ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
SOURCE: Associated Press
Retired Gen. Colin Powell said Tuesday he's not concerned about Republican Party infighting over the best strategy for retaking the White House in the fall.
``I think it's too early to call it a terminal problem,'' Powell told reporters before addressing graduates of Northern Virginia Community College.
Disputes about whether to weaken the anti-abortion plank in the GOP campaign platform and pessimism about presumptive nominee Sen. Bob Dole's trailing in the polls has sparked finger pointing and second-guessing among Republican moderates and conservatives.
``In any political party you always have differences of opinion, and the Republican Party is no different than the Democratic Party.
``So I think we're probably having a healthy debate, a healthy discussion, and I'm sure it will all settle down by the time the convention comes around,'' the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Powell also said he thought the party would be unified short of one or two issues, although he did not specify what they were.
He said he doesn't expect to campaign for Dole but said he is not concerned about President Clinton's current lead, which ranges between 12 to 20 percentage points in national polls.
Despite continuing speculation about whether Dole would ask him to take the No.2 spot on the GOP ticket, Powell repeated his intent to stick to his decision against running.
``People keep coming up with new ways of framing the question, but it was a firm decision that we made last fall,'' Powell said.
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB