PBS NewsHour - 1996-03-05

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:05] Good evening, I'm Jim Lara. On the

[0:07] NewsHour tonight, a newsmaker interview

[0:10] with Secretary of State Warren

[0:11] Christopher and two younger views of

[0:14] presidential politics. Call me Holman

[0:16] reports on a mock convention. Margaret

[0:18] Warner talks to six college newspaper

[0:21] editors. It all follows our summary of

[0:23] the news this Tuesday. Major funding for

[0:26] the NewsHour with Jim Lera has been

[0:27] provided [music] by the Archer Daniels

[0:29] Midland Company, ADM, Supermarket to the

[0:32] World,

[0:34] and by New York Life, yet another

[0:37] example of New York Life's wise

[0:40] investment philosophy,

[0:43] and by the Corporation for Public

[0:45] Broadcasting, and by the annual

[0:47] financial support from viewers like you.

[0:51] Senator Bob Dole was projected to be the

[0:53] big winner in today's eight Republican

[0:55] primaries. That's according to data

[0:57] gathered by the commercial television

[0:59] networks. Minnesota and Washington state

[1:01] are holding caucuses tonight.WAMI

[1:03] Homeman has some of the results.

[1:06] >> Senator Bob Dole of Kansas took a big

[1:08] step toward capturing the Republican

[1:10] nomination for president tonight. The

[1:12] major television networks have predicted

[1:14] Dole the winner in all eight of today's

[1:16] primaries in Georgia, Vermont,

[1:19] Connecticut, Maine, Maryland,

[1:21] Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and

[1:23] Colorado where the polls just closed.

[1:25] Let's look at the numbers. In Georgia,

[1:28] with 46% of the precincts reporting,

[1:30] Dole has 39%. Buchanan close behind with

[1:34] 35% his best showing to date in these

[1:36] primaries. Alexander and Forbes bring up

[1:39] the the end.

[1:41] In Vermont, Dole with 44% of the

[1:44] precincts reporting. Dole has 41%.

[1:47] Forbes is second with 18% followed by

[1:49] Buchanan, then Alexander.

[1:52] In Connecticut with 61% of the precincts

[1:55] reporting, Dole with a big 54% margin.

[1:59] Second is Forbes with 20%, followed by

[2:01] Buchanan, then Alexander.

[2:04] In Maine, Dole got 45% with 24% of the

[2:08] precincts reporting. Buchanan was second

[2:10] with 27%. Forbes then Alexander.

[2:14] In Maryland with 19% of the precincts

[2:17] reporting, Dole has 56%. Buchanan second

[2:20] with 18% followed by Forbes then

[2:23] Alexander.

[2:25] In Massachusetts with 9% of the

[2:27] precincts reporting, Dole got 48% has

[2:30] 48% so far. Buchanan 27% then Forbes

[2:34] then Alexander.

[2:35] And it appears the dole sweep has chased

[2:38] another hopeful from the Republican

[2:40] race. There are reports that Indiana

[2:42] Senator Richard Luger will announce

[2:43] tomorrow that he's ending his bid for

[2:46] the Republican nomination.

[2:48] The United States dispatched an

[2:50] anti-terrorism team to Israel today.

[2:53] Special bomb detecting equipment was

[2:55] also sent. President Clinton said the

[2:57] people and the equipment were to help

[2:59] the Israeli government and the

[3:00] Palestinian Authority combat Hamas, the

[3:03] militant Muslim group. Hamas has claimed

[3:05] responsibility for four suicide bombings

[3:08] in Israel in the last nine days in which

[3:10] 57 people have been killed. The

[3:13] president discussed the bombings during

[3:14] a speech to local government officials

[3:16] in Washington. These are desperate and

[3:19] fanatic acts aimed not just at killing

[3:22] innocent people, including innocent

[3:24] children,

[3:26] but at killing the growing prospects for

[3:28] peace in the Middle East.

[3:31] They must not succeed. The United States

[3:35] has always stood with the people of

[3:36] Israel through good times and bad, and

[3:40] we stand with them today.

[3:43] >> In Israel today, the government rejected

[3:45] a truce offer from Hamas. Israeli troops

[3:48] barricaded Palestinian residents inside

[3:50] hundreds of West Bank villages and towns

[3:53] and sealed the homes of 10 suspected

[3:55] Hamas members. The Israeli military

[3:57] commander in the West Bank said more

[3:59] than 100 suspected militants have been

[4:02] arrested. Palestinian President Yaser

[4:04] Arafat said the Israeli actions go

[4:06] completely against the peace accords.

[4:09] We'll talk to Secretary of State

[4:11] Christopher about the Middle East right

[4:12] after this news summary. The Senate

[4:14] voted today to impose additional

[4:16] sanctions on Cuba. The 74 to22 vote came

[4:19] 10 days after Cuban jet shot down two US

[4:22] civilian planes, killing four

[4:24] Cubanameans. The legislation will help

[4:27] Cuban exiles take legal action in US

[4:29] courts against foreign investors in

[4:32] Cuba. Debate on the Senate floor was

[4:34] heated.

[4:35] >> I say enough is enough. Let's get rid of

[4:39] Fidel Castro. Let's do it in this

[4:41] century. Let's start with this bill and

[4:44] then let's get serious.

[4:46] >> Pay attention. Cubanameans, pay

[4:48] attention. The bulk of you are not going

[4:50] to be benefited from this. It's the fat

[4:52] cats that are going to get the money,

[4:54] not you. pay attention to this bill and

[4:56] pay attention to those who would seek to

[4:58] have this legislation passed and what

[5:00] their interests are. The bill now goes

[5:03] to the House. And economic news today,

[5:05] the Commerce Department released two

[5:07] indicators showing a rise in January

[5:09] manufacturing production. Orders for

[5:12] durable goods such as aircraft and

[5:14] automobiles advanced 2%. Factory orders

[5:17] rose.5%.

[5:19] Mini Pearl died last night in Nashville.

[5:22] The longtime country comedian suffered a

[5:24] stroke 10 days ago. She was known for

[5:27] her trademark Hadti and her straw hat

[5:30] complete with price tag. Many of Pearl's

[5:32] real name was Sarah Oilia Cannon. She

[5:35] was 83 years old. And that's it for the

[5:37] news summary tonight. Now it's on to

[5:40] Secretary of State Christopher, a mock

[5:42] political convention, and six college

[5:45] newspaper editors.

[5:55] We do go first tonight to the Secretary

[5:58] of State, Warren Christopher, who is

[5:59] with us now for a Newsmaker interview.

[6:01] Mr. Secretary, welcome.

[6:02] >> Hello, Jim. On on Israel first, can

[6:05] these bombings be stopped?

[6:08] >> We can certainly make a strong effort to

[6:09] stop them, Jim. There's probably no

[6:12] foolproof way to stop them, no absolute

[6:15] assurance, but we're going to work very

[6:17] hard. We're going to aid Israel in every

[6:19] way we can to stop these bombings.

[6:21] >> The actions that Israel has taken in the

[6:23] last 48 hours, 24 hours, etc. The

[6:26] closing down of of travel back and forth

[6:29] between the West Bank and Gaza and

[6:31] Israel, the uh the various things I just

[6:33] reported in the news summary. Are those

[6:35] the things they should be doing?

[6:37] >> Well, those are decisions taken by the

[6:38] Israeli government. There's a

[6:41] determination there to be firm. After

[6:43] all, as you said, what's gone on here?

[6:45] In nine days, uh, four major attacks,

[6:49] 57, 58, or 59 people killed. Obviously,

[6:53] something had to be done. They've taken

[6:55] very firm action. Uh, their actions are

[6:57] somewhat similar to what they've done

[6:59] before to try to prevent uh these

[7:02] terrorists, these people who are willing

[7:04] to give give up their lives in order to

[7:06] kill innocent Israelis to keep them from

[7:08] coming into Israel. the uh the decision

[7:11] by the US today, by the president today

[7:13] to send an anti-terrorism team and some

[7:16] bomb detecting equipment. That's more

[7:17] symbolic than anything else, is it not?

[7:20] >> No, it's more than that, Jim. Uh Prime

[7:22] Minister Perez called the president

[7:24] yesterday and they discussed this and

[7:26] Prime Minister Perez asked that we send

[7:28] this bomb detecting equipment. It's

[7:30] quite highly sophisticated equipment. We

[7:33] went to the manufacturer last night. He

[7:35] had only seven of those large devices

[7:38] there. We arranged to get all of them

[7:40] and put them on a plane and take them

[7:41] out today. Now, they can be very useful

[7:43] to the Israelis. Uh we

[7:45] >> What kind of What kind of things are

[7:47] they?

[7:47] >> Well, they are they're quite

[7:49] sophisticated sensing equipment which

[7:51] can be used uh at a border or at a

[7:54] barrier to make sure that whoever goes

[7:56] through there isn't carrying a bomb. Uh

[7:58] and they're perhaps a a larger, more

[8:01] sophisticated version of what you see

[8:03] going into an airport.

[8:04] >> I see. Uh in addition to that, Jim, uh

[8:07] we're going to be sending out a team of

[8:09] very experienced people who will help

[8:12] coordinate the work between the

[8:13] Palestinians and the Israelis and other

[8:15] companies in the region. So it has some

[8:18] symbolic importance, but it has some

[8:20] very tangible importance and it's only

[8:22] the beginning. And the president has

[8:23] urged us in the strongest term to

[8:25] respond uh to the Israelis request and

[8:28] some indication of how rapidly we're

[8:30] going to respond is Perez's request was

[8:32] yesterday about midday and by this

[8:35] morning we had those devices on an

[8:37] airplane headed for Israel. Now, Israeli

[8:40] spokesman, including the Israeli

[8:42] ambassador to the United States, who was

[8:44] on this program last night, said that

[8:45] the Palestinian Authority under Yaser

[8:48] Arafat must also do more to combat Hamas

[8:51] and these terrorists. What do you think

[8:53] about that? What about what the

[8:55] authority has done thus far and what it

[8:57] must do now?

[8:58] >> Well, they have started doing more in

[9:00] the last few days. I think that Chairman

[9:03] Arafat has got to deal with the military

[9:05] infrastructure of Hamas. got to deal

[9:08] with the people in Hamas who are

[9:10] responsible for conducting these raids.

[9:13] There was a time in the last few weeks

[9:15] when chairman Arafat was trying to have

[9:17] a dialogue with Hamas, trying to uh

[9:20] bring them into some coordination with

[9:23] him. I think that effort has failed and

[9:25] now he's really going to have to bear

[9:26] down on them. He's going to have to

[9:28] realize that his own survival is at

[9:30] stake as well as the peace process.

[9:33] >> Why is his own own survival at stake? Uh

[9:36] Jim, these attacks are just much just as

[9:39] much against Arafat as they are against

[9:41] Paris and the Israelis. Uh they're

[9:43] trying to prevent the Palestinian

[9:46] Authority from governing. They're trying

[9:48] to end this peace process. They're

[9:49] trying to reverse the peace process, put

[9:51] it back into the fighting days. So Hamas

[9:54] is is is trying to prevent the the

[9:56] peaceful uh integration of the West Bank

[10:00] that's been going on under cooperation

[10:02] between Arafod and Paris. Now, you've

[10:05] talked about the contacts that have that

[10:07] have gone back and forth. Communications

[10:09] gone back and forth between the Israeli

[10:10] government and the US government. What

[10:12] about communications with Arafat and his

[10:13] authority and the US?

[10:15] >> Oh, we've been talking with him. I

[10:16] talked to him the telephone uh

[10:18] frequently and and very recently. And I

[10:21] emphasized to him the time for talk had

[10:23] ended. The time for rhetoric had end.

[10:25] >> You told him what you just told me.

[10:26] >> Yes, sir. I did.

[10:27] >> And what did he say?

[10:28] >> He said, "We're going to do everything

[10:29] we can." and he said, "I understand that

[10:32] the time has come when we have to take

[10:33] some very firm action." And he has. He's

[10:35] been making arrests, rounding up people,

[10:38] and uh I think, you know, really we're

[10:41] going to have to watch for his actions

[10:43] now. Uh we're going to be monitoring it

[10:45] very closely. We're giving him some aid.

[10:48] I think it would be a short-sighted

[10:51] self-defeating to cut off that aid, but

[10:53] the aid shouldn't go forward unless he

[10:54] continues to cooperate.

[10:56] What uh what do you think about the

[10:58] Israeli position that if if in fact the

[11:01] authority under Arafat does not move

[11:04] strongly enough against these Hamas

[11:05] people within their their areas that the

[11:08] Israeli government will will move in

[11:10] there and and do it. How do you feel

[11:12] about that?

[11:13] >> Well, we'll have to watch that develop,

[11:15] Jim. The Israeli government will make

[11:17] the decisions they regard as in their

[11:19] own self-interest. We have to ask

[11:21] ourselves have to remember what it is

[11:22] that are causing them to act. They're

[11:24] acting because of the deaths. They're

[11:26] acting because of the death of innocent

[11:28] people, innocent children. Obviously,

[11:30] the government has a right of self

[11:32] survival. They have a right to protect

[11:34] themselves and that's what they're doing

[11:36] at the present time.

[11:37] >> Now, there's another whole part to this,

[11:38] Mr. Secretary. Of course, outside what's

[11:40] happening there on the ground, and that

[11:42] has to do with the diplomatic part.

[11:44] Princip made a big point was made today

[11:46] that Syria uh has not said a word of

[11:49] condemnation or said anything about

[11:51] these bombings. How do you how should we

[11:53] interpret that?

[11:54] >> Well, Jim, we think that all the people

[11:56] in the region should not only condemn

[11:58] the bombings but should cooperate uh

[12:01] with efforts to make sure that Hamas

[12:03] cannot repeat this. You know, there's a

[12:05] quite a difference uh this time around

[12:08] the peace process has made enough

[12:10] difference so that Israel can look to

[12:12] its neighbors, look to Jordan, uh they

[12:15] can look to Egypt and expect

[12:17] cooperation. And I talked to foreign

[12:20] minister Farak of Farak Shara of Syria

[12:23] today and urged him to take steps to

[12:26] ensure that Hamas could not use Syria as

[12:29] a launching place for this kind of an

[12:31] attack. But we're not singling out

[12:33] Syria. We're saying that to all the

[12:35] neighbors in the region. Indeed, Jim,

[12:37] I'm going to be meeting tomorrow with

[12:38] the ambassadors from all the countries

[12:41] in the region, encouraging cooperation

[12:44] in fighting this terrorism, also

[12:46] encouraging what is really our second

[12:48] purpose here, and that is to preserve

[12:50] and renew the peace process. In the long

[12:53] run, the peace process is the answer to

[12:55] this kind of terror.

[12:56] >> What did the Syrian foreign minister say

[12:58] to you?

[12:59] >> Well, he took it on board. We had a

[13:00] vigorous discussion.

[13:02] >> Uh, but I has an office, right? does

[13:04] very openly has an office in Damascus,

[13:06] does it not?

[13:07] >> Yes, it does have an office in Damascus

[13:08] and I called that to his attention and I

[13:11] I told him I thought the that fact was

[13:14] not a very strong signal to be sending

[13:16] at the present time.

[13:18] >> Does do you have intelligent any kind of

[13:19] intelligence information that that

[13:21] traces this these acts back to that

[13:24] office in Damascus in any way

[13:25] whatsoever?

[13:26] >> Uh Jim, we don't have any uh information

[13:29] of that kind. I don't talk about

[13:31] intelligence matters, but we we we're

[13:33] not trying to say that this particular

[13:36] attack or this particular series of

[13:37] attacks was attributable uh to the

[13:39] Syrians or any other country. We're

[13:42] simply saying that this is the time to

[13:44] crack down on Hamas because they've

[13:46] claimed credit u I think particularly uh

[13:50] uh in our sites at the present time is

[13:51] Iran because they've been supporting

[13:53] Hamas openly supporting a mass Hamas

[13:56] financially by tactical advice and I

[14:00] would I would really want to draw

[14:03] distinction between uh Iran and the

[14:06] other neighbors. We're calling uh this

[14:08] to the attention of all the neighbors,

[14:10] but I I think the world needs to know

[14:12] that Iran bears a heavy responsibility

[14:14] for its support of Hamas.

[14:16] >> What can you do about Iran besides call

[14:18] in the world's attention to them?

[14:20] >> Well, as you know, we've cut off all

[14:22] trade with Iran, and we've urged our uh

[14:25] our allies and trading partners not to

[14:28] have preferential deals, not to not to

[14:30] do things for Iran that give them more

[14:32] money to support this kind of terrorism.

[14:34] We're we're really alone in trying to

[14:37] isolate Iran, but we're going to

[14:39] continue working at it. We're not going

[14:41] to give up.

[14:41] >> Two countries that are often mentioned

[14:43] as doing a lot of business with Iran,

[14:45] Germany and and France, both of whom are

[14:47] big allies of ours. Had they been

[14:50] contacted officially and directly by the

[14:51] US government in the last 24 hours, say,

[14:53] "Hey, come on. Put some heat on Iran."

[14:55] >> Well, not in the last 24 hours perhaps,

[14:57] but continually over the last several

[14:59] months, and we'll be contacting them

[15:02] starting tomorrow. We're going to have a

[15:04] major diplomatic endeavor uh dealing

[15:06] with those countries uh who have been

[15:09] having closer relations with Iran than

[15:11] we think they should. But it's an

[15:13] overall effort, Jim. First first

[15:15] priority here is to stop the terrorism,

[15:18] encouraging other nations to join us in

[15:19] that ever endeavor and second to try to

[15:22] renew and preserve the peace process.

[15:25] >> The peace most everyone is now saying,

[15:27] Mr. secretary that that unless these

[15:29] bombings are stopped and stopped now. I

[15:31] mean there can't be another one tomorrow

[15:33] and another one after that the peace pro

[15:35] the peace process is over because of

[15:37] just the fear and that uh of the the

[15:41] fear of politics uh that will be present

[15:44] in Israel. Do you agree with that that

[15:45] it is a short short fuse? Now

[15:48] >> I I think we have to move very

[15:50] dramatically and effectively at the

[15:52] present time. Uh there there's no

[15:55] assurance that we can absolutely stop

[15:56] them, but the president and I and the

[15:59] rest of our government are going to be

[16:00] working very hard to assist the

[16:02] Israelis. Clearly, unless we get this

[16:04] stopped, the peace process is going to

[16:06] be uh harmed by by this endeavor. No, no

[16:09] question about that, Jim. But we don't

[16:11] give up easily. We've got a big stake in

[16:13] this. It's very much in our national

[16:14] interest to pursue it, and we will. And

[16:17] do you have the feeling that it that

[16:19] there's somebody out there helping you

[16:21] besides u Israel and uh and the

[16:24] Palestinian Authority? Is anybody else

[16:26] really involved in trying to do

[16:27] something about this at this point?

[16:29] >> Oh, absolutely. That's the difference

[16:31] between now and how it would have been

[16:33] before the peace process. The prime

[16:35] minister of Jordan, Mr. Cavari, made a

[16:37] very good statement today. We can expect

[16:39] Jordan's support on this. We're sure

[16:41] that we'll have support from from Egypt

[16:43] as well. We expect other countries in

[16:46] the region to join us in this endeavor.

[16:48] This is going to be a major diplomatic

[16:50] endeavor to see if we can't put more

[16:51] pressure uh on Hamas and to try to make

[16:55] sure and Islamic jihad and make sure

[16:57] there's not a repetition. And do you

[16:59] think you're going to be able to prevent

[17:01] countries like Syria and others from

[17:04] allowing uh Hamas members in as a kind

[17:07] of a safe haven uh for their for their

[17:10] bombing uh enterprises?

[17:12] >> That'll be our aim, Jim. won't be

[17:14] perfect, but we'll make strides.

[17:16] >> All right. Uh, changing subjects here.

