Nightline (ABC) - 1996-03-05 (Junior Tuesday primaries)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Finally tonight, he's a senior partner

[0:02] at a law office and the hottest thing on

[0:04] the internet. His name is Thumper, and

[0:06] he's the honorary senior partner of this

[0:08] law office in Ventura, California. So,

[0:10] it was only fitting that Thumper

[0:12] received his own website. Thumper's

[0:15] popularity is now spreading worldwide.

[0:17] His owners say Thumper gets about 75

[0:20] messages a day. That's more than the law

[0:22] office itself. He's so popular, Thumper

[0:24] has been asked to appear on a TV show

[0:26] and has made the list of who's cool in

[0:28] America. As you can see, Thumper isn't

[0:31] taking fame all that seriously.

[0:34] >> Well, Thumper probably owns a bunch of

[0:35] Microsoft stock, too.

[0:36] >> I think he sold today.

[0:38] >> Hey, that's it. See you tomorrow.

[0:39] >> Okay, take care.

[0:48] >> March 5th, 1996.

[0:53] Voting in 10 states across the country

[0:56] from New England. Robert Doe because I

[0:59] think he's experienced

[1:00] >> to the south.

[1:01] >> I kind of like Steve Forbes actually. We

[1:03] need more businessmen and less lawyers.

[1:05] >> And in the West,

[1:07] >> we got to get our own act straightened

[1:08] out first. And I think Buchanan can do

[1:10] that.

[1:11] >> With more than 250 delegates at stake,

[1:14] it's the biggest primary day so far. And

[1:18] the clear front runner for the

[1:19] Republican presidential nomination.

[1:22] Well, I know they call this a Junior

[1:24] Tuesday, but it seems pretty super to

[1:27] us, and we're very proud that you're

[1:28] here tonight.

[1:30] >> Tonight, Bob Doe moving into high gear.

[1:38] This is an ABC News Night Line special,

[1:43] the 96 vote, reporting from Washington,

[1:47] Ted Cppel.

[1:49] Perhaps there is a special little corner

[1:51] of hell reserved for journalists where

[1:54] those of us from the electronic media

[1:56] will be forced to watch and listen to an

[1:58] endless loop of our own inaccurate

[2:00] analyses and projections. To our

[2:03] colleagues from the print media, it will

[2:05] look something like this. The recent

[2:08] parade of gloomy headlines about Bob

[2:10] Dole. Doubts about Dole. Dead man

[2:12] walking. Dole has dug himself a hole.

[2:15] Can he climb out? The point being that

[2:17] Bob Dole tonight is a political Lazarus.

[2:20] ABC political director Hal Bruno reports

[2:23] tonight that Lamar Alexander has decided

[2:26] to bow out of the race and will make the

[2:27] announcement tomorrow. ABC News has also

[2:30] learned that Senator Dick Luger has

[2:32] already made the same decision and will

[2:34] tomorrow officially become another

[2:36] footnote to the 1996 presidential race.

[2:40] There are others, of course, still very

[2:42] much in the race, but Senator Dole has

[2:44] administered a sound thrashing to his

[2:47] closest rival tonight, Pat Buchanan, in

[2:49] all eight states where primaries were

[2:51] held. And as for Steve Forbes, were he

[2:54] not financially independent, he might

[2:57] also have been obliged to withdraw from

[2:59] the race. It is far from over. But as I

[3:02] turn to my colleague Peter Jennings at

[3:04] ABC's election headquarters in New York,

[3:06] it seems fair to say, Peter, that this

[3:09] has been a banner day for Bob Dole.

[3:11] Yeah, I think it has, Ted. And in fact,

[3:12] looking at that headline, I think he's

[3:14] began to dig himself out of that hole in

[3:16] South Carolina on Saturday and has had a

[3:18] measure of momentum ever since. He's

[3:20] campaigned everywhere where other

[3:21] candidates had to pick their targets.

