THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040409
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEWSDAY
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
The Republican presidential contest for 1996 began to shake out Tuesday: Bob Dole said he's in. Dick Cheney said he's out. And probable candidate Dan Quayle was ailing again, in the hospital, waiting for an appendectomy.
Dole, the Senate majority leader, said he probably would move by early next week to take the initial step toward his third bid for the presidency.
``We'll be meeting later this week, early next week, on whether or not we should move ahead with what we call an exploratory committee, which is the next logical step,'' the Kansas Republican said in an interview Tuesday on WFAN-AM. ``And I assume we'll probably do that.''
Dole, 71, who ran for the Republican nomination in 1980 and 1988, has had his presidential ambitions fanned by encouraging hypothetical match-ups in national surveys that show him to be the strongest Republican contender.
Meanwhile, after months of testing the waters, former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney issued a three-sentence statement announcing that he had decided ``after careful consideration'' not to become a candidate. ``I look forward to supporting the Republican nominee for president in 1996,'' he said.
Aides refused to elaborate, but other Republicans said the 53-year-old former Wyoming congressman had found the prospect of raising millions of dollars and organizing a credible national campaign to be daunting. ``I don't think their Rolodex was that strong, and they knew it,'' Republican consultant Eddie Mahe said.
Quayle, also considered a likely contender, was admitted to Indiana University Medical Center Monday with an enlarged appendix. In remarks relayed by a spokeswoman, Quayle said he ``just wants the thing out,'' adding, ``I don't need it, anyway.''
Anne Hathaway, executive director of Quayle's political action committee, Issues '96, said he would undergo the surgery Wednesday or Thursday. He was discharged from the same hospital a month ago after undergoing treatment for blood clots in his lungs.
KEYWORDS: PRESIDENTIAL RACE 1996 CANDIDATE REPUBLICAN by CNB