeing his popularity ratings
dropping, the Clinton White House has also begun using the
phrase, "the Dole-Gingrich Congress", to describe the legislative
branch these days. It is seen as an effort to link the speaker to
Senator Dole's presidential campaign.
   But do these tactics of more direct political engagement with
the opposition show the Clinton White House is over-confident?
   No, says Mr. McCurry:
   "No American election ever has, at the presidential level that
I can remember, well not in recent memory, has ever been decided
by a margin of twenty points and it's ridiculous to assume that
that will remain the margin in this race. And inevitably it will
be close because American elections almost by definition are
close because of the way we have structured our politics. In
fact, one of the encouraging things about our system is we have
two competitive political parties and they remain competitive and
that lends a measure of stability to our political culture."
   The Clinton spokesman adds President Clinton is not allowing
any overconfidence to settle in, noting the president remembers
all too well that former President George Bush also appeared in
good position to be re-elected four years ago:
   "The president is very concerned about it and admonishes his
staff all the time to remember that fortunes change with
lightning speed in politics. And any time someone says the word
"poll" to him, he says 'Greg Norman.'"
   For those not as interested in golf as President Clinton, Greg
Norman is the Australian professional golfer who lost a solid
lead in the April Masters golf tournament in the last round of
play.
   ---------------

   ---------------
   WORLD PRESS: U.S. POLITICS:  CLINTON SEEMS TO BE ON A ROLL

   DIANA MCCAFFREY
   WASHINGTON

   A majority of observers in Europe, Asia and Latin America
judged that a number of recent developments and events--
including the passage of the federal budget, perceived successful
U.S. foreign policy initiatives in the Middle East and elsewhere,
surprisingly strong figures on growth in the U.S. economy and
favorable public opinion polls, especially among women--all add
up to a positive forecast for the Clinton camp come the elections
in November.  Presumed Republican Party-nominee Senator Robert
Dole was seen as continuing to have troubles in inspiring and
uniting his party.  Munich's centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung
commented, "Dole is a general whose captains are dancing all over
him.  Not a good sign for the coming elections."  Other
opinionmakers remarked that Mr. Dole is facing a "better
campaigner" in Mr. Clinton.  An Australian writer, for example, 
held, "As Senator Dole fumbles, Mr. Clinton is displaying all his
renowned campaigning arts."  The general consensus was that Mr.
Dole must "sharpen his message" if he is to gain ground, but,
even then, some averred, that may not be enough.  The independent
Manila Chronicle  stressed, "Dole cannot defeat Clinton; it is
Clinton alone who can beat himself."  Those few analysts
skeptical of the president's ability to "lock up an unassailable
lead" pointed to potential personal scandal (a la Whitewater) and
foreign policy setbacks (perhaps in the Middle East, Bosnia and
China) as possibly derailing Mr. Clinton's apparent "resurrection
from political carcass...to comfortable frontrunner."  There were
also some who argued that Mr. Clinton's poll numbers are not that
solid.  London's conservative Times suggested, "The Cheshire Cat
smile that comes from the Clinton camp masks the reality that few
of those backing the incumbent do so from any positive position."
Some pundits warned against unbridled euphoria in the Clinton
campaign, noting that American political history is "replete with
surprise turnarounds."  But they also admitted that, for Senator
Dole, "the battle is clearly not going to be an easy one at all."
   The end of the "bitterest battle" over the U.S. budget was the
predominant issue in  many editorials. There were a number of
analysts who said that the budget reached was a "compromise" and
both Republicans and Democrats could claim victory.  One writer
in London's independent weekly Economist, on the other hand, saw
it differently:  "Despite appearances, [the Republicans] in fact
have the upper hand....  The budget target itself represents a
Republican target.  It is no small thing to have persuaded a
Democratic president to agree to eliminate the deficit in seven
years."  Most commentators, however,  deemed President Clinton
the victor--appearing "steadfast" in contrast to a "mean bunch"
of Republicans "favoring the rich and soaking the poor."  
Sydney's conservative Australian concluded, "[The budget deal]
was a final admission of failure for the steamroller tactics at
the heart of the so-called Republican revolution in Congress,
leaving Republicans limping to the polls, complaining about Mr.
Clinton's interference instead of boasting about 'promises made,
promises kept.'"

   This survey is based on 35 reports from 15 countries, April
   21- May 5.