[3:23] And there's no question he has the

[3:25] momentum coming out of tonight to go on

[3:27] to the rest of the primaries. Uh, but

[3:28] it's probably also fair to say, as we'll

[3:30] hear, I think in the analysis tonight,

[3:32] that there still are doubts out there

[3:35] about Do Bob Dole. Not to take anything

[3:37] away from his victory tonight, but we

[3:38] were looking through the exit polls

[3:39] earlier to find that in almost every

[3:42] state, almost half the people who voted

[3:44] want someone other than the candidates

[3:46] who are currently running. So, he's out

[3:47] of the hole and he's on his way. The

[3:50] other candidates, two of them at least,

[3:51] stay in the race. Let's take folks

[3:53] through now what it looks like uh as of

[3:56] the pretty much the end of the evening.

[3:58] Starting up in New England where Dole

[4:01] had the support of the very influential

[4:03] popular Governor William Weld.

[4:04] Massachusetts a victory for Dole over

[4:06] Pat Buchanan. Steve Forbes coming in

[4:08] third. In Maine, a lot of the

[4:11] independent voters did go for Dole. Some

[4:13] people thought they might go for

[4:14] Buchanan. Fairly convincing victory over

[4:16] Pat Buchanan there. in Connecticut. Uh

[4:20] Steve Forbes campaign manager said this

[4:21] was the biggest disappointment of the

[4:23] night for them. He thought he actually

[4:24] might be able to take Connecticut at one

[4:25] point, but a very convincing victory for

[4:28] Bob. Don't look at the spread over Pat

[4:30] Buchanan there. Uh Rhode Island was

[4:32] pretty much dole for the taking because

[4:35] Steve Forbes and Buchanan were not on

[4:37] the ballot. Um and Lamar Alexander, you

[4:39] can see Lamar Alexander fading in all

[4:41] sorts of places this evening in Vermont.

[4:44] Um, certain irony here for Richard Luger

[4:47] because he wanted very much to get into

[4:49] the double digits. He managed to in

[4:51] Vermont tonight, 14% of the vote for

[4:53] him, but not enough to continue the

[4:54] campaign. Um, in Maryland, in the

[4:56] Mid-Atlantic states, Bob Dole cut into

[5:00] the vote. Oh, we our machines run a bit

[5:03] a mut there, but in in Maryland there,

[5:05] uh, Dole managed to cut into the

[5:06] Buchanan support there among

[5:08] independents there, and he did very well

[5:09] over Buchanan. Georgia was the big one

[5:11] of the night. That was the big prize.

[5:13] That's where Alexander wanted very much

[5:14] to do. Well, in fact, Alexander, I

[5:16] think, probably found that in Georgia,

[5:17] as much as anything tonight, the

[5:19] decision was made for him. By the way,

[5:21] take a look at the Georgia congressional

[5:23] map here that's popped up. Again, um the

[5:26] delegates in Georgia are awarded on the

[5:28] basis of congressional districts and

[5:31] Dole wins nine. Buchanan wins only that

[5:33] one so far. There's one other to be

[5:36] awarded up in the northwest corner of

[5:37] the country up in Red Clay, Georgia.

[5:39] Buchanan only getting one congressional

[5:42] district in Georgia tonight. Let's move

[5:45] out west now uh where a lot of people

[5:47] told us they were voting their heads

[5:49] rather than their hearts. A lot of

[5:50] people sentimentally wanted Papuch

[5:51] Canada, but they voted their their heads

[5:53] here went with Bob Dole. Many of them

[5:55] telling us that they did so because they

[5:57] believed he could beat Bill Clinton. Uh

[6:00] onwards now to Minnesota where the

[6:02] Republican caucuses continue. This is a

[6:04] question of activism particularly in the

[6:06] party work. Interesting thing about this

[6:09] result so far, not complete yet, is that

[6:12] if anybody was going to get the

[6:13] religious conservatives in this state,

[6:15] it was Pat Buchanan. And in fact, Bob

[6:16] Dole appears to have done quite well

[6:19] there. Let's take a look as the nation

[6:20] at a whole, it is, as Ted said at the

[6:23] beginning, a Bob Dole evening in every

[6:26] respect. Now, with all of these

[6:29] important Tuesdays in March, now this is

[6:31] a race for delegates all the way to the

[6:33] convention in San Diego in August. And

[6:36] Bob Dole, if you look at that right hand

[6:38] column, that's the most important one,

[6:40] is now well ahead of his colleagues. But

[6:42] Forbes, enough delegates to the go to

[6:44] convention. Pat Buchanan intends to stay

[6:46] in the race. Steve Forb said earlier

[6:47] this evening, if you can't stand the

[6:49] heat, get out of the kitchen, but he

[6:50] doesn't mind the heat at all. Now, we

[6:53] have a couple things um about Bob Dole

[6:55] this evening. First, here's a little bit

[6:56] of a speech he made to his supporters uh

[6:59] when victory was assured in Washington.

[7:02] He had uh not taken as much time by any

[7:05] means to appear here as he did earlier

[7:08] that Senator Damato, his national

[7:09] campaign chairman, who had predicted

[7:11] earlier in the evening that Senator Dole

[7:14] was going to have the clean sweep that

[7:17] he in fact did. And he gave Senator Dole

[7:20] did his only television interview this

[7:23] evening to ABC's John Cochran. And here

[7:26] is a portion of that.

[7:28] >> First, let me say congratulations to you

[7:30] both. Thank you very much.

[7:32] >> You must be exhausted.

[7:33] >> Not bad. No, there's something about

[7:35] winning that sort of keeps your

[7:36] adrenaline flowing, but it's been a good

[7:38] day. And uh we're going to just keep on

[7:40] working.

[7:41] >> What was the turning point? South

[7:42] Carolina.

[7:42] >> South Carolina. Get down to Elizabeth's

[7:45] home area, North and South Carolina.

[7:46] This was South Carolina. We had a great

[7:48] organization there. They did a good job

[7:51] and we just sort of won across the board

[7:54] and I think it sent a message to a lot

[7:56] of other states. At this point, are you

[7:58] confident you'll be the Republican

[7:59] nominee?

[8:00] >> Well, I've been saying that in my

[8:01] speeches lately. I will Bob Dole will be

[8:03] the Republican nominee. I feel uh

[8:07] confident, but I I realize that you take

[8:09] one step at a time in this business and

[8:12] and I don't want to be overconfident.

[8:14] >> Steve Forb seemed to get your goat more

[8:15] than

[8:16] >> he did because uh maybe I don't think

[8:18] it's because of all the money he has. I

[8:19] think it's because he'd say Bob Dole

[8:21] voted for the subway or Bob Dole voted

[8:23] for ski lodge in Idaho. Well, you know

[8:26] that I guess there's a grain of truth in

[8:28] some of that, but uh he talked about

[8:31] Washington politicians. I don't think

[8:33] anybody in Washington ever thought

[8:34] anything that negative, but any event,

[8:36] he he's a free country. He's entitled to

[8:39] spend his money.

[8:40] >> He did.

[8:41] >> Do you foresee at some point you're

[8:42] getting together with Pat Buchanan,

[8:44] Lamar Alexander, all these people and

[8:45] trying to get it all together?

[8:46] >> I hope so. And I've always been a trying

[8:49] to bring people together, not my own

[8:51] only my own party, but outside the

[8:53] party. So, I I would hope we could sit

[8:55] down and talk about the future and talk

[8:58] about how do we defeat Bill Clinton. Do

[9:00] >> you get tired of being called the

[9:01] establishment candidate?

[9:03] >> Oh, not really. I mean, I I think uh one

[9:06] thing I saw on the exit poll in South

[9:08] County, 97% of the voters who looked for

[9:10] experience voted for Bob Dole. And I

[9:13] think there has been a change. We're

[9:14] getting the undecided voters. And I

[9:16] think people are saying, "Well, wait a

[9:17] minute. What's the wrong with

[9:18] experience? This guy knows how to get

[9:20] things done. He's able to work with

[9:22] people. Uh he's not going to take us

[9:24] over the edge. So if that's

[9:26] establishment, then I guess I'm

[9:28] establishment.

[9:28] >> Well, I've been following you around.

[9:30] You've run me into the ground. Do you

[9:32] think you've

[9:32] >> I think we've beaten it down. I I 35 to

[9:35] 50 press people on the plane. They're

[9:37] back there sleeping and I'm making phone

[9:39] calls and they rotate and take a couple

[9:40] of days off. I'm like the Energizer

[9:43] Bunny. I keep on going.

[9:44] >> And winning helps too, doesn't it?

[9:46] >> Winning helps.

[9:47] >> Congratulations to you both.

[9:48] >> Thank you very much.

[9:50] Bob Dole is the Energizer Bunny. Ted,

[9:52] that's better than Lazarus. At any rate,

[9:54] standing alone now in Dole headquarters

[9:56] in Washington is ABC's John Cochran. Uh

[9:59] John, what's this what's the strategy

[10:01] now? Where does where does Dole go now

[10:03] on? What does he concentrate?

[10:05] >> Head down to Texas tomorrow to meet with

[10:07] the governor of Texas who is the son of

[10:10] the former president of the United

[10:11] States, George Bush. The governor of

[10:13] Texas will endorse Bob Dole. Mr. Bush

[10:16] Elder will not, however. What he will do

[10:18] is uh give him a how do you do and shake

[10:21] his hands and say I'm glad things are

[10:23] going well for you. George Bush, the

[10:25] former president, wants to officially

[10:27] remain neutral, but he'll let Bob do

[10:29] know he's pleased what's happening.

[10:30] >> Payback time for earlier kindnesses,

[10:32] right?

[10:32] >> Mhm. He thinks that Bob Dole carried a

[10:34] lot of water for him when he was

[10:36] president and that Bob Dole did a good

[10:38] job as majority leader. Then he'll go

[10:40] down to Florida. He's going to spend a

[10:41] lot of time in Florida between now and

[10:43] Super Tuesday. And Peter, what's

[10:44] interesting about that is he expects to

[10:46] win that primary. He's not campaigning

[10:48] so much for that primary. He's already

[10:50] started the general election. He knows

[10:52] that Florida will be a very difficult

[10:53] state when he goes up against Bill

[10:55] Clinton and he's already starting that.

[10:57] >> Okay, John, thanks very much. Ted, just

[10:58] one comment from uh from Steve Forbes

[11:00] here is not falling into line behind Bob

[11:02] Dole. He said tonight there were now

[11:04] three candidates left in the field. It's

[11:06] thinning out and Bob Dole still

[11:07] represents politics as usual.

[11:10] >> Well, numerically he is correct. But as

[11:12] you have noted uh and as we have all

[11:14] noted this evening, this is Bob Dole's

[11:16] night and there's not a great deal for

[11:17] the other candidates to say. But that

[11:20] doesn't mean that they have all given

[11:21] up. When we come back, reports from the

[11:23] political camps of Pat Buchanan, Steve

[11:26] Forbes, and Lamar Alexander.

[11:32] >> This is ABC News Night Line brought to

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[14:10] tonight. As we've said, reports out of

[14:11] the Lamar Alexander campaign indicate

[14:14] that the former Tennessee governor will

[14:15] drop out of the race tomorrow. Tonight

[14:17] in West Palm Beach, Florida, as he was

[14:20] about to board a plane, Alexander,

[14:21] though, would not confirm that story.

[14:24] >> Governor, Governor, comment on the ABC

[14:26] report. You're going home tomorrow and

[14:28] calling it quit.

[14:29] >> I'm going to Clear Water.

[14:31] >> So, you're not going to Nashville.

[14:32] You're not calling it quit.

[14:33] >> I'm I'm I'm I haven't heard the results

[14:36] yet from tonight. I'm going to Clear

[14:37] Water.

[14:38] >> No way. You're going home and calling it

[14:40] >> right now. I'm walking right into

[14:42] several cameras. I can't tell you the

[14:43] airplane later.

[14:44] >> Stay on in Florida tomorrow. But I'm

[14:47] going to do my best to do that. I think

[14:48] Florida's going to be the decisive the

[14:51] decisive

[14:52] we

[14:54] have. I'm looking forward to that.

[14:57] ABC's Katherine Crier, who's been

[14:59] covering the Lamar Alexander campaign,

[15:01] is in Clearwater, Florida. Katherine,

[15:03] these are difficult times for a

[15:04] candidate. Everybody knows he's going to

[15:06] quit. He knows he's going to quit, but

[15:07] he doesn't want to say it. Um,

[15:09] >> what can you tell us?

[15:11] >> That he's going to quit.

[15:12] >> Yeah.

[15:13] >> Uh ABC, as you reported earlier, has

[15:15] confirmed through several sources that

[15:16] the plan is to head up to Nashville

[15:18] tomorrow at the Lowe's Hotel and to make

[15:20] a noon announcement that he is

[15:22] withdrawing from the race. In addition,

[15:24] we have confirmed that media buys have

[15:25] been pulled in Florida and the plans

[15:28] have been cancelled to get on that bus

[15:29] and and progress through campaigning.

[15:31] >> When you say that media buys have been

[15:33] cancelled, that's that's really I mean

[15:36] that that underscores it. That

[15:37] underlines it once you start once you

[15:39] start dumping out on television.

[15:42] Absolutely. In a state like Florida,

[15:43] this is where he was going to make his

[15:44] last stand. He talked about how much

[15:46] money he had raised and was prepared to

[15:48] pour it into Florida as the line in the

[15:50] sand with Bob Dole. With that gone,

[15:52] there's nothing left.

[15:54] >> What was it that that broke the back of

[15:56] the Alexander campaign?

[15:58] >> Well, I think tonight probably did it.

[16:00] Uh the the death rattle, if you will,

[16:02] has been shaking around this campaign

[16:04] since South Carolina. He put a lot of

[16:06] time and energy into that state. He did

[16:07] the same in Georgia. And over the last

[16:09] several weeks, he's been moving that

[16:11] line in the sand. South Carolina was

[16:13] critical. Then all of a sudden, it was

[16:14] Georgia. Then it was the final stand in

[16:17] Florida. But when the numbers started

[16:18] coming in tonight, that's just not

[16:20] something that a candidate can can look

[16:22] at and proceed on.

[16:24] >> Katherine Crier, thank you. Despite his

[16:25] poor showing tonight, Steve Forb sounded

[16:27] like a candidate who is not about to

[16:29] quit, saying Republicans have three

[16:31] choices by Senator Dole, which is

[16:34] essentially the status quo. A second

[16:37] choice is symbolized by Mr. Buchanan of

[16:40] an America that turns inward and

[16:42] eventually on each other in the name of

[16:44] cultural purity. There's a third way to

[16:47] go, which is the vision that I'm

[16:49] presenting to the voters of a new

[16:50] America. Really, the old America,

[16:53] self-confident,

[16:55] forward-looking, outwardlooking, not

[16:58] fearing the world, not fearing the

[17:00] future, but leading the world.

[17:02] >> ABC's Dean Reynolds is covering the

[17:04] Forbes campaign for ABC News tonight in

[17:07] Albany. Dean, um, here's a man who has

[17:09] had nothing but bad results for the last

[17:12] couple of weeks, and yet he keeps on

[17:13] going. Why? Well, and he was here just a

[17:16] couple of minutes ago telling us he

[17:18] didn't think this performance was all

[17:19] that lackluster, although his standard

[17:21] of measurement is a bit mystifying. Uh,

[17:24] I think he believes now that there's a

[17:26] certain clarity in the race. Uh, it's

[17:28] Buchanan, Dole, and Forbes. He believes

[17:31] that Buchanan has maxed out, if you

[17:33] will, at 30% or less. He thinks that

[17:37] when people get a shot at him and Dole

[17:40] in a race uh head-to-head that people

[17:43] will begin to take a closer look at uh

[17:45] at Mr. Forbes. Now, I should point out

[17:48] that that is his view and there is a

[17:51] debate within his campaign about the

[17:53] wisdom of carrying on much longer at the

[17:56] risk of crippling Senator Dole in a race

[17:58] against Bill Clinton.

[17:59] >> But at the moment, no indication from

[18:01] the candidate.