[17:18] Uh, quickly, Mr. Secretary, on Cuba,

[17:20] Cuba reported in the news summary just

[17:22] now that the Senate passed the bill that

[17:24] tightens the sanctions. When that's

[17:26] going to the House now, if that if and

[17:28] when that bill comes to the president,

[17:30] is he going to sign it? Uh, yes. That

[17:31] that has been worked out between

[17:33] Congress and the president. you know, wi

[17:35] with the shooting down of our two

[17:37] aircraft and the killing of those four

[17:39] civilians, there was a wave of

[17:41] indignation, a natural wave uh that went

[17:43] through this country and went through

[17:45] the Congress as well. And uh I think the

[17:47] passage of this bill is a reflection of

[17:49] that. It does provide a right of action

[17:52] for Cubans here or others here in the

[17:54] United States who've had their property

[17:56] confiscated. It tries to focus on those

[17:59] uh companies that might be dealing in

[18:02] Cuban properties or affecting Cuban

[18:04] properties. But the important thing to

[18:06] keep in mind is that this action by

[18:09] Congress is a direct reflection of that

[18:11] unjustified shooting down of of the

[18:14] planes. I've been just back from a trip

[18:16] through Latin America and I was struck

[18:18] that every place I went, the countries

[18:21] involved, even though they might have a

[18:23] tactical difference with us on how to

[18:25] deal with the Cuba situation, recognized

[18:27] that the action of Cuba here was a

[18:29] violation of international law and

[18:30] condemned it in those terms. What was

[18:32] the consensus about why Castro and his

[18:35] people did this? Were they were they

[18:37] does everybody believe they were looking

[18:39] for a confrontation with the United

[18:40] States or was just a serious error made

[18:42] or was there a consensus?

[18:44] >> Uh Jim, I don't think uh even uh in

[18:47] Latin America there's any way to plum uh

[18:51] uh President Castro's mind. There's a

[18:53] lot of speculation about it. The best

[18:55] informed judgment seemed to be that

[18:58] President Castro thought that there was

[19:00] getting to be too much of uh political

[19:03] freedom or at least the move in that

[19:05] direction unnerved him and he thought he

[19:07] had to had to lash back. Now this this

[19:11] particular shooting down is not an

[19:14] isolation as you know he's taken some

[19:16] very harsh actions against dissident.

[19:18] He's taken some very harsh actions

[19:20] against those who are supporting the

[19:21] civil rights human rights cause in in

[19:24] Cuba. This is the shooting down was

[19:25] obviously the most dramatic, obviously

[19:28] the most harmful. But over the last

[19:30] three or four weeks on the political

[19:32] side of thing, that is on on the human

[19:34] rights side of things, Castro has has

[19:37] gone back from very slight progress that

[19:39] he seems to be making. Uh that that was

[19:42] recognized uh throughout Latin America.

[19:44] I think there was a sense of of

[19:45] disappointment that a very modest steps

[19:49] in in a encouraging direction uh had

[19:53] been reversed by Castro and what a

[19:55] disappointment that was because you know

[19:57] he he's the only non-democracy in the

[20:00] entire western hemisphere. It was so

[20:02] rewarding to go to Latin America find 34

[20:05] out of the 30 35 countries practicing

[20:08] democracies and I think that leaves Cuba

[20:11] very much isolated. Now, you very

[20:12] pointedly on your Latin American trip

[20:14] did not go to Colombia because it uh got

[20:17] on the State Department on your list for

[20:20] not doing enough to combat uh drug

[20:23] trafficking. What is our relationship

[20:24] with Colombia now as a result of that?

[20:27] Well, you know, we have that

[20:28] certification process. We have to look

[20:31] at the facts. We have to determine what

[20:33] we think is most accurate appraisal. The

[20:36] statute requires us to descertify

[20:38] countries that we regard as not

[20:40] cooperating with our drug enforcement

[20:42] efforts. It was very hard for us to

[20:44] conclude that a country whose top

[20:46] echelon of officials has so much

[20:49] corruption in it. It was very hard for

[20:51] us to feel that they were really

[20:52] cooperating with us. And so we reached

[20:54] that conclusion. We don't like to reach

[20:56] those conclusions with respect to any

[20:58] country but we felt justified in doing

[21:00] so. In the past, that certification

[21:03] procedure, I think, has had a good

[21:04] effect on a number of countries because

[21:06] they know they're going to be reviewed.

[21:08] Uh we hope that uh uh the

[21:11] descertification will cause Colombia to

[21:14] correct its ways that that we can uh

[21:17] sometime in the future certify them

[21:19] again. Obviously, we would like to do

[21:21] that, but it'll depend upon whether

[21:22] there is or is not good cooperation.

[21:24] >> Is the situation getting worse in

[21:26] Colombia rather than better as far as

[21:28] corruption at the top related to drugs?

[21:31] Well, it's certainly worse than it was

[21:33] last year. Last year, we we did not

[21:35] descertify them and we've done so this

[21:37] year. It is a it is an evaluation we

[21:39] have to make every year and the level of

[21:42] corruption is such that we we could

[21:44] found we could not certify them this

[21:45] year.

[21:46] >> All right, Mr. Secretary, thank you very

[21:47] much.

[21:48] >> Thank you, Jim.

[21:57] Still to come on the NewsHour Tonight, a

[21:59] mock convention and six college

[22:00] newspaper editors. But first, this is

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[34:05] Now, a preview of the Republican

[34:07] convention that took place last weekend

[34:09] at Washington and Lee University in

[34:11] Virginia. Call me Homeman was there.

[34:21] Students at Washington and Lee

[34:22] University in Southern Virginia own one

[34:24] of the oldest traditions in the history

[34:26] of American politics. Every four years

[34:29] since 1908, they have held a mock

[34:31] convention to nominate a candidate for

[34:33] president. The convention is always held

[34:36] for the party not currently occupying

[34:39] the White House. [screaming]

[34:43] >> Believe it or not, it's a tradition the

[34:44] students take very seriously. The parade

[34:47] down Main Street in smalltown Lexington

[34:49] is just the kickoff of the two-day

[34:51] event.

[34:51] >> Of course, they're not the last blood of

[34:53] the Republican party anymore. It has

[34:54] been as used TO BE. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE

[34:56] LOOKING FOR. The future of the

[34:57] Republican party.

[35:01] This past Friday and Saturday,

[35:03] Washington and Lee University held its

[35:05] 1996 mock convention. The mostly

[35:08] conservative student body was

[35:09] particularly excited because it was the

[35:11] first Republican convention to be held

[35:13] in 16 years. The students kept with the

[35:16] tradition of inviting to the convention

[35:18] the top political figures of the day.

[35:21] This year, House Majority Whip Tom Delay

[35:23] and Virginia's senior senator John

[35:25] Warner, a Washington and Lee graduate

[35:28] himself, attended. Republican National

[35:30] Committee Chairman Haley Barber, spoke

[35:32] Friday evening.

