Dole drops out of Presidential race

The only woman in the Presidential race has dropped out. Elizabeth Dolesays she can’t raise the funds to compete for the Republican nomination.Dole’s campaign got a surge after finishing third in the August straw pollin Ames, but it wasn’t enough to keep her in the race. Iowa Republican partyexecutive director Dee Stewart credited Dole with helping republicans.Stewart believes Dole backers will stay with the Republican party and thatDole will encourage them to vote for the eventual winner of the Republicannomination.Professor Dennis Goldford is chair of the department of politics andinternational relations at Drake University. He says it’s too bad Doledropped out as she excited a number of people who aren’t normally interestedin politics. Professor Goldford says that advantage may have also been partof Dole’s downfall, as the people who supported her were generally on thefringe of the party.Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes told a radio talk show inSioux City today his campaign hopes to make a positive move out of Dole’sdecision by winning some of her supporters.Forbes says he’s not sure Dole’s entrance into the 2000 presidentialcampaign made any great strides toward a woman becoming America’s chiefexecutive. Forbes says a woman will be elected the Margaret Thatcher becameprime minister of England — not becuase of gender, but because of principalcharacter and force of personality. Forbes says we haven’t seen our MargaretThatcher in the United States yet. Dole made her announcement today inWashington, D.C.