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Show hadow of landslide falls over Dole By TOM RAUM Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON It's the political equivalent of a natural djgister, a word that losing candidates always dread. But, with President Clinton retaining a 15 percent to 20 percent lead over Republican challenger Bob Dole in national polls, the vprd "landslide" is suddenly becoming more than just a whisper. 00000 ) ! ire r Mm OOTLF, ' i Republicans don't like to talk much about the subject although Dole himself makes light of the prospect. "The truth is. Bill Clinton ought t(f be voted out in a landslide," Pag A7 Friday, November 1, 1996 THE DAILY HERALD, Prove Utah 00( In i Dim Pole told a Florida audience the other day. J Later, campaigning in Fresno, Calif., Dole suggested, "He's going to slide all the way to Arkansas as far as I'm concerned.. .There's still time.. .This ejection can be won." But that time is growing short, to be sure. writes ; Landslide, political columnist William Safire in his "Political Dictionary," . is "a resounding victory; one in which the opposition is 'buried.'" j The Dorsey Dictionary Politics defines a "landslide" as "a decidedly lopsided political victory, one in which the opponent is metaphorically buried ir) a landslide." "Clinton is now heading for as big a win as Reagan had in '84, as Nixon had in '72 and Johnson had in '64," suggested California pollster Mervin Field. Republican pollster Neil New-housaid, "I was taught in school that 'landslide' was about 55 percent to 45 percent, 10 points. But I'm not sure that's my working definition now that I know something about it." ,i His current working definition? "One vote," he quipped. "But there's a difference between a landslide and a mandate," he added. "At this stage, the numbers indicate right now, technically, a landslide (for Clinton), but by no means a mandate." Ja V ! se 1 I tU) Annual AP Photo The shadow of Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole talis on his plane as he boards it in Denver Tuesday. A shadow of a different sort is falling A one-poivictory would clearly be savored by Dole. When Lyndon Johnson won a Texas senate race by a mere 87 votes out of more than a million cast, he was sarcastically dubbed "Landslide Lyndon." In 1964, when Johnson won in a real landslide, the nickname ceased being sarcastic. A spread in the popular vote appears to remain the yardstick for a landscape most pollsters accept, although some put it lower. "I'd say anything more than eight points would be considered a landslide," said pollster Andy candiKohut. "With a third-part- y date in the race, it kind of confuses things. But if Clinton beats Dole by eight points, that would be a lot." James Thurber, a political scientist at American University, agrees. nt 8 Thurber said. "If he's up above 8 percent, then we start having coattail effects for the House in my opinion. Therefore, I would call it a landslide." Clinton won by a plurality of 43 percent in 1992, over Republican President Bush's 37.4 percent and 19.3 percent for independent candidate Ross Perot. That 43 percent was hardly a landslide, yet it yieldlandslide. ed an electoral-colleg- e Clinton received 370 electoral votes, to 168 for Bush. Some unquestioned landslides over the past few decades: 1964: Johnson beat GOP challenger Barry Goldwater 61 percent to 39 percent and collected 486 electoral votes to Goldwater's 52. 1972: President Nixon beat Democrat George McGovern 61- percent is a landslide," " : 38, for 520 electoral votes to McGovern's 17. 1984: President Reagan defeated Walter Mondale 59-4claiming 525 electoral votes, to 13 for Mondale. Ten of Mondale's electoral votes were from his home state of Minnesota. Some earlier landslides: Franklin Roosevelt's 63 percent in 1936 and Warren Harding's 64 percent in 1920. Also: Andrew Jackson in 1828 and 1832; U.S. Grant in 1872 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Most years, Democratic and Republican candidates generally can count on getting at least 40 percent of the popular vote without doing much of anything. The struggle usually is over getting the next 20 percent This year, Dole has been having a hard time getting above the level. Stoic EDSotrnett 150 minute talk time 60 hour standby Call waiting Caller ID No memory Nickel Metal Hydride Battery Rapid charger Receives text Contract, on the Dole campaign itself, and that is the specter of a landslide victory on behalf of incumbent Bill Clinton. 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