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| DOLE DROPS OUT | |
 October 20, 1999 
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Saying "the odds are overwhelming," Elizabeth Dole announced today she was pulling out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination citing her lack of funds to compete with the other candidates. -- Posted Wednesday, 3:30pm EDT |
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Just last week the Dole campaign said it had raised $1 million in the last quarter as opposed to George W. Bush's $20 million and that they only had $850,000 cash on-hand. "These rivals would enjoy a 75- or 80-to-1 cash advantage," she said, referring to the Texas governor and millionaire Steve Forbes. "Perhaps I could handle 2-to-1 or even 10-to-1, but not 80-to-1. I hope to compensate by attracting new people to the political process, by emphasizing experience and advocating substantive issues. But important as these things may be, the bottom line remains money," she said at today's press conference. Bush, responding to the announcement from the campaign trail, praised Dole for her campaign "She's a really good person. She is a trailblazer. She's an inspiration for a lot of women," he told reporters. "She has made a mark on the political process. She's entered the primaries and brought a lot of dignity and class." Presidential hopeful Arizona Senator John McCain said he was sorry Dole pulled out of the race because of money reasons. "The right reason is because you've lost the battle of ideas." President Clinton also said he regretted her stepping down over a lack of money and said she was "clearly qualified to seek the presidency." Dole, 63, was the first woman in President Reagan's cabinet and the first female transportation secretary. In 1988, George Bush named Elizabeth Dole his labor secretary. She later left that post to head the Red Cross. Dole said she came to her decision to withdraw from the race after a long trip back from Seattle last Sunday when she decided the odds were against her. Dole chose not to endorse another presidential candidate, and would not comment on whether she would consider being a vice presidential candidate. She concluded her announcement reciting words from Theodore Roosevelt: "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. " "God willing, there are many arenas in which to fight, many ways to contribute," she said. "So while I may not be a candidate for the presidency in 2000, I'm a long way from the twilight." |
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