Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 21, 1995                   TAG: 9508210121
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DES MOINES, IOWA                                 LENGTH: Medium

IOWA STRAW POLL SHOWS DOLE FACES A CHALLENGE IN GRAMM

Facing the first significant slip in his presidential campaign, Bob Dole labeled an embarrassing showing here as ``an aberration'' Sunday and rejected assertions by rivals that it proved him out of step with conservative GOP activists.

``In my view, this is one pebble on the beach,'' a stoic Dole said the morning after he tied with Texas Sen. Phil Gramm in a presidential straw poll. ``There will be a lot of beaches to cross.''

Hundreds of non-Iowans were brought in by car, bus and plane to vote in the $25-a-head straw poll. This gave credence to Dole's assertion that Saturday night's results, while stunning, were probably not representative of Iowa's mood six months before its leadoff presidential caucuses.

The Senate majority leader also got a damage control assist from Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour, who said straw polls ``don't really count'' and aren't reliable gauges of candidate support.

Perhaps not, but the event raised several questions about Dole's strategy and the intensity of his support. And after months of watching in frustration as Dole surprised them with deft campaign moves, Dole's rivals got the opening they've dreamed of. They began making their case that Dole is the most fragile of front-runners, with support that is broad but not deep.

An exultant Gramm, who matched Dole with 24 percent support, led the charge.

``This was the first major victory of the campaign for president in 1996 and we won it,'' Gramm told reporters. He called Dole ``the greatest legislator of his era'' but suggested that Republicans still hungry from their 1994 congressional takeover were looking for something more in a president.

``Last night had nothing to do with momentum,'' Gramm said before flying off to New Hampshire, where he hoped the Iowa boost would help him whittle into Dole's lead there. ``Last night had to do with message.''

Dole disputed that, saying he had ``a good, solid message'' anchored on the themes of reining in the federal government, reconnecting government with Americans' moral values and reasserting American leadership abroad.

Still, Dole acknowledged his campaign might have an early case of a disease that often strikes front-runners: ``There may have been some complacency on the part of some of our people.''

Dole knew Gramm was making a big push in Iowa, looking to quell speculation that his campaign was sputtering. So Dole advisers privately conceded they had no excuses, and said the episode would bring a thorough re-examination of the organization, which will face a similar challenge when it needs to turn out caucus voters in February.

``I would obviously prefer it to happen tonight than in February,'' Scott Reed, Dole's campaign manager, said as the results were tallied Saturday night. Commentator Pat Buchanan ran third with 18 percent and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander was fourth with 11 percent.

Keywords:
POLITICS