   EUROPE

   GERMANY:  "Bad Signal For Bob Dole"

   Munich's centrist Sueddeutsche Zeitung  (4/26) opined, "The 
[budget] strategy of confrontation taken on by the Republicans
depended upon their once again revealing Clinton to be a
turncoat.  The opposite happened.  Clinton showed himself to be
steadfast and the Gingrich battalions were seen more and more as
ideologically driven obstructors.  This has also caused deep
wounds in Bob Dole's presidential campaign.  Dole, the leader of
the Republican majority, is not a radical in Gingrich's mold. If
he had the final say, a compromise would have been found months
ago.  It was, however, not Bob Dole's decision--and the nation
became very much aware of that.  It was the conservative
freshmen...having the final say....  Dole is a general whose
captains are dancing all over him.  Not a good sign for the
coming elections."

   "Two Winners"

   Right-of-center Die Welt's Gerd Breuggerman concluded (4/26),
"Both sides will be able to declare themselves as winners."

   "U.S. President And Party Are Confident Of Victory"

   Wire service DPA carried an editorial by Hanns-Jochen
Kiaffsack (4/24),  "The big setback of November 1994 is nearly
forgotten. President  Bill Clinton and his Democratic Party are
in full swing. Positive opinion  polls create an optimistic
atmosphere for the tough election campaign....  Bill Clinton
would like to be reelected and his party  would like to regain
control of Congress. Democratic Senator Christopher  Dodd is
convinced: The party is back on track. Contrary to his Republican
opponent, Robert Dole from Kansas, Clinton has  collected
substantial funds to finance his campaign in the next few months.
Clinton can spend 10 times as much as Dole. This is an enormous 
advantage. Opinion poll ratings are good for the political
management of the Clinton presidency. According to the L.A. Times
55 percent of the registered  voters would vote for Clinton; less
than 37 percent for Dole. Clinton knows better what topics
concern the American people.  Opinion polls indicate that Clinton
profits from the harsh and negative approach of the Republican
majority in Congress on cuts of social security.
   "Apparently, Clinton's chances of attracting female voters are
promising.  Emily's List did a poll which indicates that women
are supporting the  Democratic Party and President Clinton. Their
vote could be decisive:  Women are less conservative than male
voters.  The election success, just as in 1992,  will depend on
the American middle class which lives in the suburbs. Influential
Senator Dodd is optimistic that  president and party will achieve
the victory. Only a political earthquake could undermine
Clinton's success. Foreign policy issues could, however, 
undermine Clinton's chances. His successes in Haiti, Bosnia, and
the  Middle East could be endangered by the continuing fighting
between the terrorist organization Hamas (sic)  and Israel."

   BRITAIN:  "Clinton Budget Victory Not What It Seems"

   The independent weekly Economist said (5/3), "Bruised,
bloodied, and with their helmetsknocked about their scalps, the
Republicans have just emerged from the 16-month budget battle of
fiscal 1996.  They look like losers.  In the popular view, it was
their fault that budget negotiations started so late and, in
December, fell apart....  Despite appearances, they in fact have
the upper hand.  First, the president's victory is not what it
appears.  Overall, the discretionary spending bill was $20
billion less in money terms than the year before, close to the
$23 billion cut the Republicans wanted.  Although Mr. Clinton
scraped up extra dollars for training, education and preserving
trees in Alaska, many programs were cut by 10 percent or more. 
If appropriations can be frozen at this level in future years, it
will be a firm step toward balancing the budget as planned in
2002.  Second, that budget target itself represents a Republican
triumph.  It is no small thing to have persuaded a Democratic
president to agree to eliminate the deficit in seven years.  It
means that the budget debate is already being conducted on the
Republicans' terms....      If any one factor has hurt the
Republicans over recent months-- both over the budget, and in the
wider political sphere--it is the old perception that they are a
mean bunch, favoring the rich and soaking the poor.  The party
won Congress in 1994 by promoting a new, classless philosophy:
smaller and better government.  In the budget argument, that
remains the only drum to beat."

   "Ross Perot:  He's Baaack!"

   The BBC TV's Breakfast News' Washington correspondent Gavin
Esler said on Ross Perot's possible return to the presidential
contest (5/2), "He's back:  The unpredictable, often irascible
Texan who took 19 percent of the votes in the 1992 presidential
election appears to be gearing up for another run, throwing the
entire campaign into confusion, possibly taking 10 percent or
more of the votes this time....  Last time, Mr. Perot seriously
damaged George Bush by peeling off enough Republicans to enable
Bill Clinton to win the election, but not a majority of votes.
Republicans fear he could do the same again....  Beyond his
ideas, it is the Perot billions which guarantee that the reform
party cannot be ignored.  Ross Perot is often dismissed, as they
say in Texas, as all sizzle and no steak--all talk and no real
action.  But like Sir James Goldsmith in Britain, he has support
enough and certainly has money enough to continue as a major
player in politics for as long as he likes."

   "Does It Matter Who Wins?"

   The liberal Guardian's political columnist Hugo Young remarked
from Washington (5/2),  "There are questions of image and energy,
and what sort of  face America presents to the world for the next
four years.  Each man is such an astute politician that both
could be relied on to keep the show on the road.  But I think
there are two areas in particular where the difference would be
great.  The first is in the courts....  The reactionary
inheritance of Reagan and Bush continues in courts from coast to
coast, unabated by the Republicans' defeat in 1992.  Clinton's
appointments, in keeping with his character, have not been
extravagantly liberal.  But they've begun to restore balance to a
judiciary regularly pushing to de-federalize the constitution and
undercut social advances made in the past quarter century.  If
Dole wins, the bench will be shaped further into an adjunct of
the Gingrich revolution.
   "Second, the environment.  Though Newt Gingrich has begun to 
express some sensitivity to the growing national awareness of
environmental destruction, his party has an atrocious recent
record....  In his battle over the federal budget, Clinton gave
priority to environmental spending and regulation, preserving
those programs more energetically, in fact, than the welfare
budget.  A Dole victory would, without question, further de-green
America.
   "These are not small differences.  Add to them the rampant,
crusading rightism of a segment of Dole's party, and you have the
kind of future for America which a lot of Americans will fight
passionately to derail.  There will be a fire behind Clinton
which is hardly anywhere to be seen behind the prospect of the
Blair Labor Party winning in Britain.  But the liberals and
others who want this are becoming easily satisfied.  They look
for meager gains.  They're led by a man who, insofar as he ever
held to principles of liberalism, has found it politically
essential to betray them."

   "Dole's Task Is To Sharpen His Message"

   An editorial in the conservative Times said (4/30), "Reports
of Mr. Dole's electoral demise are greatly exaggerated.  His camp
should ignore calls for a drastic change of strategy in favor of
sitting still and playing to their strengths.  Given that he has
no other financial base on which to run and is a 36-year veteran
of the American legislature, there is little point in Mr. Dole
quitting his post suddenly to become an anti- Washington
populist.  Furthermore, underneath the poll numbers that give
President Clinton a significant lead, there are many healthy
strands for the senator....   When asked to name one
accomplishment of the Clinton tenure, some 60 percent of
Americans reply that they cannot name a single item or do not
know.  The Cheshire Cat smile that comes from the Clinton camp
masks the reality that few of those backing the incumbent do so
from any positive position....

   "(Dole's) task is to sharpen his message.  If he does so,
    Americans will still get a contest worthy of its name."

   "Clinton and U.S. Foreign Policy"

   The centrist Independent's foreign editor John Lichfield wrote
(4/30), "U.S. diplomacy has resolved the latest Middle East
conflict for all parties....  Warren Christopher's tenacious
jaw-jawing deserves much of the credit....  But, all in all, the
episode has damaged three important U.S. policy goals in the
region.  It has weakened Arab popular tolerance of the peace
process, it has emboldened Syria, and it has loosened the bars of
the diplomatic cage that Washington has been trying to construct
around Iran.
   "This episode typifies the strengths, but also the weaknesses,
of Clinton foreign policy as it has emerged, after a couple of
false starts, over the past three years.   In Haiti, in Bosnia
and in the Middle East, when they were forced to do something,
Bill Clinton and his team have operated energetically and,
generally, successfully.  But in each case, Clinton was impelled
to act by the consequences of his own previous poor judgement or
inattention.  There is, as yet, no clear Clinton doctrine in
foreign affairs, but there is a Clinton style-- characterized by
a kind of diplomacy interruptus.  U.S. achievements in Bosnia and
Haiti could yet be destroyed by Washington's insistence on
pulling out its troops before the job is a quarter done.  In the
Middle East, bursts of frenetic activity have punctuated long
periods of seeming negligence.... But Clinton does deserve credit
for holding the line against a more full-blooded U.S.
isolationism."

   FRANCE:  "Good Surprise For American Growth, Good For Clinton"

   Luc Lampriere wrote in influencial Liberation (5/3), "The
United States has made an excellent score for the first quarter
of  this year which took all experts by surprise....  At the
beginning of an  election year, those figures are an asset for
Bill Clinton: 47percent of  the Americans think that the economic
situation has improved since his  election in 1992. But only
27percent give him credit for  this improvement."

   "American Economy Growth Is Faster Than Expected"

   Jean Marie Macabrey, Washington correspondent for financial La
Tribune, held (5/3), : "The spectrum of recession which worried
the Federal Reserve experts has  completely vanished.
   The American economy has grown five times faster in  the first
quarter of 1996 than in the last quarter of 1995.  This is
excellent news for Bill Clinton who is seven months away from the
presidential election, but alarming for the markets that were
taken by  surprise."

   ITALY:  "Bitterest Battle Over"

   Arturo Zampaglione wrote in left-leaning, influential La
Repubblica (4/29), "After two lock-outs...after 13 continuing
resolutions and seven months of congressional debate, the
bitterest battle of the last 30 years finished yesterday with
Bill Clinton's signature on the state budget....  The war on the
budget had symbolic value....  At first Clinton seemed weak,
confused, shocked over the defeat in the Senate and the House,
but then he decided to make the budget the ideological and 
political demarcation line.... The compromise reached covers the 
95-96 budget....  Therefore, the new legislation will last only 
five months.  Moreover, in the text no mention is made of taxes 
or of structural changes of welfare programs.  It is clear that 
it is a provisional package, as Clinton himself underlined: 'our
work is not over'- -he said--'we should resume debate in a 
constructive spirit. The aim is to balance the budget in seven 
years.'"

   RUSSIA:   "Tenuous And Short-Lived"

   Nikolai Zimin of reformist Segodnya (4/27) filed from
Washington: "Approved by Congress and signed by the president,
this truce, among other things, means that the Republican
majority will never use the budget again as major political
leverage to put pressure on President Clinton....  Grudgingly,
the Republicans have had to admit that by being rough and brash,
they looked bad in the public eye and damaged their standing with
voters.  Diametrically opposite assessments of the compromise
reached only accentuate its being inharmonious, tenuous and
short-lived."

   BELGIUM:  "Why Doesn't Dole Take Advantage Of Whitewater
              Reports?"

   Discussing the latest developments of the Whitewater
investigation, Claude Porsella wrote in independent Le Soir
(4/30), "At a moment when the Republicans are losing their
momentum and when Bill Clinton's popularity ratings are
constantly on the rise, it is hard  to see why Bob Dole wouldn't
take advantage of this rather unclear aspect of his rival's
personality.  Is citizen Bill above all suspicion?"

   "Running Mate For Dole"

   Luc Ruidant wrote in socialist La Wallonie (4/29), "For the
time being, the senator from Kansas is remaining silent [about a
running mate] and he is letting rumors go on. Several options are
offered to him: to enlarge his electoral appeal by designating
someone different from himself; or, to wheedle the
parliamentarians, the young or the women; or else, to balance his
ticket geographically, ethnically or even religiously, etc....
Knowing that he cannot make a mistake, it is understandable that
he should take his time."

   "Clinton, Dole Can Both Claim Victory In Budget War"

   Washington correspondent Nathalie Mattheiem wrote in
independent Le Soir (4/26),  "The compromise reached between the
emissaries of the White House and of the Congress allows everyone
to claim victory and to bury the hatchet."

   SERBIA-MONTENEGRO:  "With America, Everything Is Possible"

   Independent, centrist Nasa Borba ran a commentary by foreign
affairs commentator Zoran Mandzuka (4/21),  "In his recent one-
hour State of the Union Address, President Clinton spokeof the 
successes of U.S. foreign policy mentioning the renewal of 
democracy in Haiti, peace in Northern Ireland, and cessation
of hostilities in Bosnia.  At the same time, nobody has any idea
of what really was renewed in Haiti, while more than half of
Americans did not see any interest, either national or personal,
in Belfast or in Sarajevo....  One thing is very hard to
tell--what is the U.S. priority interest.  Is it in Europe,
because of  NATO?  Why not in the Pacific, or maybe in the
Persian Gulf.... Closest to the truth are those who contend that
there is no priority interest, and that all interests boil down
to--oil and trade.  There lies Serbia's disadvantage--it has no
oil, and not many would have trade with it in its present
situation.  All in all, without America nothing is possible,
whereas with it, everything is possible."

   SPAIN:  "Clinton:  Women's Favorite"

   Antonio Cano wrote in liberal El Pais (5/5), "Republican
campaign advisors thought the womanizing name which Clinton
gained for himself during the last few years would be enough for
the president to lose his charm on women.  However, they have
shown not to  have taken the accusations against the president
seriously and have, in  return, praised Clinton for his
understanding attitude toward society's less-favored groups. 
This and Hillary's popularity mong working and  independent women
have played against Dole's sternness, to make Clinton women's
favorite.  Dole's only hope lies on surveys indicating that women
think Republicans can guarantee economic security for women
better than  Democrats."

   SWITZERLAND:  "U.S. Budget:  Everybody Claims Victory"

   Paul Sigaud wrote in center-right Journal de Gen ve (4/27),
"The U.S. budget finally won over an overwhelming majority in
Congress, after a seven-month struggle between the White House
and the Republican opposition. At stake:  the presidential
race....  Everybody claims victory.   As is usually the case,
each side tried to convince the public that the other party had
made the lion's share of concessions. The two presidential
candidates used the budget as a warm-up to the real battle in
November. One of Bill Clinton's strategies has been to show that,
despite this 'cohabitation' between two hostile political forces,
the crucial element remains the White House.
   "For now, Dole has no choice but to cooperate. If he refuses
to negotiate, he will quickly be accused of abusing his
leadership role in the Senate for partisan purposes. Clinton's
tactic is similar to that of Truman in 1948, also faced with a
Republican-majority Congress:  by keeping his adversaries on the
defensive, Truman managed to beat Dewey and keep the White
House."

   EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

   AUSTRALIA:   "Games A Golden Opportunity For Clinton"

   The national, conservative Weekend Australian held 5/4),  "The
U.S. president, Mr. Clinton, is the starter certain to come out
of this Olympiad well ahead of his opponents--and his reward will
be a tighter grip on the most powerful job in the world. The 1996
calendar clash between the centenary Games and the U.S.
presidential election is about to provide an invaluable boost to
Mr. Clinton's already surging re-election campaign, while
providing major headaches for the Republican Party's footsore
flag-bearer, Senator Bob Dole.  Not that Mr. Clinton seems to
need much help.  The release of surprisingly strong figures on
GDP and wages growth in the past two days has all but removed the
threat of a severe economic downturn in the six months before the
election, convincing a growing number of U.S. political observers
that the president might be able to lock up an unassailable lead
well before the November 5 ballot."

   "Doleful Tmes For Republican"

   The Washington correspondent for the liberal Sydney Morning
Herald wrote (5/4),  "Just stepping down as majority leader will
not lessen one of Senator Dole's biggest problems: President
Clinton.  As Senator Dole fumbles, Mr. Clinton is displaying all
his renowned campaigning arts.  Not even the ongoing Whitewater
affair has dented the president's popularity.  Meanwhile, the
president's experienced campaign team has skillfully invoked the
power of the presidential office to outfox Senator Dole's less
able advisers on issue after issue, from rising petrol prices to
the war in the Middle East.  American political history is
replete with surprise turnarounds.  But for Senator Dole the
battle is clearly not going to be an easy one at all."

   "Republicans Can't Figure Out Devalued Dole"

   The Washington correspondent for the national, business-
oriented  Australian Financial Review (2/5) reported, "Dole has
got no political bounce from finally shrugging off Lamar
Alexander, Steve Forbes and Patrick Buchanan to win the
Republicans' presidential primary race.  To the contrary,
Clinton's political stocks are appreciating while Dole's continue
to devalue.  Moreover, Dole's deficit is becoming so gaping that
it would take an unprecedented recovery for the septuagenarian to
take the big prize....  Even more alarmingly for Republicans, the
Gallup poll found Clinton beating Dole 58- 37 percent in a
head-to-head match-up....  Unsettled by such omens, Republicans
are questioning whether Dole's unusual bid to build his
presidential campaign from the majority leadership of the Senate
is confusing his efforts to define a clear political message. 
Dole's Senate job anchors him to the increasingly unpopular
Republican-controlled Congress....  In turn, Dole's inability to
unite or excite his own party is eating away at his claimed chief
political asset--leadership."

