As Bob Dole’s spring slide continues — he trails Bill linton by 18 points in a recent national poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times — he’s making life a little difficult for the folks at the Republican National Committee. Every Monday, they fax out a nifty summary of polling data showcasing Republican popularity. The RNC’s lead item on April 22, titled ” Dole Rising in Arizona,” trumpeted Dole’s two-point lead over Bill Clinton . . . in Arizona and Virginia. A GOP presidential candidate hasn’t lost in Virginia since 1964, and in Arizona since 1948. It’s a bad sign when the best the RNC can come up with is a two-point margin in reliably Republican states.
Perhaps the RNC should praise Dole for his candor, rather than his poll ratings. On Face the Nation, Dole was asked about his comment days earlier that parents would be safer leaving their kids with him than with Bill Clinton. Dole replied, “It’s what a couple of people have told me who’ve had focus groups. . . . I’m just repeating what the focus groups said.” Many pols get their ideas from focus groups and polling data, but few are so upfront about it. At last, the truth has been spoken: America deserves a leader as good as its focus groups.
