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“The woman who could beat him US News Beneath the Southern charm, Elizabeth Dole is an awfully fierce competitor BY LYNN ROSELLINI At 62, Dole is a super achiever, someone who battled sexism from high school to Harvard Law School to the highest levels of government–and lived out feminist ideals perhaps even more consistently than women who wear feminism on their sleeves like, say, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Yet she dropped her support of the equal rights amendment when she went to work for the Reagan administration and is uncomfortable with the "feminist" label.”
“Good deeds. Then there's the matter of Dole's personality clashes–with herself. Take her reputed generosity and good deeds. For years, Dole celebrated her and her husband's July birthdays with "reverse birthday parties"–arranging dinners and gifts for residents of Sarah's Circle, a Washington shelter for the low-income elderly. "It was just like we were kings and queens for a day," says Beulah Rivers, 69, recalling the elegant buffet, the gifts of VCRs and toaster ovens, and the way Mrs. Dole knew everyone's name. "All of us just fell in love with the woman." Dole's brother, John Hanford, tells the story of how once, while driving through Salisbury, N.C., his sister insisted he pull the car over to rescue a stray dog. When she heard that an old school chum had terminal cancer, she had the woman and her family flown to Washington for a weekend of sightseeing.” Isn’t she awful? The flip side is that she berated a subordinate by giving him a steely look, the writer says.
Great expectations. Signs of Dole's quest for perfection are everywhere in the family's Salisbury home, where her mother has lined the walls and bookshelves with her daughter's photos, trophies, and awards. Elizabeth Hanford grew up in an archetypal American small town, replete with Sunday school, 15-cent movies, and after-school sodas at the Fulton Street Drug Store. But beneath the tranquil predictability lay ever present expectations. Her mother urged her adored daughter to "do better" at every turn, be it homework or the piano. She taught her etiquette, too, like how to put people at ease by smiling, asking questions, and listening. attentively. The young woman still looks very much the part. She recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
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America's best-known feminist was quoted in a Channel 4000 article entitled "Thumbs Down for Dole" saying that it would be "disastrous to the women's movement" if Dole were elected.
Gee, maybe that's why Elizabeth Dole's supporters include so many women. Bring on the disaster, sis.
Steinem also remarked that "Dole is not in touch with the views of most women ".
Really? Why can't she be honest and say she's speaking for card carrying members of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) and maybe a few of those diehard Lifetime Television for Women fans?
One look at Mrs. Dole's track record and it's apparent her achievements are the result of being in touch with the views of both women and men. When she was working in the White House's Office of Consumer Affairs, her goal was to ensure safer food packaging for both sexes. Fast forward to her presidency of the Red Cross where she spearheaded efforts to improve the safety of the blood supply for all humanity.
Dole has spent almost three decades in public service, working to improve life for every American. Under her four and half years as George Bush's Secretary of Transportation, the U.S. had the safest record to date in air, rail and highway transportation. This included the transportation of males as well as females. By Amy WhitlawRightgrrl Contributor akbw@aol.com September 12, 1999
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Is this the concensus of the Republican Party? "Speaking as a Republican, I want my party to let more people in," said the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate. "We don't have to agree with everybody. We ought to have diversity, not conformity. That's what America is all about.” Sen. Bob Dole
