Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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• What the candidates say they’ll do if elected ABORTION: ■ Sign ban on procedure called par tial-birth abortion by opponents. ■ No move toward constitutional abortion ban. EDUCATION: ■ Education reforms to be first leg islation sent to Congress. ■ Stepped-up standardized testing of students, with states to be finan cially rewarded or penalized accord K ing to their education performance. When schools fail standards for three years, parents could take their share of federal school aid and use it to transfer to another public school, pay for private school or get tutor ing. ■ $5 billion more for literacy over five years. $8 billion more for college schol arships and grants over 10 years. ■ Let families save, tax-free, $5,000 per year per student for education ex penses at all ages. GUN CONTROL: ■ Raise age for handgun possession to 21. Background checks at gun shows if they are instant. Would sign a bill requiring child-safety locks to be sold with guns. m RETIREMENT: ■ Give workers option of staying en tirely in Social Security system or else investing a portion of their Social Se curity taxes in individual retirement accounts, taking a smaller payout from the program when they retire but sup plementing their benefits with the pri vate investments. Ruled out further increase in age for receiving Social Security benefits for people near re tirement, but did not rule out higher age for younger workers. TAXES: E Cut all income tax rates, with low est rate dropping to 10 percent and highest to 33 percent. Double child ' ▼ tax credit to $1,000. Promises no in crease in personal or corporate tax rates. Reduce marriage penalty paid by many two-income couples by a deduction of 10 percent of the lower-earning spouse’s salary, up to $30,000. ABORTION: ■ When nominating Supreme Court judges, “! will protect a woman’s right to choose." EDUCATION: ■ “I will ensure that there is a fully qualified, well-trained teacher in every single classroom, everywhere in this nation, before the next four years is out.” ■ Subsidies and tax breaks to make preschool affordable for parents of all 4-year-olds. $5,000 raises for qual ified teachers in poor and rural areas, $5,000 more for "master teachers.” Tougher standards for teachers. Re quire all states to use national sam pling test or meet that test’s stan dards. More charter schools. ■ Offers lower- and middle-income families a choice of a tax deduction or higher tax credit for college tuition. Generally, this would be worth up to $800. GUN CONTROL: ■ Mandatory photo ID licenses for future handgun buyers. Require man ufacturers and federally licensed sell ers to report gun sales to state au thorities. Ban “Saturday night specials.” Expand background checks and require child-safety locks. No loosening of remaining restrictions on carrying concealed weapons. RETIREMENT: ■ Ruled out a further increase in the age for receiving Social Security ben efits, “ever.” ■ Tax credit to low-income and mid dle-income people to match their re tirement investments. Value of cred it varies according to income. TAXES: ■ Gore: $500 billion in selected tax relief over 10 years for lower- or mid dle-income people who save for re tirement, college or other specified needs. $3,000 tax credit for people who need or provide long-term care in the home. Raise taxes by $130 bil lion on some corporate transac tions and tobacco. Raise standard deduction for married couples to ease marriage penalty for those who do not itemize deductions. Republican from page 1 friendly ground for Bush, and he went on to win a costly but large vic tory over McCain, salvaging his can ^didacy. Indeed, the stale lias often been nice to the Bush family. It went for Bush’s father by an almost 2-to-l margin in 1988. The elder Bush also carried the state by 8 percent four years later, even with independent candidate Ross Per ot taking 12 percent of the vote. USC experts say that kindness should continue tlirough Tuesday’s pres idential vote, “This is a Republican state,” said Betty Glad, Olin D. Johnston Profes sor of Political Science. “It’s one of the two most conservative states in the a union ” Glad said to win tlie suite, Vice Pres ident A1 Gore would have to win about 40 percent of the white vote and see a massive African-American turnout. “I don't see that pattern develop ing here,” Glad said. USC government and internation al studies professor Brad Gomez, ;ui ex pert on. the presidency and public opin ion, agrees. “That’s iui easy one,” Gomez said when asked who would carry South Carolina. “Bush. It