   "Clinton Foreign Policy:  Unpleasant To Watch, Artful
    Execution"

   The Australian Financial Review commented (5/2),  "Although
Clinton's foreign policy has been unpleasant to watch, it is
artful in its execution, and more symbolic of naive moralism than
strategic imperative, the bottom line record, as of today, is
good enough for most Democrats to support....  The surprise is
that the Democrats are now positioned in a more international
posture than the Republicans....  China is becoming the biggest
foreign policy issue facing President Clinton and Senator Dole. 
Clinton will almost surely resist strong pressure from Democrats
in Congress, based on human rights concerns, to refuse to extend
Most Favored Nation status this year.  Senator Dole...senses an
important political opening.  By opposing MFN for China, or by
demanding that any MFN approval be linked...with tougher trade
sanctions than Clinton will propose, Dole could take the high
ground against Beijing."

   "Still Time For Embarrassing Whitewater Revelations"

   The Washington correspondent for the liberal Sydney Morning
Herald (4/27) claimed,  "The past few weeks have seen a marked
shift in the political debate over Whitewater as the president's
Republican foes struggle to justify continuing the politically
charged investigations in a presidential election year.  No
evidence has yet been found that the Clintons were engaged in
criminal activity....  The credibility of Mr. (Kenneth) Starr
(independent counsel) is now linked closely to the court hearing
to which Mr. Clinton will give his videotaped evidence
tomorrow....  (But) with the U.S. presidential election still
more than six months away, there is plenty of time for Mr. Starr
to come up with embarrassing revelations as his investigation
continues."

   "President's Grand Slam Has Challenger Stranded"

   The Washington correspondent for the national, conservative
Australian  (4/26) reported, "President Clinton's political
stocks yesterday reached the highest point of his three years in
the White House with a sweet budget triumph over the Republican
Congress, record-high opinion polls and a growing tactical
advantage over his November opponent, Senator Bob Dole....  Mr.
Clinton's resurrection from political carcass in 1994 to
comfortable frontrunner in 1996, owes much to the often nasty 
budget battle which ended yesterday in a clear failure for the 
Republican Congress.... Yesterday's deal to pass a 
seven-months-late budget was a final admission of failure for the 
steamroller tactics at the heart of the so-called Republican 
revolution in Congress, leaving Republicans limping to
the polls complaining about Mr. Clinton's interference instead of
boasting about 'promises made, promises kept.'"

   "Party Pessimists Write Dole Off"

   The Washington correspondent for the national, conservative
Australian held (4/24),  "Growing doubts in the Republican Party
about the presidential prospects of its candidate, Senator Bob
Dole, began to give way to open pessimism yesterday, with two
influential conservatives warning that President Clinton might
already be assured of re-election.  A member of the Reagan
cabinet, Robert Bennett, and a former chief of staff to Vice
President Dan Quayle, William Kristol, gave voice to the
widespread fears among Republicans that Senator Dole might be no
match for Mr. Clinton in this year's campaign....  Mr. Clinton
enjoys a double-digit lead over Senator Dole in almost all
opinion polls and is acknowledged as a much better campaigner
that his 72-year-old opponent."

   INDONESIA:  "Presidents And Scandals"

   Leading independent Kompas editorialized  (5/1), "President
Clinton has testified on the Whitewater scandal....  President
Clinton's image will deteriorate as a result of this protracted
scandal.  The interesting point is whether the scandal will be
used in negative Republican campaigns prior to the November
elections.  The 1974 Watergate investigation....forced former
President Nixon to resign.  Former President Reagan was dragged
to court for significant testimony in the Iran-contra affair.
These examples demonstrate that U.S. presidents are not immune to
law.... We are sympathetic to President Clinton and Hillary, who
have spoken frankly during Whitewater investigations, even though
the press brands them liars.  We appreciate the transparency of 
the American political system, which balances power among the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Whatever the
results of the investigation--for example, Hillary Clinton found
guilty or the president loses the election--it is only a
'footnote' in the history of the American presidency."

   PHILIPPINES:  "Clinton Alone Can Beat Himself"

   J.V. Cruz wrote in the independent Manila Chronicle (5/6),
"Any electoral contest that pits an incumbent seeking reelection
against a challenger or challengers is necessarily and
essentially a referendum on the former's performance....  Dole
cannot defeat Clinton; it is Clinton alone who can beat himself. 
It has always been so and will always be so when an incumbent is
running for reelection."