[35:33] >> I don't know who our nominee is going to

[35:35] be, and you may tomorrow be the ones who

[35:38] get it right.

[35:39] >> And William Bennett, the former

[35:40] education secretary, now chairman of

[35:43] Lamar Alexander's presidential campaign,

[35:45] spoke at the Saturday morning session.

[35:47] >> It's great to be here. I have heard

[35:49] about this convention and it it doesn't

[35:50] there doesn't seem much mock about it.

[35:52] This seems very real. I hope this is

[35:54] real. The uh

[35:55] >> but it was former Vice President Dan

[35:58] Quail who proved to be the crowd

[36:00] favorite. The reception he got nearly

[36:02] moved him to enter the race for the

[36:04] presidency himself.

[36:05] >> With this kind of uh enthusiasm

[36:08] and this kind of welcome, I think I'm

[36:10] just going to throw away my speech and

[36:12] go ahead and announce right here.

[36:14] [cheering]

[36:16] Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that

[36:21] a Republican is going back to the White

[36:24] House in November?

[36:27] What attracts such big names to the mock

[36:29] convention is its impressive success

[36:31] rate. Students at Washington and Lee

[36:33] have chosen correctly the party's

[36:35] ultimate nominee 15 times in 20 tries.

[36:39] They've chosen right every time but once

[36:42] since 1948. And so during this complex

[36:45] political year, the pressure was on

[36:47] these students not to choose wrong.

[36:49] >> I'm not sleeping at night. Uh it is such

[36:52] a tough race. Um it's up in the air,

[36:54] especially after Arizona. We were

[36:56] counting Forbes out. Now he's back in.

[36:58] Students at Washington and Lee split

[37:00] into delegations representing all 50

[37:03] states and the territories, spending

[37:05] weeks researching the candidates,

[37:07] gauging their chances, frequently

[37:09] calling state and county party

[37:11] officials, enlisting the help of

[37:13] political scientists, and closely

[37:15] monitoring the polls. The goal of each

[37:18] delegation is to select the candidate

[37:20] voters back home would select. An easy

[37:22] task for the New Hampshire and South

[37:24] Dakota delegations, for instance, where

[37:26] primaries already have been held. A much

[37:29] tougher decision for states with

[37:30] primaries just days away, like Maryland,

[37:33] where Allison Beard was state delegation

[37:36] chairman.

[37:36] >> It was pretty much goal all the way

[37:38] until I don't know, I guess, two months

[37:40] ago. And then we started getting really

[37:42] nervous and furiously phone calling

[37:44] everyone. On Friday, one day before she

[37:46] had to cast the votes for her

[37:48] delegation, Allison Beard was

[37:50] anticipating chaos on the convention

[37:52] floor.

[37:53] >> We're assuming almost that there's going

[37:54] to be a brokered convention um because

[37:56] the race has been so close so far.

[37:58] >> Freshman John Hughes, the Vermont state

[38:01] chairman, also had some lastminute

[38:03] doubts and called his delegation

[38:05] together to work them out. The Bronson

[38:07] free press guy said he thinks it's going

[38:08] to be Dole and Alexander with Luger as

[38:10] the surprise pulling up the rear. So,

[38:15] [laughter]

[38:15] >> he's been in Vermont for the last couple

[38:16] days and uh he's going to keep staying

[38:19] there and keep campaigning real hard

[38:20] there and he he's decided he's he's

[38:22] going to go visit some other states, but

[38:23] he's going to sleep in Vermont until

[38:24] after the vote cuz they the Luger

[38:26] campaign has pretty much decided that

[38:28] Vermont might be the only state they

[38:29] have a chance at winning. So,

[38:30] >> I see Luger as being a a perfectly

[38:33] plausible candidate

[38:34] >> with Vermont's primary. also just days

[38:36] away. The pressure to predict a winner

[38:38] was increasing.

[38:39] >> We were supposed to give a an idea of

[38:41] how we were going to vote two days ago.

[38:43] >> What do we say?

[38:44] >> And I told him, I said, "Do the easy

[38:46] thing to say and that's what I'm going

[38:47] to say right now, but that's not

[38:49] necessarily what's going to come out of

[38:50] my mouth at the convention."

[38:51] >> Is Mr. um Lee Bandian, please?

[38:54] >> But most of the pressure fell on Chris

[38:56] McNotton, a Washington and Lee senior

[38:58] and chairman of the South Carolina

[39:00] delegation.

[39:01] >> Yeah, that's that's exactly what I'm

[39:03] thinking. I could flip a coin, but um

[39:06] All right.

[39:07] >> The South Carolina primary was Saturday,

[39:10] decision day, at the mock convention.

[39:12] Chris McNutton knew that once he cast

[39:14] the votes for his delegation, the voters

[39:16] back home would prove him right or wrong

[39:18] within hours.

[39:19] >> It's a little bit added pressure because

[39:21] we'll know that night if um if we guess

[39:23] wrong, then later that night we we will

[39:26] find out that we were wrong. But I think

[39:28] it's also a lot of pressure because a

[39:29] lot of other states are looking toward

[39:31] towards South Carolina to find out who

[39:33] they're going to nominate. They're

[39:34] waiting. If we tell them we're

[39:36] definitely going for Dole for a big

[39:37] majority, then they're going to also go

[39:39] that way also. Whereas um we could um

[39:41] switch it up and that's going to um

[39:43] other states are really looking to us to

[39:45] find out what they're going to do.

[39:47] >> On Saturday, decision day, student

[39:49] delegates, their parents, and alumni

[39:52] lined up early to attend the final

[39:54] session of the mock convention. One last

[39:56] rousing reception was reserved for the

[39:59] keynote speaker, House Speaker N.

[40:01] Gingrich.

[40:03] >> While amateurs are watching South

[40:07] Carolina today, the sophisticated folks

[40:09] are watching you to find out what's

[40:11] going to happen.

[40:12] >> When Gingrich finished, the convention

[40:14] moved on to the business of selecting

[40:16] the Republican nominee for president.

[40:19] But by then, a consensus had formed.

[40:21] There would be no brokered convention.

[40:24] The state delegations were confident.

[40:25] >> I called a few of my uh core contacts, a

[40:28] few reporters in South Carolina, make

[40:30] sure nothing has really changed big.

[40:32] Dole is still leading strong in the

[40:33] polls and um we're going with him.

[40:35] >> Basically, I just talked to Chris

[40:36] McNottton who's South Carolina state

[40:38] chairman. And uh he told me that they

[40:40] think they're going Dole. So, I'm pretty

[40:42] firm with my uh with my delegate

[40:45] selection. I think I'm going to still

[40:47] give one district to Pat Buchanan.

