ASHINGTON - Presidential contender Pat Buchanan reversed his support for economic sanctions yesterday and pledged to lift all such punishments against Iran, Iraq, Cuba, and other nations. American food, medicine, and ''goods essential to a decent life'' should flow freely to children in those nations, he said. Buchanan, who is seeking the Reform Party nomination, explained the shift by citing findings of a former United Nations official who said this year that as many as 5,000 Iraqi children die every month from the sanctions' effect on their water supply, diet, and medical care. (AP)
Democrats look to governorships
WASHINGTON - Democratic governors plotted campaign strategy yesterday in hopes of rebuilding the majority they held in the nation's state houses five years ago. Financial contributors were on the scene, too. Currently just 17 of the nation's 50 governors are Democrats, though another, Ronnie Musgrove, appears likely to capture the Mississippi State House after winning the popular vote there last month. Democrats' numbers have plunged since October 1994, when they held 30 governorships. Though the total has climbed only slightly since they hit their low of 16 three years ago, the party has been heartened by recapturing governors' offices in California and several Southern states. (AP)
Giuliani has the edge in poll
ALBANY, N.Y. - Republican Rudolph Giuliani maintains a slight lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton for next year's Senate race in New York, but one of every four voters doesn't much like the mayor's personality, a statewide poll reported yesterday. The Quinnipiac College poll found the New York City mayor favored by 46 percent of voters surveyed while 42 percent said they backed Mrs. Clinton. In the poll, voters said that what they liked best about the mayor was his experience and record, factors cited by 20 percent of voters. The best thing about Mrs. Clinton, cited by 14 percent of voters, is that she is intelligent and knowledgeable. Asked what they disliked about Giuliani, 26 percent of voters used such words as ''controlling, arrogant or harsh,'' according to Maurice Carroll, head of the Quinnipiac College Polling Institute. Sixteen percent of voters said the worst thing about Mrs. Clinton was that she had never lived in New York and didn't know enough about the state. (AP)
Forbes criticizes health care plan
WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Steve Forbes said yesterday that the Clinton administration is trying to put in place a ''Soviet-style'' health care system that would threaten the privacy of every American. He was referring to an effort by the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan that could include a ''unique health identifier'' number for all citizens. The administration undertook the effort in accordance with legislation passed by the Republican-led Congress. The plan is on hold, though, until comprehensive privacy rules take effect, either through regulation or legislation, both in the works. (AP)
