Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 24

24A Saturday November 4 2000 wwwstar-lelegramcom CAMPAIGN 2000 CAMPAIGN Gov Bush's job approval rating falls if 1 62 favor Bush work a drop of 9 points in 4 months has tarnished its image according to 25 percent of the people surveyed last month though 20 percent said the attention has helped the state Forty-two percent said the presidential race has not affected Texas' image either way Categorized by race Bush received a favorable rating from 70 percent of the Anglos and 55 percent of the Hispanics in the poll But 19 percent of the African-Americans said he was doing a good or excellent job Still if the presidential election were confined to Texas Bush would win by a landslide with 57 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Gore according to the Texas Poll Jack Douglas Jr (817) 390-7700 star-telegmmcom By Jack Douglas Jr Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH While his popularity and name recognition have grown nationwide Gov George Bush's job-approval rating in Texas is the lowest TEXAS since 1995 POLL after dropping 9 percentage points in four months according to a new poll The random survey of 1000 Texans conducted Oct 9-31 by the Scripps Howard Texas Poll showed that 62 percent approved of Bush's work as governor compared with 71 percent in a June poll The new rating is Bush's lowest since the fall of 1995 when the Texas Poll placed his job approval month 58 percent said they favored the governor's work down 12 percentage points from 70 percent in June Among men 68 percent said last month that Bush was a good or excellent governor down slightly from 72 percent in June Bush's job approval rating dropped 20 percentage points among Democrats in the state from 5 1 percent to 3 1 percent but 91 percent of the Texas Republicans in the poll say they approve of his work In East Texas 7 1 percent of the poll participants said in June that Bush was a good or excellent governor but 53 percent agreed last month Bruce Buchanan a political science professor at the University of Texas at Austin blamed the ratings drop on Bush's tight race with Vice President Al Gore the Democratic presidential nominee Bush is "taking some hits" in the intense news coverage of the race which has highlighted Texas' poor ranking in areas concerning the environment education and health care for indigent children Buchanan said Bush's political fight with Gore is probably also affecting Texas Democrats "who may have been enamored with the governor and who are now changing their minds" the professor said The national spotlight on Texas rating at 57 percent After that it ranged from a 66 percent in the spring and fall of 1 997 to 8 1 percent in the winter of 1999 The most recent poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points with a slightly larger margin of error for subgroups Among those asked 34 percent said they thought Bush the Republican presidential candidate was an "excellent" governor and 28 percent said he was doing a "good" job in running the state Thirty-one percent disapproved of his work 22 percent said he was "only fair" and 9 percent gave him a "poor" grade The rating dropped even more among women in the poll Last WEATHER OUTLOOK The five-day forecast for Fort Worth-Dallas predicts partly cloudy skies and cool with a high temperature in the upper 50s on Election Day That would normally be good for turnout (for those of you who haven't already voted and Friday was your last chance to do so early) The forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center: The West east through the Rockies: generally dry with normal temperatures Rain possible in the Pacific Northwest late in the day Upper Midwest: colder than normal possibility of snow in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota Mississippi River Valley: showers and thunderstorms Great Lakes: rainy and windy Southeast: above-normal temperatures with a chance of showers in Louisiana and Mississippi in the late afternoon Mid-Atlantic: cloudy mild New England: cool and blustery CELEBRITY CITY News of Bush arrest dominates questions by media to Cheney Strange tale of how arrest became public "I thought he handled it very well" Cheney says of the revelation By Michael Cooper The New York Times SOUTH PORTLAND Maine The revelations about Gov George Bush's 24-year-old drunken driving arrest threw a wrench Fri day into the campaign of his running mate Dick Cheney who as a young man was himself arrested and convicted twice on charges of driving while intoxicated Questions about I Cheney our eye on the ball and remember what we're going to decide on Tuesday" But nearly all the questions at a news conference afterward were about Bush's arrest The news conference ended before Cheney was asked about his own two arrests "Mr Secretary you've hammered away at the character issue" one reporter began "What are we to make of George Bush's character now that we've heard that he's had a drunk driving arrest?" Cheney responded: "Well 1 think he's been very forthright about it He came out last night and made a statement about it I think he's addressed it" The questioner persisted "But he hadn't told the public about it until it was uncovered by a reporter" Cheney: "I don't think that was something that was required This was something that happened 24 years ago It's old news From that perspective I thought he handled it very well" News of the anest and questions about why Bush had not disclosed it earlier proved embarrassing to