[40:49] >> Winner take all. So all 12 for the first

[40:50] two ballots are going for do.

[40:52] >> The great state of Maryland, one of the

[40:55] only states that can claim to be both

[40:57] Yankee and Confederate, gives three

[41:00] votes to Pat Buchanan and the remaining

[41:02] 29 votes to the next president of the

[41:05] United States, SENATOR BOB DOLE.

[41:07] [screaming]

[41:08] >> [cheering]

[41:09] >> SENATOR Bob Dole captured all or the

[41:12] majority of delegates in nearly every

[41:14] state, including, of course, his home

[41:16] state of Kansas gives all 31 of its

[41:18] delegates. To its native son, who will

[41:21] take this party on to defeat Bill

[41:22] Clinton and into the next century, I

[41:24] GIVE YOU BOB DOLE.

[41:28] >> Do secured the nomination on the first

[41:30] ballot with Pat Buchanan, Steve Forbes,

[41:32] and Lamar Alexander finishing far

[41:35] behind.

[41:36] >> Okay. Well, thanks very much and I

[41:37] accept the nomination. I appreciate it

[41:39] very much.

[41:41] >> And as for the student delegates,

[41:43] >> no one could imagine what it would

[41:45] actually be like until we came here and

[41:47] it's just it's so realistic and such a

[41:49] honor to be a part of it and it only

[41:51] comes once every four years. So, we're

[41:53] all just very honored and excited. It's

[41:55] been a great experience.

[41:56] >> I agree. Definitely. It's been a great

[41:58] experience. We've um all put a lot of

[41:59] hard work into it. I think we've all

[42:01] just really learned a lot more about the

[42:02] political process. The atmosphere here

[42:04] was I imagine it's just like at the

[42:05] convention. That much excitement. Uh

[42:08] made me work harder. Uh it was a lot of

[42:10] work. I really enjoyed it and it gets me

[42:12] interested in politics. I mean, I loved

[42:13] it. [cheering]

[42:18] >> Now, how campaign 96 is playing out on

[42:21] other college campuses. Margaret Warner

[42:23] has that story.

[42:26] >> We're joined now by six college

[42:27] newspaper editors. Patrick Strawbridge,

[42:30] a junior at the University of Missouri.

[42:32] Bill Lara, a senior at Dade Community

[42:34] College in Miami. Janette Bennett, a

[42:37] senior at Brigham Y Young University in

[42:39] Utah. Ronald Ester, a senior at the

[42:41] Citadel Military College of South

[42:43] Carolina. Jeremy Hendrickson, a freshman

[42:46] at California's Community College of the

[42:48] Sequoas, and Monica Lewis, a senior at

[42:50] Howard University here in Washington.

[42:53] Welcome all of you. Janette, how does

[42:55] this Republican primary race look to you

[42:58] and your fellow students at BYU? Well, I

[43:00] think there's a lot of interest in it,

[43:02] but maybe not a lot of excitement. Um,

[43:04] most students at BYU would say that

[43:06] they're Republican, but there really

[43:07] isn't a favorite. There's no one that

[43:09] they really want to throw their trust

[43:10] and their support behind at this point.

[43:13] >> And why is that?

[43:14] >> Well, I don't know. I think that there

[43:16] just it really isn't a good candidate. I

[43:18] think Dole isn't what um students want

[43:20] to represent them. Buchanan is per is

[43:23] perhaps too extreme. And Forbes and

[43:25] Alexander aren't viable candidates at

[43:28] this point either. they're too far

[43:29] behind. So, I think many students,

[43:31] although they'd say they're Republican,

[43:32] are giving an unenthusiastic support for

[43:35] Clinton.

[43:36] >> Pat, are you seeing the same thing at

[43:37] University of Missouri?

[43:38] >> Uh, definitely. Uh, Missouri may be a

[43:40] little bit more liberal than the than

[43:41] the BYU campus. And I'd say that the

[43:43] people are most excited about the

[43:44] Republican uh primaries at Missouri are

[43:47] everyone who likes Bill Clinton because

[43:49] u they they see the Republicans failing

[43:51] to put forth a leader who's who's who's

[43:53] really bring a strong mandate or

[43:55] gathering a lot of support and uh they

[43:57] really just think that Clinton's almost

[43:59] got it wrapped up at this point.

[44:01] >> Ron Aster, you just had the South

[44:03] Carolina primary right in your backyard.

[44:05] Was there the same lack of excitement on

[44:07] campus that that colleagues here? I

[44:09] think the primary which just occurred

[44:10] last Saturday sparked a lot of

[44:12] excitement and um Citadel is a pretty

[44:14] conservative campus and you know with

[44:16] the election coming up there recognized

[44:17] a need for a pretty drastic change in

[44:19] office I think and uh there is a lot of

[44:21] excitement with Buchanan but I think

[44:22] Dole has made his presence felt uh he

[44:25] was backed by you know some pretty

[44:27] strong powerful people in South Carolina

[44:28] like uh Carol Campbell and David Beasley

[44:31] and so um I think that most of the

[44:34] people in South Carolina are you know

[44:35] looking towards Dole and I can think

[44:37] safely speak for a lot of cadetses who

[44:39] you know, going towards that pretty much

[44:40] conservative side with Dole.

[44:42] >> Jeremy, how about you out at the

[44:44] community college of the Sequoas? How

[44:46] does um are you seeing this sort of

[44:49] feeling that there aren't any good

[44:51] candidates out there or are you sensing

[44:52] what Ron senses at the Citadel?

[44:55] >> Well, I think right now we're seeing

[44:57] four candidates who uh are lacking a lot

[45:00] of passion uh as far as what we can

[45:02] view. Um, I think our our feeling is

[45:05] that they're passionate only about being

[45:07] elected president, you know, and man, we

[45:09] want someone to come in there and just

[45:11] and just, you know, a revolutionary,

[45:13] someone that's a reformer, wants to just

[45:15] do an overhaul in America, you know, and

[45:16] and um our area is mostly conservative.

[45:20] Uh, but we desire to see someone in

[45:22] there that that would like to uh

[45:24] completely overturn, you know, things

[45:27] and come in there and do a lot of

[45:28] reform. Monica, what do you sense on

[45:31] your campus in terms of what students

[45:32] are looking for? Um,

[45:34] >> mostly I think we're looking for people

[45:35] or a candidate who has our best interest

[45:36] at heart. Um, Howard is a liberal

[45:39] university as opposed to the citadel or

[45:41] any other conservative institution. And

[45:43] um you know with the way that Congress

[45:45] and the appropriations that we're trying

[45:47] to get um or the ones that were possibly

[45:50] on the verge of being cut, I think that

[45:51] we want a candidate who has who is

[45:54] thinking more along our lines and

[45:55] looking for our university and for our

[45:57] our race, our you know sex, whatever to

[46:00] um prosper in that coming century.