[18:02] >> None whatsoever. He seems to actually be

[18:05] getting better at this, to be enjoying

[18:07] it, and uh there is no indication at all

[18:11] that he is tiring of it. In fact, he

[18:13] intends to uh carry on into Texas and

[18:16] Florida and uh his top aids, though some

[18:20] have been used.

[18:22] >> Dean, I'm afraid we're we're losing you

[18:24] a little bit there, but we uh we only

[18:26] have a couple of minutes left and I need

[18:28] to talk to ABC's Michelle Norris, who is

[18:30] covering the Buchanan campaign. Uh he

[18:32] and she are in Miami tonight. Michelle,

[18:35] we didn't hear anything from Pat

[18:36] Buchanan today.

[18:38] >> Well, he spoke on the plane on the way

[18:39] here and the plane will be arriving in

[18:41] just a few minutes. So, we all look

[18:42] forward to knowing what he had to say.

[18:44] This has been a bad day for Pat

[18:46] Buchanan. His so-called revolution fell

[18:49] flat and that broad-based army of

[18:51] peasants he was supposed to be leading

[18:53] seem to have put their pitch pitchforks

[18:55] down to back an establishment candidate.

[18:57] Nonetheless, he says he's in this to the

[18:59] end, even if it means chasing Bob Dole

[19:01] all the way to the convention. So, the

[19:03] question now is what role will he play?

[19:05] He's he's become the problem child of

[19:08] the Republican party. And if he amasses

[19:10] enough delegates, he'll have a certain

[19:11] amount of currency going into the into

[19:13] the convention, and he may be able to

[19:15] make some demands about a speech at the

[19:17] convention regarding the abortion plank

[19:19] within the Republican platform and

[19:21] concerning the selection of a

[19:22] conservative uh vice president. in terms

[19:25] of money, organization, he's got to pick

[19:27] his spots very carefully. What would you

[19:29] what would you guess are going to be the

[19:31] the major focuses of the Buchanan

[19:34] campaign over the next couple of couple

[19:36] of weeks?

[19:37] >> Uh in two words, the South, he's going

[19:39] to be focusing on Florida, Tennessee,

[19:42] Oklahoma, areas where he feel his feels

[19:45] his protectionist trade message will do

[19:47] very well, where his social

[19:48] conservatism, uh what he calls the

[19:50] conservatism of the heart, will play

[19:52] very well. But as you say, he does not

[19:54] have the money or the organization. And

[19:56] for a campaign like that, momentum is

[19:57] key and he's lost that tonight.

[19:58] >> Michelle, thank you. Pat Buchanan had

[20:01] set his sights on Georgia as the place

[20:03] where he would break the dull momentum.

[20:05] Jim Wooten is standing by in Marietta,

[20:07] Georgia. Jim, it didn't happen. But it

[20:09] but he came closer in Georgia than

[20:11] anywhere else.

[20:12] >> Uh yes, because there is a natural

[20:14] constituency for Buchanan. But I I

[20:17] expect that Mr. Buchanan is feeling a

[20:19] bit of Dixie Dja Vu tonight. you know,

[20:21] four years ago in 1992, he came marching

[20:24] through Georgia. Uh, and four years

[20:27] later, he comes back in again with his

[20:29] sort of tailormade uh message, maverick

[20:32] message to angry white southern males

[20:34] and the Bible belt Christian

[20:36] conservatives, and it still didn't work.

[20:38] He still didn't crack the southern code.

[20:40] He pulled out all the stops. He pushed

[20:42] all the buttons that he knew how to

[20:43] push. He reminded voters here of his

[20:46] conservative ancestors who fought in the

[20:48] Civil War. He equated uh he equated

[20:51] Dixie to we shall overcome. He even

[20:53] developed a bit of a draw between

[20:55] Arizona and here and it still didn't

[20:58] work. So in 1996 as in 1992, Buchanan

[21:02] winds up looking at a winner in Georgia

[21:04] who is of the establishment wing of the

[21:06] party. I expect he's very disappointed.

[21:09] >> Jim, very quickly, there is absolutely

[21:10] no indication though that that Pat

[21:13] Buchanan is going to pull out of this

[21:14] thing anytime soon.

[21:16] >> Not that not that any of us know about.

