Clinton Makes Push For GOP Stronghold

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 23) -- On the second day of President Bill Clinton's latest Florida campaign visit, he promised to be back before Election Day. And at a rally in Daytona Beach, Clinton stressed one of his favorite New Democrat themes: welfare reform.

"We have a plan, not rhetoric, but a plan to work with the private sector, to work with states, to work with communities like Daytona Beach all over America to move at least one million more people from welfare to work in the next four years," the president declared. "Will you help us build that bridge to the future?"

Polls here show he is neck and neck with Republican Bob Dole in the competition for Florida's jackpot of 25 electoral votes. Clinton narrowly lost here four years ago. A Democratic presidential candidate hasn't carried Florida since Jimmy Carter did in 1976.

Many of Clinton's aides thought Florida was a waste of time, but they say he never gave up on the state. This is his 13th visit since taking office. They compare his effort here to what they describe as his four-year "permanent campaign" in California, where a new poll in the Los Angeles Times has Clinton ahead of Dole by 20 points.

But what apparently has helped Clinton the most in Florida is the state's improved economy and the worry among seniors that Republicans will cut back on Medicare. Florida's Republican Party chairman, Tom Slade, grudgingly concedes Clinton's Medicare message has worked.

"You've got to give Bill Clinton some degree of political due," Slade said. "He is clearly the most deceptive, manipulative person that has ever occupied the presidency in my lifetime and he has done a real number on Florida's senior citizens," Slade said.

The president has also made inroads among the Cuban-American community, long a reliable Republican constituency. Late Tuesday night, he made a dessert stop at a restaurant in Miami's Little Havana.

But the president and Vice President Al Gore have one Florida embarrassment: Jorge Cabrera, an accused Florida drug dealer and convicted felon who contributed $20,000 to the Democratic Party last year and was later invited to the White House. The money was returned after he was again arrested.

Campaign aides profess they're not worried about this nor any of the other allegations of tainted contributions the Dole campaign has levelled. They say the president is cruising toward re-election and point to the fact that he casually began the day with a round of golf.

Clinton Makes Push For GOP Stronghold

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