[46:02] >> And Bill R, what about you? What do you

[46:03] sense on your campus? Is this Republican

[46:06] primary speaking to you and your fellow

[46:08] students?

[46:09] >> Uh in a limited way. I think most of my

[46:11] fellow students would ask where's the

[46:13] none of the above button when they get

[46:14] to the ballot. But uh again, I agree

[46:17] with what's been said on the table. Most

[46:18] of these candidates don't have the

[46:20] ability to empathize with this market,

[46:22] with this particular strand, college

[46:24] students. They just don't don't sound

[46:28] perfect. They there there's a little bit

[46:30] off in every candidate.

[46:31] >> But what would you like describe the

[46:33] ideal candidate to me? What would he or

[46:36] she be saying and doing and acting?

[46:39] dynamic uh pro- education, looking to

[46:42] save as much as the budget for that

[46:43] purpose as possible, downsizing

[46:45] government, uh looking for a uh term um

[46:50] shorter terms in Congress perhaps in

[46:52] government as a whole. Um and basically

[46:55] looking not just at the easy stuff to

[46:57] cut off.

[46:59] >> Pat, what do you what do you think

[47:00] students are looking for in an ideal

[47:02] candidate? Someone who would galvanize

[47:04] the campuses.

[47:05] Um, if you're talking about the

[47:07] Republican side, I think what what would

[47:10] what would have um played a lot better,

[47:12] at least to the college crowd, would

[47:13] have been a moderate candidate. Um, I

[47:15] mean, a younger moderate candidate who

[47:18] who's kind of a Republican Bill Clinton,

[47:20] if you will, when Bill Clinton went

[47:21] through in '92, he he was a young

[47:23] candidate. He spoke very clearly to the

[47:26] heart of of a lot of issues that

[47:27] affected college students, college

[47:28] loans. Um, I mean, he was he was a very

[47:33] very he is a candidate that a lot of

[47:35] college students could really look up

[47:36] to. And um, it's just nothing like that.

[47:38] You you got three guys who all worked in

[47:39] the Nixon White House, which you know,

[47:41] most of the kids in college these days

[47:42] weren't even alive when Nixon was in the

[47:43] White House. Um, and and and you got

[47:46] Steve Forbes who's a millionaire, and

[47:47] I'm pretty sure almost everyone I know

[47:49] doesn't relate to him very well. So,

[47:51] >> but Janette, you said your campus is

[47:52] very uh Republican at BYU. What do you

[47:55] think it would take to galvanize,

[47:57] electrify uh young Republicans and

[48:00] independents on your campus?

[48:02] >> Well, I think Dole's views on things are

[48:04] are on target, but his personality isn't

[48:06] really engaging. He doesn't have the

[48:08] leadership skills that students our age

[48:10] look for. He's not exciting to listen

[48:12] to, and unfortunately, that's what's

[48:14] needed in a president. You know, that

[48:15] may seem shallow, but we need a leader

[48:17] who who can be optimistic and exciting

[48:20] and get us excited about the future as

[48:22] young Americans.

[48:23] >> Do you agree with that, Ron? Yeah, I

[48:24] agree totally with that. And I think

[48:26] that Bob Dole represents a lot of great

[48:28] issues and his traditional cornerstone

[48:30] to getting back to the values of America

[48:31] are great, but u when you look at Pap

[48:33] Buchanan, I think that he has a great

[48:35] charisma. I mean, he knows how to speak

[48:37] to a crowd and reach out to them. But

[48:39] unfortunately, I think some of his

[48:40] issues and his ideals are so extreme

[48:42] that we don't feel secure with him. But

[48:44] again, I mean, I'll reemphasize the fact

[48:46] when he speaks, I mean, he does have a

[48:48] passion, I think. And although he does

[48:49] want to make a change, I think that I

[48:51] think Dole offers a good building block

[48:53] to the future of America, he might not

[48:55] be the person to have great reform, but

[48:57] I think he's going to offer a good

[48:58] building block to future reform. Maybe

[49:00] with our generation being involved with

[49:02] politics.

[49:03] >> What's your sense of Dole and and his Do

[49:05] you agree with this critique? Right

[49:07] issues, wrong persona. What?

[49:10] >> Well, for the Republican perspective,

[49:12] >> right? For the most part, the the issues

[49:14] are are pretty well sound. Um I don't

[49:16] know. I think personally I'd agree more

[49:18] with uh Buchanan on on a few issues than

[49:21] I do with Dole, but overall I I do agree

[49:23] that um we need somewhere to start from

[49:27] and and Dole is a good starting stone,

[49:29] maybe a building block like like he was

[49:31] saying. Um I don't know. I think people

[49:33] are looking right now to to uh the

[49:36] character of the person and really to we

[49:39] need a dynamic leader.

[49:41] >> Are you all talking more about style

[49:43] than substance? We see what we can see

[49:46] and that is whatever brief time we get

[49:48] on television from this candidate or

[49:49] whatever exposition we get to him is not

[49:51] really in depth. So we have to go with

[49:53] what we have in most cases unfortunately

[49:55] as it may be it has has to do with how

[49:57] the the candidate relates or how we

[49:59] relate to the person on screen.

[50:00] >> Monica where do you think that most

[50:03] students if we can generalize where do

[50:05] you think their views come from? Are

[50:07] they rebelling against their parents or

[50:09] are they very close to their parents'

[50:10] views? Well, I think it depends on you

[50:13] have to break that down into parties and

[50:15] um just the generation we grew up in

[50:17] where it was kind of like the MI

[50:19] generation where you were out to get

[50:20] what you could get and what was best for

[50:22] you and if your parents felt that the

[50:24] Democratic party was best for you then

[50:26] you kind of went along with that and you

[50:28] know same goes for Republicans. Um

[50:30] personally speaking I think that I'm

[50:32] just looking at what has been done

[50:34] during my lifetime. Um, I grew up most

[50:37] like we all grew up in a Republican era

[50:39] and it wasn't until most of us hit

[50:41] college where the Democrats took off,

[50:43] took over basically. So, whatever the

[50:45] Democratic Party has done in the four

[50:47] years that they've been in control, I've

[50:49] kind of been in favor of that and I

[50:52] really didn't like the way things were

[50:53] in the early 80s.

[50:54] >> Ron, how compare your own views with

[50:56] those of your parents briefly. I mean,

[50:58] how much are yours separate from them?