really won’t even be close." According to Gomez, the reason for that is fairly simple. “Most voters here in South Car olina are not only fiscally conservative, Abut socia lly conservative" as well, ? Gomez said. Indeed, recent polls have shown Bush leading Gore by as much as 15 points. A1 Gore has practically con ceded South Carolina’s eight elec toral votes to Bush. The trouble for Gore appears to be regional. He has fallen behind or tied with the Texas governor in most of the Southern states, with the exception of Florida. Bush is even tied with Gore in the vice president’s home state of Ten nessee and President Clinton’s state of origin, Arkansas. The Republican is also making a strong showing in traditionally Demo cratic West Virginia. But a Bush sweep in the South is n’t a sure tiling. Glad said. “I don’t know. It could happen, but it also could not,” she said. And, while Bush is leading at least slightly in most national polls, the pop ular vote doesn t matter unless he wins in the right places. Because of the electoral college vote, Bush could rack up huge ma jorities in the South and the mountain states that usually go Republican, but he could lose by slight margins in the so-called battleground stales, making Gore president. “That is a real possibility," Glad said. But Glad cautioned about putting too much stock in early predictions. She pointed out many predictions that the economy would give Gore an unnatural advantage haven’t panned out, possibly because the Clinton ad ministration isn’t getting credit for the economy. “I think a lot of these things are guesses," Glad said. The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmail.com. Gore, Bush target battleground states by Ron Fournier Associated Press In the final dramatic days of a marathon campaign, A1 Gore cast his duel with George W. Bush as a choice between “two very different pathways,” with the Supreme Court and econom ic progress in the balance. The candidates rallied across a hand ful of battleground states, intensifying their appeals to core supporters and un decided voters. Florida and the Midwest were in the political epicenter. National polls gave a narrow edge to Bush in the presidential race to Bush, but Gore’s support in large battleground states made for an unpredictable race to 270 electoral votes and victory. “I’m asking you not only for your vote but for your enthusiasm,” Gore said during one of two stops at black church es in Pennsylvania. “I want you to go the extra mile.” Bush’s exhortations took on special significance in Florida, where his broth er Jeb runs a state that Bush had expected to put away weeks ago. In a nod to Cuban-Americans, Bush sprinkled a Mi ami speech with Spanish phrases, in cluding one that translated to, “We’re going to take Washington, D.C.!” Bush, celebrating Iris 23rd wedding anniversary on the campaign trail, said, “We need to get rid of the partisan bickering that has plagued Washington D.C. We need to get rid of the politics of anger and ... we need a fresh start, folks, after a season of cynicism.” Gore started the day in hotly con tested Pennsylvania, where he said that a woman’s right to abortion was on the line. ‘The Supreme Court is at stake because the next president, the one you pick Tuesday, will pick a majority on the " court that will interpret our Constitu tion for the next 30 to 40 years,” he said, noting that Bush has praised conserva tive justices Clarence Thomas and An tonin Scalia. Gore mocked Bush’s promise to be aget-along president, aiming his words at the large population of seniors citi zens in both Pennsylvania and Florida. With 26 states and 225 electoral votes solidly in his column or leaning his way, Florida would put Bush at 250 votes and within reach of victory depending on results from one of the big Midwestern states or a combination of victories in such tossup stales as Arkansas, New Mexico, Iowa, Delaware, New Hampshire, Maine -uid Oregon. Even Gore’s home state ot Tennessee was a target for Bush. Gore has 15 states plus the Dis trict of Columbia solidly in his column or leaning his way, for 241 electoral votes. To win, Gore seeks to add Flori da and one or two of the swing states. It was possible Bush might win the nationwide popular vote and Gore 'to prevail in the electoral college. That kind of split has happened just three times in the nation’s history, most re cently in 1888. One wildcard is Green Party candi date Ralph Nader, who threatens to cut into the Gore vote. I The Supreme Court is at stake because the next president ... will pick a majority on the court that will interpret our Constitution for the next 30 to 40 years.’ Al Gore Democratic presidential candidate I ‘We need to get rid of the partisan bickering that has plagued Washington, D.C.’ George W. Bush Republican presidential candidate Egyptian ruling party leads parliamentary elections ■ Majority of seats taken by Mubarak's party by.Bassem Mroue Associated Press CAIRO, Egypt — President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party won a majority of seats in the second round of Egypt ian parliamentary elections. Results re ' leased Sunday also showed Islamist can didates making gains despite police harassment and deadly election-day clash es. The violence, which included shoolouts and fistfights among support ers of rival candidates as well as clash es between police and voters, occurred during second-round runoffs to deter mine winners for the 116 out of 134 seats that were not won outright in vot ing Oct. 29. At least four people died and more than 60 were injured. During Saturday’s run-off elections, villagers, many of them supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood Is lamic group, said police barred them from entering polling stations and threat ened to arrest and beat them. Police of ficers in die Nile Delta village of Dakalila chased residents in the streets, ordering them to go home. Second-round voting had included govemates in parts of die Nile Delta and Sinai Peninsula, the southern city of Aswan and areas along the Red Sea. The third and final round of voting, for 160 seats in districts including the capital, Cairo, begins Nov. 8. According to interior ministry offi cials, Mubarak’s National Democratic Party Von 106 of 134 seats decided dur ing the second round of voting, but only after 57 winners who had cam paigned as independents pledged their allegiance to the NDP. The officials, speaking on custom ary condition of anonymity, added that nine candidates from the outlawed Mus lim Brotherhood, running as indepen dents, also won. The Brotherhood, Egypt’s biggest Islamic group, wants to govern Egypt as an Islamic state but has forsworn vio lence in its quest. Arafat to meet Clinton on Tuesday by Greg Myre Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Scattered clashes Sunday across the Gaza Strip and West Bank left two Palestinians dead, 17 injured and tensions high despite a truce agreement and plans for upcom ing meetings in Washington. President Clinton, who has been try ing restore calm to the region, will play host to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday, and Israeli Prime Minis ter Ehud Barak three days later, on Nov. 12, the White House said Sunday. Both Palestinians killed Sunday were shot dead in the Gaza Strip. One was Maher Mouhmad Alsaidi, a 16-year-old boy hit in the head during a confronta tion near the A1 Bureij refugee camp, according to Shifa hospital director Mouawia Hassanian. At least 10 Palestinians were wound ed in Gaza, and seven were hurt in the Wfest [tank in a clash outside Bethlehem, to the south of Jerusalem, according to Palestinian security forces. In the West Bank, two Jewish set tlers, a man and a woman, were wound ed when Palestinian assailants ambushed their car and opened fire, settler spokes men said. The military command con finned the shooting incident. In a plea for peace, tens of thousands of Israelis fi lied a Tel Aviv square on Sat urday night to pay tribute to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated at the site five years ago by an ultranationalist Israeli opposed to trading land for peace with the Pales tinians. The current violence has hardened attitudes on both sides and put seven years of peace negotiations on hold. Many Israelis, including some of those at the rally, said their faith in the peace process has been shaken. Many Pales tinians, meanwhile, said they have lit tle to show for the lengthy negotiations. Barak on Sunday told his Cabinet that the laige turnout was “an impres sive and emotional demonstration” of the Israeli commitment to peace. “It’s unfortunate that on the other side such a demonstration of the peace process could not occur,” he said in a reference to the Palestinians. In a speech at the Saturday rally, Barak warned Arafat that Israel “will not surrender to violence, and we will defend our civilians and Israeli soldiers everywhere.” Arafat and his aides did not appear ready to tone down the rhetoric. The Palestinian leader met with families of the dead on Sunday and his top aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, told the families: “The uprising will continue until we have an independent Palestinian state.” The Israeli-Palestinian violence broke out more than