the campaign which has made character integrity and accountability its central themes Cheney's aides declined to say anything about his arrests except to say that he was arrested and con-i victed twice in 1962 and 1963:: Although they came up privately" during his confirmation for defense: secretary in 1989 and were report-ti ed in 1991 the details have never! been made public Bv Carey Goldberg The New York Times PORTLAND Maine Thomas Connolly makes no bones about it: He was pleased as punch to serve as a central conduit for spreading the word that George Bush had been arrested on a charge of drunken driving in Kennebunkport in 1976 But he denies the Bush campaign's allegations that his timing so close to Election Day indicates anything suspicious or conspiratorial Connolly a 42-year-old Portland lawyer who is active in the Democratic Party and is rarely seen without his trademark long-billed cap tells it like this: On Thursday morning a patient whose name he does not know was lying on the table of a similarly unidentified Portland chiropractor The patient said he could not understand how the campaign season had almost passed without word getting out that George Bush had been convicted of drunken driving in 1976 a fact that the patient could attest to because he had been arraigned on the same charge at the same time The chiropractor called a "public figure" friend an active Democrat whose position precludes him from speaking out on political matters Connolly said And the "public figure" passed on the news to Connolly when they crossed paths at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland about 1 pm Thursday "That's how human things happen" Connolly said He would not confirm local reports that the "public figure" is part-time probate Judge Billy Childs Childs asked Friday about his role said he could not comment but was consulting with judicial authorities about whether he could put out a statement Connolly said he instantly verified the information by calling a court clerk at the Biddeford courthouse where Bush's case was heard and by double-checking with the Maine secretary of state's office which also keeps records of drunken driving cases Both confirmed the report Connolly happily passed on what he had learned including a copy of the court docket to local television reporters and the news exploded across the nation The Associated PtcssPat Wi ii pnbach Tom Connolly a lawyer in Portland Maine and an unabashed Democrat broke the news about George Bush's 1 976 drunken driving arrest Connolly hides none of his partisanship: He was the Democratic candidate for governor in Maine in 1998 gaining just 13 percent of the vote against the state's popular independent governor Angus King he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention this year and in June he said he protested a local appearance by Bush by shouting at him "You weiner!" (Connolly said Bush rolled down the window of his car as he was leaving and responded "Who are you calling weiner boy?" prompting Connolly to set up an anti-Bush Web site later at the address wwwweinerboyorg) "I consider this an issue that is relevant to the body politic in making a decision about who's going to be the leader of the free world for the next four years" Connolly said Speaking in his office in Portland's Old Port district in a cluttered upstairs room enlivened by a bust of Thomas Jefferson and by a helmeted skeleton left over from a murder case Connolly denied that he was being manipulated by Vice President Gore's campaign He said he had even tried to fax the information about Bush's conviction to the Gore campaign Thursday afternoon but failed to get through and had yet to hear from the campaign Bush's arrest dominated a news conference that Cheney held Friday morning with local TV reporters in Millersville Pa Afterward Cheney promptly canceled a series of interviews planned for later in the day with local reporters in New Hampshire and Maine The result was that one of the campaign's central strategies of speaking directly to as many local media markets as possible was imperiled as the race headed into its final days At the rally at Millersville University Cheney asked supporters to remain focused on the issues "Now we're coming down to the closing days of the campaign and there's all kinds of stuff flying around out there" he said at a rally "The important thing is we keep The celebrities have come out of the walls to help their favorite candidates To wit: Campaigning for Gore: Cher Martin Sheen Rob Reiner Ben Affleck Whoopi Goldberg Christine Lahti Susan Dey Melissa Etheridge Jewel Jon Bon Jovi and Alfre Woodard For Bush: Chuck Norris Loretta Lynn Bo Derek the Oak Ridge Boys retired Gen Norman Schwarzkopf Charlton Heston Arnold Schwarzenegger who is being quietly talked up as a possible California gubernatorial candidate (Oh joy: Governor Terminator Don't worry he can't run for president he's not native-born) POLL STUFF Votercom Battleground (released Friday): Bush 46 percent Gore 39 percent Nader 5 percent Buchanan 1 percent Undecided 10 percent Margin of error 31 points (Now maybe it's showing a Bush gap steadily widening Or not) CM-USA Tbrfay-Gallup (released Friday): Bush 48 percent Gore 42 percent Nader 5 percent Buchanan 0 percent Margin ot error: 2 points (Note Bush's lead is now outside the margin of error in both polls) National Journalcom Electoral vote tally (released Friday): Gore 269 votes Bush 248 votes Tossup 21 votes Needed to win: 270 votes Changes since Thursday: Delaware (3 