[51:01] Well, I think um maybe I'm in terms of

[51:04] my parents and [snorts] maybe all our

[51:06] parents. I mean, I can't speak for

[51:07] everybody's, but I think my parents seem

[51:09] to uh emphasize on economic issues. You

[51:12] know, it's kind of like the struggle to

[51:13] survive or the struggle to succeed. And

[51:16] um when I'm when I uh when I'm looking

[51:18] towards a president now, I think I'm

[51:21] trying to emphasize on the social

[51:22] issues. I mean, to be honest,

[51:24] personally, I feel like the economy is

[51:26] so complex, I feel like I can't

[51:27] understand it half the time, but the

[51:28] social issues are more at home with me.

[51:30] And I think, you know, I could

[51:31] comprehend certain things and, you know,

[51:33] I feel like it affects humanity more

[51:35] than

[51:36] >> And name a couple social issues. Meaning

[51:38] what?

[51:38] >> Well, just like abortion. I mean, that's

[51:39] a really important issue that this this

[51:41] election can't overlook. And just, um,

[51:44] treatment of a middle class, um,

[51:47] Medicaid, Medicare. I mean, these are

[51:48] all important issues that I think we

[51:50] need to really listen to because, you

[51:52] know, they're going to affect our

[51:53] generation now and years to come. Um

[51:56] Pat, talk to that point about uh college

[51:58] students and their views and how they

[52:00] compare to their parents.

[52:02] >> Um I I I think I mean mo most students I

[52:05] know fall somewhere in the middle on the

[52:07] political spectrum. They they don't

[52:08] identify very very um very clearly with

[52:11] with one side one side or the other.

[52:13] That's why I think this would have been

[52:14] a great year for for a moderate

[52:15] Republican candidate to have had a shot

[52:16] at Clinton. Um you know, personally I

[52:18] support Bill Clinton. So, I'm I'm I'm

[52:21] thinking my lucky stars every day that

[52:23] Jack Kemp or Colin Pal, one of those

[52:24] conservative Republicans, decide to stay

[52:26] out of the race. I don't think it's

[52:27] unusual that you're seeing um more

[52:30] people looking at social issues and why

[52:32] Pat Buchanan, who speaks a lot to social

[52:34] issues, um is getting a lot of attention

[52:36] early on because to be honest, the

[52:38] economy is doing pretty well right now.

[52:40] It's on its road to recovery, it's not

[52:41] the focus of the election anymore. Um

[52:44] there's a new drum to bang on. Janette,

[52:46] where do you stand on on what issues are

[52:48] being raised in this Republican primary

[52:50] race? Do you feel that issues that are

[52:53] are important to you either in the

[52:55] short, medium, or long term, are really

[52:57] are being addressed?

[52:58] >> One issue that is getting a little bit

[53:00] of attention that I wish would get more,

[53:02] it's family values. Um, I think that's

[53:04] the core of a lot of problems, social

[53:06] and economic, in our country. And I

[53:08] don't think that there's been a

[53:09] candidate who's really hit that on the

[53:10] head and used that as a as a platform.

[53:12] And I think a lot of people um

[53:15] especially where I come from are

[53:16] interested in family values. That's one

[53:18] topic I'd like to hear more about.

[53:20] >> Oh, I just wanted to add I know watching

[53:22] the debate in South Carolina the other

[53:24] day, I mean the candidates are doing

[53:25] anything but addressing the issues. I

[53:27] mean it was just a mudslinging festival

[53:30] and um I I mean how can we be asked to

[53:32] address some of the issues when these

[53:34] candidates really can't even address the

[53:35] issues and speak to us about them. Um,

[53:37] that's what we really need to look

[53:38] towards is them taking a little more

[53:40] mature approach. And I mean, seeing all

[53:42] these negative ads run. I mean, we talk

[53:44] about financial problems. Well, if Steve

[53:46] Forbes wanted to be so generous, he

[53:48] could donate half the money he's put

[53:50] into these negative ads and rectify some

[53:52] of the problems we're having as a

[53:53] society.

[53:54] >> I think the media in general is a little

[53:55] bit at fault for not getting us involved

[53:57] in the issues. Most of the coverage is

[53:59] very horse race. It's more like a sports

[54:02] story. you find out who's ahead, who's

[54:04] behind, who gained how many points, and

[54:06] instead of really addressing the issues

[54:07] and looking into the candidates. And so

[54:09] the coverage that we're getting, that's

[54:11] all we know is just who's ahead, who's

[54:12] behind, instead of really getting in

[54:14] there.

[54:14] >> And are you all covering the national

[54:16] race in your newspapers?

[54:20] >> Through what? The wires

[54:21] >> mostly.

[54:22] >> I think Janette's right about that. I'm,

[54:24] you know, talk about like we're seeing

[54:27] all the percentages how Dole is winning

[54:28] over Buchanan, but we're not seeing why

[54:30] he's winning. you know, they're not

[54:31] we're not getting a clear explanation of

[54:33] why he's winning and what, you know,

[54:35] these voters and citizens of our country

[54:37] are thinking towards the election. And I

[54:39] think that's something the media should

[54:40] address on is why they're winning, not

[54:42] just by how many percentages and who's,

[54:44] you know, because they're getting

[54:45] blasted out of the water. Um, you know,

[54:47] they're going to have to pull out the

[54:48] race. I mean, if someone's going to pull

[54:49] out the race and let's let's not

[54:50] emphasize that anymore. Let's go

[54:52] towards, you know, why do pulling ahead

[54:54] and uh, you know, what's the cause of

[54:55] that,

[54:56] >> what the issues are. Um I I I think

[54:58] that's that's a typical criticism of the

[55:01] media during any election is that is

[55:02] that they only cover the horse race. But

[55:03] it's also I think some fault lies with

[55:05] the candidates. I mean the candidates

[55:07] know this isn't the time for issues in

[55:08] election. This is the time for politics.

[55:10] This is the time to put themselves on

[55:11] top and then they can start addressing

[55:12] the issues. U

[55:14] decided there's a clear candidate.

[55:16] That's when it's time to start debating

[55:18] Bill Clinton. But I mean it's a horse

[55:19] race and there's really no way of

[55:20] looking around that. Maybe it shouldn't

[55:22] be. Maybe that's not perfect but that's

[55:24] the way it is. But I mean if if you

[55:26] really wanted to know about the issues

[55:28] these candidates believe in that

[55:30] information is available. I mean how

[55:31] much do you think that students and

[55:33] voters share in the responsibility?

[55:36] Well, I think I think you share a lot.

[55:38] If you're going to take yourself to the

[55:39] polls and vote, which I think everyone

[55:41] should, um you need to be informed and

[55:43] it's, you know, it's only in this in

[55:45] this era now that we've had the, you

[55:48] know, the advantage of having the media

[55:51] and um you know, in the past, people had

[55:52] to find out their own information and we

[55:54] need to be students really of the

[55:55] election, what's going on.

[55:58] >> Do you all sense that in in your

[55:59] readership there's an active interest or

[56:01] is it more apathetic? Janette,

[56:04] >> there's an

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