Come Together, Right Now

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 13) -- "Get Bill Clinton out of the way and we will get the job done," Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) told cheering supporters Tuesday night after sweeping all of Super Tuesday's primaries.

That's a theme he'll no doubt revisit as the primary season looks westward (330K AIFF or WAV sound). "It is time to come together now and put our ideas together and build a strong agenda for November," Dole said. But his rivals, commentator Pat Buchanan and publisher Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes, Jr. both have announced they're still in the race.

Back To Work With the nomination all but sewn up, Dole planned to turn his attention to the Senate, where, of course, he still is majority leader. It could become a key campaign battleground in his contest with President Bill. Dole's plan is to present Clinton with a steady flow of GOP-inspired reform bills on welfare and Medicare, as well as a renewed push on reaching a balanced budget.

It's a strategy designed to reinforce Dole's image as a "doer," and it also allows the Kansan to campaign from the Senate floor. That could be key for the senator since he's butting up against the $37 million spending limit imposed on all candidates that accept federal matching funds.

You Mean I Have To Choose A Running Mate? Attention has turned to whom Dole will select as a running mate. "The slate is wide open," Dole told the Associated Press, saying he had only thought about the issue "in a loose way."

Speculation has intensified over whether Dole might solicit retired General Colin Powell, who polls show would strengthen Dole's chances considerably. Powell stated earlier he would not seek public office, but in an interview with CBS, Dole predicted Powell could change his mind. "(He's) been a soldier all his life and he's responded whenever his country needed him and I believe if anyone went to General Powell -- I may be totally wrong -- and laid out a case . . . that he would suit up again."

Ever the careful politician, Dole could decide against asking Powell for fear of a backlash from the Buchanan bloc. Presaging that possibility, Buchanan posed the question to NBC: "Why should conservatives support a vice-presidential nominee, Mr. Powell, who first joined the Republican Party only three months ago, who is strongly pro-abortion, who believes in affirmative action, who declares himself a Rockefeller Republican?"

Echoing that theme, Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, interviewed on CNN, said, "it would be wise to reach out for a pro-life, pro-family conservative. That would be the smartest thing to do."

Still, others in the Dole camp believe choosing Powell would be viewed as a bold move, possibly energizing voters. For the time being, Dole clearly prefers to delay the veepstakes while portraying himself as "the conservative they (the American people) want to lead America."

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