Too bad for Steve Forbes that presidential campaigns don't rise or fall according to the number of ludicrous press releases faxed: He would have an insurmountable lead by now. Indeed, on Dec. 9, THE SCRAPBOOK'S fax machine could hardly keep up with the whir of publicity from the Forbes campaign. Among the major releases of the day was this, proof that Forbes researchers have been burning the midnight oil:
FORBES CHALLENGES BUSH TO RESCIND TEXAS LAW NAMING HIGHWAY AFTER ABORTIONIST: According to the Houston Chronicle (February 7, 1999), Mr. Bush became the "first governor ever to name a public site after an abortionist" when he signed a law naming the Harris County portion of Texas 35 in honor of John B. Coleman in May 1997. "Coleman, who died in 1994, had been a long-time target of anti-abortion protesters because he had run an abortion clinic." . . . Mr. Forbes made the following remarks: "Is George W. Bush committed to the pro-life movement, or not? Is he committed to naming a pro-life running mate? Is he committed to naming pro-life judges? He has, after all, named a highway after an abortionist."
(The highway, it turns out, was renamed for the late Mr. Coleman, a major supporter of the United Negro College Fund, by the state legislature, one of whose members is Coleman's son.)
As if that were not enough to undermine support for Bush among New Hampshire conservatives, another Forbes release "from the trail" came out of the fax machine only 5 minutes later: "BUSH DONOR AND RESPECTED GUN SHOP OWNER JUMPS TO FORBES." Stimulated by the headline, THE SCRAPBOOK eagerly perused the text, an account of a campaign event in Hooksett, N.H.:
Forbes . . . said he has not used a firearm since he did some skeet shooting as a child. "Obviously, I wasn't good enough to make the Olympic team, but I enjoyed it," Forbes joked. The Republican candidate . . . told supporters at Riley's Sport Shop that he favors enforcing existing gun control laws rather than passing new regulations. Ralph Demmico, who co-owns the gun shop, said he donated money to Texas Gov. George W. Bush's campaign but now favors Forbes because "he was the only candidate that took the initiative to find out the concerns of the firearms community."
Now if Forbes would only show the same concern for the fax-receiving community.