[21:17] He uh he lives off the land. He doesn't

[21:20] require as much money as a candidate

[21:21] like Bob Dole or any of the others might

[21:24] require. Uh he doesn't have a great deal

[21:26] of money, but uh as Michelle has pointed

[21:29] out, he does run a sort of minimalist

[21:31] campaign and he can survive for quite

[21:34] some time. I expect that one of the

[21:36] things that really disappoints Phil

[21:38] disappoints Pat Buchanan is that after

[21:40] he more or less single-handedly put Phil

[21:42] Graham out of the race, he did not fill

[21:44] that vacuum. Bob Dole did. Jim, thank

[21:48] you. When we come back, Peter Jennings

[21:50] and ABC's Lynn Sher on the meaning of

[21:52] tonight's primary results.

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[22:42] >> You have your orders. execute them one

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[23:00] >> Next time, making your money grow.

[23:02] What's the one mutual fund you should

[23:04] buy? Plus, results of Mini Super

[23:06] Tuesday.

[23:06] >> Good Morning America,

[23:08] >> here on ABC.

[23:12] When wild weather hits, stay safe with

[23:14] the Channel 2 News Storm Team.

[23:15] >> We'll be on the weather showing you what

[23:17] to expect. You get more live weather

[23:19] reports and accurate storm tracking,

[23:21] >> plus complete listings on all road

[23:23] conditions and school closures.

[23:25] >> And that means the Channel 2 Storm Team

[23:26] gives you the best coverage of the storm

[23:28] from start to finish.

[23:29] >> When wild weather hits, keep it on

[23:32] channel 2 news.

[23:33] >> This storm has deepened rapidly

[23:34] >> and really causes some problems.

[23:36] >> So that's a reality.

[23:37] >> Your storm team in the spirit of the

[23:39] Northwest.

[23:41] Ben was introverted when he came here to

[23:44] our school and he had an interest in

[23:45] watching the weather every day,

[23:47] especially Matt's show. And so we just

[23:50] took it from there.

[23:51] >> Hello Matt. Nice to see you, Ben. Came

[23:53] to give you a little visit. This is

[23:54] weather watcher appreciation day.

[23:56] There's our high and there's our lows.

[23:58] >> Ben has uh really got turned on and

[24:01] turned around academically.

[24:02] >> A lot of it has to do with Ben's

[24:04] involvement in the weather program and

[24:06] channel 2. What's really fun is just

[24:08] watching my weather reports on TV.

[24:10] >> In the spirit of the Northwest, KATU

[24:13] encourages you to share a meal with

[24:14] family or friends. You'll not only eat

[24:16] better, you'll feel better, too.

[24:18] >> Well, it makes a family a unit when you

[24:21] sit down for meal time. Parents have a

[24:23] chance to tell their kids that we really

[24:25] love you. You want them to grow up, be

[24:27] the best that they can. So, the key

[24:30] ingredient is to feed them and feed them

[24:33] well. Resetting the family table is a

[24:36] public service of the Oregon Dairy

[24:37] Council and KATU Spirit 2.

[24:53] Just before we try to get inside the

[24:55] voters's minds and figure out why they

[24:56] voted like they did in various parts of

[24:58] the country, just a couple of quick more

[24:59] notes about Lamar Alexander's mind. One

[25:03] of his campaign officials tells our

[25:05] Dennis O'Brien, who's been with him from

[25:07] the outset, that he's probably going to

[25:09] endorse Dole in the next couple of days.

[25:11] And tomorrow afternoon, after he makes

[25:14] this departure announcement from the

[25:16] campaign, he is going to attend the

[25:18] funeral of his late great friend Mini

[25:19] Pearl, the great star of the Grand Old

[25:21] Opry, who lived next door to him um in

[25:23] the governor's mansion in Nashville.

[25:25] Now, what were the strengths and

[25:27] weaknesses of the candidate of the hour,

[25:29] Bob Dole? We go to Lynn Sher who's been

[25:31] looking at the exit polls all day long.

