Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
May 27, 2000
SECTION: POLITICS; Pg. 1709; Vol. 32, No. 22
LENGTH: 858 words
HEADLINE: At
the Races: A Weekly Review of Campaign 2000
BYLINE: Gia
Fenoglio
BODY:
Campaign Coffers
Jon S.
Corzine, the former chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co. who
is running for
the Senate in New Jersey, is set to spend more
than $ 30 million before the
June 6 primary. Most of it is his own
money; he earned $ 44 million in 1999.
With what he's spending in the primary, Corzine
could
afford to pay an entire Major League Baseball team's payroll for
a
year. In fact, eight of the league's teams-including the
Montreal Expos and
the Chicago White Sox, both playoff
contenders-have payrolls in the $ 35
million-and-under range.
The Corzine campaign is
releasing a $ 2 million-a-week
flood of television commercials questioning
opponent Jim Florio's
positions on Social Security, according to a May 23
report in The
New York Times. For 10 weeks, Corzine has spent $ 1.3 million
each
week on media buys; now the campaign says it will spend half
again
that amount for each of the remaining two weeks. Corzine's
campaign is
targeting New Jersey senior citizens, who are
expected to make up a third or
more of voters.
Major League Baseball Team Payrolls On Par With
Corzine's
Spending Level
Milwaukee Brewers $
36,505,333
Montreal Expos
34,807,833
Oakland Athletics 31,971,333
Chicago White Sox 31,133,500
Pittsburgh
Pirates 28,928,333
Kansas City Royals
23,433,000
Florida Marlins
20,072,000
Minnesota Twins
16,519,500
(Research by Chris Cillizza)
Survey Says
As the
debate over permanent normal trade status for China
recedes into the
background, some analysts are wondering just how
much Americans really
know-or care-about the intricacies of trade
policy. Results of a poll
conducted in early May-as the media
wars on China trade were heating
up-indicate a paradox. Americans
don't know much about trade, but they do
seem to appreciate its
benefits.
"What we found
in the poll is that the public would like
more information from
policy-makers about international trade,"
said Rebecca Woodings, a
Washington-based trade consultant with
the law firm of Stewart and Stewart.
Woodings, a member of the
Association of Women in International Trade,
helped commission
EPIC/MRA of Lansing, Mich., to take the poll.
When Americans were asked how much they actually
knew
about international trade, 62 percent said they were "not at all"
or "only a little knowledgeable" about current trade issues.
Despite
this knowledge gap, 57 percent "strongly" or "somewhat"
approved of
free-trade agreements. Moreover, 83 percent agreed
with the proposition that
the U.S. cannot expect foreign
countries to open their markets to American
products if the U.S.
is unwilling to open its markets to foreign products.
When asked whether imports provided Americans with a
broader selection of goods, 87 percent said yes; when asked
whether
imports provided less-expensive goods, 74 percent agreed.
And when asked
whether the United States would be better off or
worse off after approving
PNTR with China, opinions ran 2-to-1 in
favor of "better
off." A small comfort, perhaps, to members of
Congress skittish about losing
support from unions and other
groups opposed to expanding free trade.
(5/7-9/00; 850 adults;
margin of error plus or minus 3.4%). -Louis Jacobson
Verbatim
Excerpts from a May 23 interview with Gov. Tom Ridge of
Pennsylvania on CNN's Crossfire.
Bill Press: Several conservatives led
by James Dobson, Alan
Keyes, and Gary Bauer said that if you're on the
ticket, they're
going to take a hike. They can't support the ticket with you
on
it. What do you tell them?
Tom Ridge: The
choice is Governor Bush's, and whomever
the governor selects, he will become
the next Vice President of
the United States. And at the end of the day,
hopefully Alan and
Gary and Jim will support Governor Bush. That should be
their
ultimate objective: not worry about who No. 2 is, but getting
George Bush elected President.
Press: Some
Republicans have said that the Republican
Party platform ought to be changed
either to take abortion out or
to reflect that Republicans can differ on
that issue. Do you
agree with that?
Ridge: Well,
I agree with the principle that the platform
should represent the point of
view of the nominee, and it's
pretty clear what Governor Bush's point of
view is on this. So I
think at the end of the day, while you would probably
love to
have us change just one word in that, I think it's better that we
confine our efforts ... because it's not the nominee's will, it's
not
the majority of the delegates who'll be there, and focus our
efforts on
defeating Vice President Al Gore. He's a very
formidable candidate, and this
is not an issue that should divide
us.
The
journalists-15,000 journalists coming to
Philadelphia-would love it. Bill
Richardson and Al Gore would
love to see ... all that infighting. And I say
this is not the
time, this is not the place.
LOAD-DATE: May 29, 2000 
