How Will Dole Keep The Public's Attention?

By Bruce Morton/CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN, March 27) -- It's over right? They say it isn't over 'till the fat lady sings, but she's singing (83K AIFF or WAV sound). Sure, Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) stumbled in New Hampshire and in Arizona, but he's won twenty-seven straight Republican primaries now. So it's over and he's the GOP nominee.

The question is, what does he do now, and for the four months before the GOP convention?

He'll be Senate leader, but the Senate will probably be quite political. This week, Democrats are trying to force a vote on raising the minimum wage, for instance.

Says Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D): "We feel very strongly about this and about many of these other issues. Our colleagues are feeling very combative and are prepared to be as combative on other issues as they are on this one." (132K AIFF or WAV sound)

Republicans wouldn't mind forcing the president to veto a balanced budget again or welfare reform. Senate Democrats would love a vote on assault weapons. They might agree on raising the debt limit. One other thing Dole could do would be to name some people who would be in a Dole administration long before the August convention.

"Maybe one way to maintain interest would be to announce, if not the vice president, maybe a couple of potentially important cabinet picks," Dole said. "It's gonna be difficult to keep people engaged."

Michigan Gov. John Engler suggested a year ago the nominee could name his cabinet. "We've got, I think, leadership at all levels now that are making changes, they're doing things differently; they're doing what American voters want," Engler said. "We've got to be able to show that come election time, because that's the real change, the real difference and reform that Bob Dole represents." (165K AIFF or WAV sound)

A Shadow Government? "I think it's probably to his advantage to spotlight people who have or might have major responsibilities, or from whom he will seek advice in a Dole administration, rather than just let the press select spokesmen," Michael Barone of U.S. News & World Report suggests. "Not locked-in cabinet names, but task forces, a shadow government."

A foreign policy task force could showcase heavy hitters like Gen. Colin Powell, former national security advisor Brent Scowcroft and ex-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. On domestic issues, Dole has all those governors -- George Voinovich of Ohio, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey.

The shadow government could build support, build links with Congress, and do one thing more. Dole may never be as good a candidate as the president, but if it turns into the Democrats versus the GOP, polls show the Republicans, on some issues, have the voters on their side.

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