Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Feb. 21, 1998, edition 1 / Page 15
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1998-THE CAROLINA TIMES-15 Is It Time For A Woman President? By Donald M Rothberg WASHINGTON (AP) - Not once in American history have voters given serious consideration to a woman as president. Not even close. Forty-one presidents, 41 of them men. Yet, polls show voters are more likely to trust women politicians. At a time when the public is bom barded with allegations of personal misconduct by a male president, might the political atmosphere be growing more favorable for women who dream of running for the White House? "I hope so." said former Rep. Pat Schroeder. D-Colo., who came within a teardrop of running for president in 1988. "Wouldn’t that be nice." "We trust women more than we trust men," said pollster Peter Hart. "So on questions of in tegrity women have a higher credibility factor." He said women also get higher marks on questions of moral values. But there still is the commander Bloodhounds, High-Tech Fencing Deter Prison Escapes Knowing that the touch of a fence sets off alarms, and that a run for freedomm means being chased by bloodhounds, the majority of state prisoners prefer to stay put and obey the prison rules. Consequent ly, the number of escapees reached an all-time low of 142 last year while the prison population peaked. "Let’s not forget that nearly 6,000 inmates work outside the fence, in the community, which makes this escape rate even more remarkable," Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis said. "In addition to the aggressive construction of more secure prisons, I believe Gov. Jim Hunt’s mandate to put more inmates to work has kept prisoners occupied and their minds off running." ; Daisy the bloodhound jhelps return escaped j The highest recorded number of . escapes was in 1973, with 2,054 es- j capes out of a prison population of ' less than 11,000 inmates. Since then the department has tripled its prison capacity and now has 32,000 . inmates. Ail but two of the 1997 escapees were assigned to minimum custody , prisons, and 81 had been working I in jobs away from the prison. 1 Other reasons for the dramatic drop over the past three decades in- ; elude better staff training, a better classification system and fewer misdemeanants being sent to prison. Currently, 18 prisons are ! equipped with electronic alarm sys- I tern fencing and plans are to add it lo several other prisons. No inmate j has been successful in escaping I over a fence equipped with the electronic alarm system. I Escapes can happen at any time, but more occur in springtime, and i home is usually the destination. I "When an inmate does escape, correction bloodhounds, the fugi- jive staff and members of the Prison Emergency Response Team aggressively pursue that individu al,” Jarvis said. "Most escapees are recaptured within 24 hours." There have been 17 escapes so far Ibis year and 15 captures. Reach Us By E-Mail: times @ CompuServe, com in chief factor. "The most important factor js what we call the competency ele ment: Can I feel comfortable with a woman as chief executive?" said Hart. "A lot of that has to do with what we call gender modeling. .Can we trust a woman to be com mander in chief?" No one can be sure of the answers to those ques tions, particularly at a time when pollsters concede the public mood is very hard to read. "We are in a very bizarre climate of opinion. We are in uncharted waters so to speak," said Andrew Kohut, director of polling at the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. He puzzled over polling numbers that suggest most people believe the allegation - denied by Clinton - that the president had an affair with a young intern, and at the same time give him the highest job ap proval ratings of his presidency. "The public is acting in a hard-to- interpret manner,” Kohut said. The public mood toward women candidates certainly has changed markedly in the 10 years since Schroeder explored seeking the Democratic presidential nomina tion. At tearful news conference, Schroeder declared she would not run. In an interview the next day, she said that one obstacle she en countered was a "hard core that say, ‘No way, I’ll never vote for a woman.’” When Schroeder was considering a White House bid there were two women in the Senate. Now there are nine. Asked if the current attention given morality in the nation’s high est political office was helping women with presidential ambitions, Schroeder replied: "I want it to be that, but I just don’t know. All I can say is I hope so." Traditionally, politicians who are elected gov ernor or senator from the nation’s largest states automatically become presidential prospects. Both California senators are Democratic women - Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer - and Rep. Jane Harman announced recently she would,seek the Demo cratic nomination for governor of the nation’s largest state. Maine is not among the large states, but il has two women senators - Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans. One ironic sign of the progress of women in national politics is the case of New .lersey Gov, Christie ■Whilman. When she ran for gov- eraor in 1991 she promised a tax cut, and she delivered. For a while after that she was a favorite of many Republicans and often men tioned as a prospect for the national ticket. But for reasons unrelated to her gender she alienated a lot of New Jersey voters and barely won re- election. Conservatives bitterly op posed her because of her support for abortion rights. So far, the candidates mentioned most often for the presidential nominations in 2000 are men - Vice President A1 Gore and House Mi nority Leader Dick Gephardt am»ng the Democrats. There are far more Republican names, includ ing Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, Steve Forbes and former Vice President Dan Quayle. Then there is Dole - not the 1996 GOP nominee, but hi* wife, Elizabeth. The likeliest route for a woman onto the national ticket woidd be as a vice presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro of New York was the first woman on a m^or party’s national ticket when she was Walter F. Mondale’s running mate in 1984. They lost in a histor ic landslide to President Reagan, a defeat that could not be blamed on Ferraro. Pollster Hart said one or both parties might pick a woman for the second spot on the 2000 ticket. "There’s no reason why they shouldn’t. The only question is do you have a woman who’s credible enough and popular enough to help the ticket," Hart said. "My guess is both do at this stage." Durham County's Most Deadbeat Parents Alonzo 'Vernon Bullock Owes His Child: $3974. Age: 31 Hatr/Eyes: Black/Brown Last Known Whereabouts: Durham/Warrenton, NC Possibly NJ Norman Earl Vick Owes His Child: $22,009. Age: 32 Hair/Eyes: Brown/Brown Height: 5’ 8” Last Known : Wake Forest Occupation: Painter Michael Junior Bolton Owes His Child: $18641. Age: Hair/Eyes: Brown/Blue Height: S’11” Last Known : Durham Occupation: Construction Harold G. Woodruff, Jr. Owes His Child: $18007. Age: 40 Hair/Eyes: Lt. Brown/Blue Height: S’ 11” Last Known : Raleigh Occupation: Land Mirveyor Andrew L. Cadlett Owes His Child: $S828. Age: 32 , ■ Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: S’ 9” Last Known : Durham Occupation: Day Laborer Eric L. Harris Owes His Child: $S828. Age: 3S Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: 6’ 1” Last Known . Durham Occupation: Day Laborer Sherea R. Jones Owes Her Children:$12822. Age; 26 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: S’ 10” Last Known : Raleigh Occupation: Food Service Randy W. Holsonback Owes His Child: $S970. Age: 33 Hair/Eyes: Sandy/Brown- Height: S’ 6” Last Known ; Hillsborough Occupation: Painter Lee Thomas “Sack” Harris Owes His Child: $7110. Age: 49 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: 6’ 1” Last Known : Durham Occupation: Mechanic Robert D. Carrrington Owes His Child: $8934. Age: 31 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown : Height: 6’3” Last Known : Durham Occupation: Harold Lewis Hargrave Owes His Child: $4824. Age: 48 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: Last Known : Durham Occupation: Don Alvin Evans Owes His Child: $22708. Age: 38 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: Last Known; Durham Occupation: Bobby Brown Owes His Child: $I9SL Age: 27 Hair/Eyes: Black/Brown Height: Last Known : Durham Occupation: If you have information leading to the whereabouts of any^ these people call the Tip Line 919-560-8926 TIME •JUST OUT
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Feb. 21, 1998, edition 1
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