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Jewish World Review April 3, 2000 / 27 Adar II, 5760
Chris Matthews
"I think it ups the ante. It clearly puts one party at a
competitive disadvantage," she said.
Would the San Francisco Democrat, who is running for a
third term in the U.S. Senate, accept a vice presidential
nomination if it were offered?
"I'm a candidate for re-election," she said. "You know, if
I were ever in that situation, obviously it would take a lot
of hard thought, but I'm not. I'm running for re-election. I
have no way of knowing what he (Gore) might or might
not wish, so it's simply a non-issue and I wish it could be
that."
But it sounds as if Feinstein has given thought to the
electoral calculations both parties must make this summer
to win the country's most numerous voting group: women.
The Voter.com/Battleground 2000 poll that came out last
week gives the probable Republican candidate, Texas
Gov. George W. Bush, a 12-point lead among men. The
likely candidate of the Democratic Party, Vice President
Gore, holds a 5-point edge among women.
To overcome this "gender gap," Gov. Bush may calculate
that he needs to name a woman candidate for vice president. And to counter
any new Bush advantage from that choice, Feinstein says, Gore might have to
match the maneuver.
"I think a lot of it, interestingly enough, depends on what the Republicans do.
We'll wait and see," she said.
With or without a woman on the ticket, Feinstein says the Democrats have the
twin issues necessary to carry the majority of women voters this November:
gun control, an issue of which she stands as a national champion, and abortion
rights, which she also strongly supports.
"I think that the two seminal domestic litmus issues of this presidential race will
come down to guns and a woman's right to choose."
Poll numbers confirm that estimate. A new CBS survey finds that 73 percent of
women want stricter handgun control, compared to 56 percent of men.
As for Feinstein's view of actor Charlton Heston's TV ads for the National Rifle
Association?
"I liked him better as
03/29/00: Gray for veep and Gore might coast to victory
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