five weeks ago, claiming 170 lives — the vast majority Palestinian — in the worst bloodshed since peace talks began in 1993. Arafat accused Israel of not abiding by a cease-fire deal reached Thursday and said he wanted the United States to pressure it to comply. “Israel was supposed to immedi ately lift the closures of Palestinian cities, lift the siege and reopen the (Gaza) airport. I’m sorry to say that until this minute, the siege has not been lifted,” he said Saturday. Israeli officials also accused Arafat of moving slowly. “We see the Palestinian police and security attempting to prevent (rioters) from reaching friction points,” Brig. Gen. Yair Naveh, the commander of Is raeli forces in Gaza, told army mdio. But there was still much work to do, he said. “In other areas, which are more serious from our point of view, such as terror ist activity and shootings, we’re still far from the goal we want to reach.” Arafat, in an interview with CBS, said a proposed Israeli peace settlement in July fell far short of the minimum Palestinian demands. Arafat said that if he had accepted, it would have been a betrayal of Muslims and would likely have led to his assassination by Pales tinitui militants. News Briefs ■ Bush, Gore spar over commotion over DUI arrests (AP) — George W. Bush and A1 Gore swapped campaign trail accusations Friday about military readiness and So cialSecurity. Their closely fought presidential race was thrown into tu mult over the Texas governor’s 1976 drunken-driving arrest and his belated response. “I’ve made mistakes in my life,” the Republican candidate told supporters, “but I’m proud to tell you < I’ve learned from those mistakes.” Across the country, a high-powered cast of Bush backers accused Democ rats of “dirty tricks” — prompting the vice president’s campaign to deny in volvement in the disclosure of Bush’s arrest. Gore said, “I have no comment on this. I want to talk about the is sues.” ■ Unemployment remains at a low of 3.9 percent WASHINGTON (AP) - The na tion’s unemployment rate remained at a 30-year-low of 3.9 percent in Octo ber, the government said Friday in the last major economic report to be re leased before voters go to the polls to elect a new president. The Libor De partment report showed that even though the economy lias slowed under the impact of six interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, labor markets remain exceptionally healthy. Econo mists said the low rates showed that the longest stretch of economic growth in U.S. history, nearly 10 years, has drawn more groups into the labor market. ■ Israel, Palestine seeks restraint, clashes break out JERUSALEM (AP) :— After sever al failed cease-fires, Israeli and Pales tinian leaders abandoned their inflam matory rhetoric and called for restraint Friday in the most concerted effort yet to halt five weeks of fighting. Still, two Palestinians were shot and killed and dozens were injured in clashes with Is raeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hospital doctors said. Four Israeli soldiers were also hurt, the army said. “We will persevere in our efforts for peace,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said. Palestinian leaders, who have designated the past several Fri days to be a “day of rage,” also took on a more subdued tone. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is planning to meet with President Clinton in Wash ington. ■ Ex-Salvadoran generals cleared in rape-slayings WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)- Two former Salvadoran gener als who retired to Florida were cleared by a jury Friday of responsibility in the deaths of four American women raped and killed by soldiers in El Salvador in 1980. The women’s families had sued the former military men for at least $100 million, hoping to disrupt their retirement and perhaps persuade the U.S. government to deport them. But the federal jury in the wrongful-death case said it was unclear the two were responsible for the slayings during the country’s 12-year civil war. ■ Federal panel suggests suing abusive officers WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress should make it easier for people to sue abusive police officers, and police de partments should immediately fire any officer using racial profiling, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission said Friday. The commission said police “have made great inroads in reducing crime and use of deadly force,” but attempts to reduce police brutality and miscon duct have laigely failed. The recom mendations follow a year of high-pro file allegations of police abuse, especially in New York and L.A.