votes) goes from Gore to Bush: Tennessee (1 1 goes from tossup to Bush Iowa (7) and Oregon (7) go from Bush to Gore Arkansas Maine and Washington state are the tossups Vote totals remain same as Thursday Totals based on private and partisan polls from the states WHO ME? CARE? Fidel Castro doesn't care whom we elect president (not that he has a lot to do with it) saying either candidate will continue the economic embargo of Cuba That's to please the Cuban-American mafia in Miami Castro said We voters should all go to the beach on Election Day he said "Neither of them interests me in the least I don't expect anything from either of them" WHY THE FUSS? Why is everybody getting so bent out of shape about Joe Lieberman running for two offices at once (his Senate job and vice president)? He's catching flack not only from the Republicans but even from some of his party colleagues Big deal We've been doing similar things in Texas for years and it hasn't caused much of a ripple Lyndon Johnson was the first beneficiary being on the ballot for his Senate job as well as the vice presidency in 1 960 thanks to the "LBJ Law" conveniently passed by the state to allow for a dual candidacy (that was back when the state didn't have any Republicans except John Tower although a lot of Democrats could have moved among them unnoticed) Lloyd Bentsen did the same when he ran for vice president Compiled by Lou Hudson from reports by The Associated Press and The Washington Post and the Internet sites ofCNNcom Votercom and I National Journal cam Vice president capitalizes on Bush's latest gaffe He says Social Security comment suggests governor isn 't qualified the pivotal state of Florida home to: a large number of elderly retirees' where Bush and Gore are in a pitched battle for the state's 25 elec- toral votes The Gore campaign is running a TV commercial criticizing Bush's Social Security plan in several battleground states and Thursday night hastily produced a new spot that echoes almost exactly what Gore said Friday on the campaign trail about Bush The ad which will air in Florida and Pennsylvania asks: "Is Social Security a federal program? Of course it is But George Bush does- n't seem to understand that" The ad then shows a clip of Bush's remarks about the program in Missouri A closing graphic asks "George Bush: Is he ready to lead America?" Gore alleged Friday as he has repeatedly that Bush plans to divert $1 trillion in Social Security payroll taxes but has promised the money to two different groups young workers to create the private retire- ment accounts and current retirees whose Social Security benefits he has pledged will not be cut Bush argues that there will be a large enough surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund to establish pri-vate retirement accounts without cutting current benefits This report includes material from The Associated Press By Edward Walsh and Ceci Connolly The Washington Post ALCOA Tenn Vice President Al Gore seized the initiative on the issue of Social Security on Friday using a misstatement by his Republican opponent to suggest that if Texas Gov George Bush does not understand how the popular federal retirement program works he is not qualified to be president At rallies in Kansas City Mo Ames Iowa and Tennessee his home state Gore sought to turn up the heat on Bush on an issue that has been a bedrock of Democratic campaigns since the Social Security system was created in the 1930s under President Franklin Roosevelt Bush provided the opening that his Democratic opponent moved aggressively to exploit Friday during a campaign speech Thursday in St Charles Mo Defending his plan to allow younger workers to divert a portion of the Social Security payroll taxes they pay into private retirement accounts Bush said "this frightens some in Washington because they want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program" Mocking Bush Gore told a cheering crowd at Penn Community College in Kansas City on Friday morning that the Texas governor had been thrown on the defensive on the issue "So when he was trying to explain it" Gore said "he got carried away at one of his rallies and said they're scared of my plan What do they think Social Security is some kind of federal program?" "Yeahhhh" Gore said answering the question incredulously Pausing as the crowd cheered he added "And a damn good one too" Appropriating Bush's debate criticism of Gore the vice president said "One trillion promised to two groups doesn't add up unless you're using what kind of math?" The audience heartily replied "Fuzzy math" Speaking later at a large outdoor rally on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames Gore linked Bush's Social Security comments to the overall question of his opponent's fitness to be president which has become an explicit Democratic theme in the closing days of the campaign The Associated PressSTEPHAN Savoia Vice President Al Gore greets supporters after a campaign rally Friday at Iowa State University in Ames Iowa "Do you want to entrust the Oval Office to somebody who doesn't even know that Social Security is a federal program?" Gore said Iater during an interview with a Des Moines TV station he said "Four days before the election and he doesn't even know that? I link that's outrageous" As a political issue Social Security has long worked to the advantage of Democrats who often accuse their Republican opponents of wanting to weaken the program In this year's presidential race it could play an especially key roje in.