[25:32] Lynn,

[25:33] >> Peter, Bob Dole won partly on the issues

[25:36] that he campaigned on, his ability to

[25:38] beat Bill Clinton and his experience in

[25:40] government. Now, those were not the top

[25:42] issues cited by voters today. In fact,

[25:44] those two issues tied for number three.

[25:46] But Bob Dole uh won so overwhelmingly

[25:49] among those who cited them that it made

[25:51] a very large difference. Of course, the

[25:53] big prize tonight was Georgia, and in

[25:55] fact, it was the most closely contested

[25:57] of the states. But even there, Senator

[25:59] Dole actually won a group that Pat

[26:02] Buchanan seemed to be identified with,

[26:04] the independent voters. Um, those of

[26:06] course the ones who tend to be very

[26:08] anti-establishment.

[26:09] Well, more good news for Bob Dole in

[26:12] Georgia and elsewhere. Pap Buchanan was

[26:15] simply seen as too extreme in his

[26:17] political views across the country.

[26:20] In Georgia, 51% said he was too extreme.

[26:24] And it gets worse from there. In

[26:26] Colorado, 59% said he was too extreme.

[26:29] In Connecticut, 65%.

[26:32] And even in groups that were claimed by

[26:34] Pat Buchanan, Bob Dole was in fact

[26:36] competitive. Take those who called

[26:38] themselves members of the religious

[26:40] right. Incidentally, 28% said that

[26:42] today. Pat Buchanan got 43% of the vote.

[26:45] He won the category. But Bob Dole got

[26:48] 36% and that is very competitive. In

[26:51] addition, voters rejected Pat Buchanan

[26:54] on issues that he campaigned hard on.

[26:57] Limiting foreign trade, voters said that

[26:59] they thought foreign trade actually

[27:01] created jobs. It didn't steal them. An

[27:03] anti-abortion plank in the party

[27:05] platform. Most Republicans said no, they

[27:07] didn't want it. Papuchanan was right

[27:10] that the number one issue was the

[27:12] economy and jobs. But once again, take a

[27:15] look at how that vote split. Of those

[27:17] who said it was the most important

[27:18] issue, 27% for Pat Buchanan, but 47% for

[27:24] Bob Dole. Still, Bob Dole has problems

[27:27] of his own. While his own age, which of

[27:30] course is 72, does not seem to have hurt

[27:32] him, the age of his constituents might.

[27:35] He wins big among those who are 65 and

[27:38] over, 63% of their vote. But of those

[27:41] who are under 65, he gets only 41%. That

[27:44] latter is a much larger group. and

[27:46] Peter, of course, Senator Dole would

[27:47] like to have much more of their support.

[27:49] >> Lyn, we heard Dean Reynolds say that

[27:51] Steve Forbes hadn't think thought it was

[27:52] a lackluster performance, and we haven't

[27:54] seen Alexander go anywhere at all. Tell

[27:57] us what the voters's judgment has been

[27:58] on both of these issues.

[28:00] >> Well, what's interesting about Steve

[28:01] Forbes, of course, his big issue was the

[28:03] flat tax. 51% of the voters today said

[28:05] that they wanted a flat tax, but guess

[28:08] what? Steve Forbes finished third among

[28:10] them. So, he just was not seen as the

[28:12] guy to get the job done. As for Lamar

[28:14] Alexander, 63% of the people who voted

[28:17] for Lamar Alexander today said they

[28:19] would have preferred if someone else

[28:21] were running. That incidentally is

[28:23] something that happened straight across

[28:24] the board. There is not strong support

[28:26] for any of these candidates. As a matter

[28:28] of fact, 43% of Bob Dole's own voters

[28:32] said they wish there had been another

[28:34] candidate running.

[28:34] >> Okay. Yeah. Thanks very much. That's

[28:36] very interesting because that reflects

[28:37] very much what our own reporters found

[28:39] at polling stations all across the

[28:41] country. People were just not all that

[28:42] happy about their vote. And Ted, for Bob

[28:45] Dole, as you know as well as anybody

[28:47] else, that's a real problem as he moves

[28:48] out from here.

[28:49] >> Indeed. When we come back, we will be

[28:51] joined by Night Line's Jeff Greenfield,

[28:53] who will take a look at all of that.

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