Sunday, September 22, 1996

Texas Poll show Texans like Elizabeth better than Hillary By ANNA M. TINSLEY
Harte-Hanks Texas Poll
Copyright 1996 Harte-Hanks Communications

More Texans like Elizabeth Dole than Hillary Rodham Clinton - and that could be good news for Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole in November.

Seventy-two percent of Texans have positive feelings for Elizabeth Dole, according to the most recent Harte-Hanks Texas Poll, compared with 50 percent for Hillary Clinton.

And with nearly 90 percent of Texans saying a first lady plays an important role in a president's success, opinions of Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole can help - or hurt - their husband's chances of getting elected.

Dole and Clinton are tied at 41 percent among likely Texas voters, followed by Dallas billionaire Ross Perot with 8 percent. Ten percent are undecided.

"Our first ladies play a prominent role," said Allan Saxe, a political science professor at the University of Texas in Arlington. "They are out there and part of the team like never before. We are buying the president and the first lady as a package."

Twenty-nine percent of Texans are more likely, and 12 percent less likely, to vote for Bob Dole because of Elizabeth. Twenty-five percent are more likely, and 33 percent less likely, to vote for President Clinton because of Hillary, the poll shows.

Gone are the days when a wife stood in the background, silently supporting her presidential husband. Now, a presidential candidate's wife is as likely to stump for votes as he is.
Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole featured prominently during this year's national political conventions.

"Hillary helped bring this about," Saxe said. "Her role, her speeches, her activism are all part of it. She was front and center. And we probably aren't going back to the old days - where first ladies played an informal, modest role - ever again."

For decades, first ladies have used their position to shine light on problems in America. From Eleanor Roosevelt's tireless work to bring about social reform to Nancy Reagan's efforts to teach kids to "just say no" to drugs, first ladies have championed various causes.

"A first lady misses a lot if she doesn't use her own desk for the bully pulpit," said Liz Carpenter, former press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson. "She can care about any cause she wants to. But the public will not forgive a first lady for not caring.

"We are not ever going to have first ladies who feign illness and stay on the second floor doing needlepoint."

Eighty-nine percent of Texans say the first lady's role is important to the president's success. Ten percent say her role isn't important.

Seventy-two percent of Texans have positive feelings for Elizabeth Dole. Six percent are neutral, 10 percent are negative and 10 percent didn't know, the poll shows.

Fifty percent of Texans say they have a positive feelings for Hillary Clinton, 3 percent are neutral, 45 percent are negative and 2 percent didn't know.

These are more polar ratings than just four years ago, when 37 percent of Texans had a positive opinion of Hillary Clinton, 26 percent had a negative opinion and 37 percent didn't know.

"Considering the amount of negative press and very negative personal attacks, this is a very high rating for Hillary," said Garry Mauro, Texas Land Commissioner and chairman of the Clinton election campaign in Texas. "I'm absolutely convinced that Hillary helps maintain the gender gap and energizes voters."

Hillary Clinton has been highly involved in a variety of issues since her husband was elected president, including heading the Task Force on National Health Care Reform.

First ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt used their position to help others - speaking out for equality and justice. Roosevelt broke barriers by holding press conferences, traveling around the country and writing a syndicated newspaper column, "My Day."

Since then, Americans saw Jacqueline Kennedy capture hearts and imaginations through her work to make the White House a museum of American history as well as a home filled with elegance and charm. They saw Lady Bird Johnson working to help end the war on poverty, Pat Nixon encouraging volunteer service and Barbara Bush supporting the effort to help make America literate.
"The history of first ladies, from Martha Washington on, has shown a lot of strong first ladies," Carpenter said.

Now, as the presidential election looms in November, politicians and commentators alike joke that it is Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole, both Ivy-educated lawyers, who should run for president.
The poll, conducted Sept. 3-13, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The Office of Survey Research of the University of Texas surveyed 1,001 adult Texans for Harte-Hanks Communications Inc.