   SINGAPORE:  "Political Truce In U.S."

   The pro-government Business Times editorialized (4/30), "In a
way, the budget accord reflects the victory of the leaders of the
mainstream camps in both the democratic and republican parties. 
President Clinton and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who are
expected to face each other in the coming presidential race, have
succeeded in neutralizing the more extreme elements in their
political organizations and in forcing a sensible compromise. 
That permits each side to declare a victory of sorts and to begin
drawing the main themes for the 1996 campaign....  Both Mr.
Clinton and Mr. Dole are committed to a cautious implementation
of a plan to cut the deficit by the end of the century as well as
to internationalist and pro-free trade positions in the area of
foreign policy.  This suggests that, notwithstanding the results
of the November elections, Washington may be able to form in the
coming years a centrist and stable consensus on domestic and
international policies."

   THAILAND:  "Dole's Situation Has Not Improved"

   Palad Lud wrote in top-circulation Thai Rath (4/30), "Barring
some unexpected irregularities, Democrats are quite certain of
President Clinton's re-election victory....  As most polls to
date show Clinton far ahead of  Bob Dole by a wide margin of
15-20 percentage points....  Since having secured the Republican 
Party's nomination, Dole's situation has not improved....  Worse 
still, the unity of his party is shaking....  So much so that even 
House Speaker Newt Gringrich slipped a word last week that the 
Republican Party is now in a dismal and gloomy state."

   LATIN AMERICA

   URUGUAY:  "Everything Would Indicate That Clinton Will Be Re-
              Elected"

   Independent, economic weekly Busqueda commented (4/29), "The
president is self-confident.  On the same day the Republicans
were struggling in the New Hampshire primaries, Clinton was there
for an official visit and addressed 10,000 people, a large
audience for a president whose popularity has been constantly
going up and down.  The Republican battle was devastating, not
only to choose the most adequate candidate, but to define the
party's future.  Dole did not promise much and let his long
political career speak for his integrity and credibility.  Today,
everything would indicate that Clinton will be re-elected.  After
learning from his mistakes at the beginning, his present image is
that of someone who knows his tough job and, therefore, would be
unnecessary to replace at this moment....  His dubious foreign
policy, for example, has not prevented him from always supporting
the most noble peacekeeping causes....  Clinton is his own worst
enemy.  He has an unpredictable ability to make mistakes when he
is at his best.  No one can tell yet if his wife Hillary is
really his best ally or his worst enemy."
   ---------------

   ---------------
   FREE OFFER FROM PUBLISHER

          "CLIP" NEWS SERVICE

          INEWS DAILY IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH E-MAIL

          FREE TRIAL

          LOW COST ROYALTY FREE REPRODUCTION RIGHTS AVAILABLE

   International News E-Wire Service (INEWS) is an English
language daily, covering news of the world.  INEWS provides
up-to-date and accurate world news.  It also includes many
features and interviews covering such topics as current events,
politics, economics, science, medicine, history, technology,
agriculture, religion, and music.

   Low cost republication rights are available allowing articles
to be used on BBSs, in newsletters, advertising, LANs, weeklies,
community newspapers, school newspapers, brochures, media kits,
presentations, church bulletins, and more.

   Every day, INEWS gathers reports filed by correspondents
stationed at 26 news bureaus throughout the world.  INEWS relates
first-hand coverage of stories from news bureaus in Abidjan,
Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Bonn, Cairo, Chicago, Geneva, Hong
Kong, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles,
Miami, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Prague, Rio
de Janeiro, San Jose, Tokyo, Vienna, and Washington, D.C.

   Daily INEWS service is available for less than $4.00 a month.

   Delivered through E-mail in one of two versions, plain text or
a DOS/VGA version.  The DOS/VGA version is sent either through
E-mail, encoded, or through file transfer on America Online,
Compuserve, or Prodigy.

   A free two week trial can be received by sending E-mail
containing E-mail address, name and address to:

   INTERNET: INEWS@AOL.COM 
   AOL: INEWS
   COMPUSERVE: 76725,3622
   WORLD WIDE WEB: http://members.aol.com/inewscirc/inews.html
   --------------
   ***END OF FILE*** 