ASHINGTON - Geraldine Ferraro has a few words of warning for GOP presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole: The big crowds and enthusiasm and media attention for a ''first woman'' in politics don't always translate into votes.
''I don't want to put a damper on this, but you can't always believe what you're seeing,'' said Ferraro, whose run for vice president in 1984 generated huge excitement but didn't help the losing Democratic ticket.
This week, Dole's aides insist that seeing is believing. Dole's unexpected third-place finish in last week's Iowa straw poll was unique because two-thirds of her voters were women and half were newcomers to politics. Her pollster, Linda DiVall, called it a ''powerful testament to Dole's strength'' in turning the curious into the committed and a sign that women will support a fresh, female face for the White House.
Getting 14 percent, or 3,420, of the 23,685 votes in the nonbinding Iowa event is a long way from winning the nomination, which is still a long shot for Dole while Texas Governor George W. Bush is miles ahead in the money-and-endorsement race.
But for the moment, the Iowa results have silenced pundits who had pronounced Dole's campaign all but dead, and more important, they offer some proof that her gender is working for, not against, her. ''Being `the woman' in the race will continue to dog her, but being `a woman' appears to be helping Dole bring out a different kind of GOP constituency - younger people and women,'' said New York pollster John Zogby. ''Soccer moms may have found their Republican primary candidate.''
The significance for the GOP is that Dole could be a magnet for moderate, suburban women who are independents or first-time voters, and, like Ronald Reagan in 1980, could expand the base of the party. She could also narrow the gender gap that gives Democrats the edge with women voters and cost Republicans the White House in 1992.
Now Dole's challenge is to harness the interest shown by women - they far outnumber men at her events and fund-raisers and swamp her for photographs, hugs, and autographs for their daughters - and turn what she calls her ''invisible army'' into volunteers, voters, and donors. She plans a weekend of fund-raising and speechmaking on the West Coast and will take a few days off next week.
''I think there is an untapped army, but it does not belong automatically to Elizabeth Dole or any other female candidate,'' said Irene Natividad, chairwoman of the nonprofit Women's Vote Project. ''She may have the presumptive edge with women, but she has to say something real to get their vote.''
Dole has separated herself from the GOP pack on one issue that pollsters say resonates with women - tighter gun control - and her speeches are full of parent-friendly, value-based ideas for making communities safer and schools stronger. She straddles the fence on abortion, asserting she is ''pro-life'' while suggesting that abortion rights would be safe in a Dole administration.
But Dole's gender connection seems to be based less on what she stands for than who she is. Many women like Dole simply because she is optimistic, accomplished, sincere, and different, DiVall said. ''Older women, who we would expect to be more resistant to a woman candidate, say, `Why not a woman, after what we've just had in the White House?''' DiVall said. ''Younger women say, `This is us, it's our time to make history.' It's not a negative-male thing, but they are really enthused and want to see her succeed.''
Medge Owen, an anesthesiologist in Winston-Salem, N.C., is typical of professional women under 40 who have no political affiliation but a strong attraction to Dole. ''My parents brought me up to believe I could do anything, and here is a woman who is proving you can,'' she said after hearing Dole speak. ''She's a great role model for younger women.''
While aides openly discuss her appeal to women, Dole avoids the issue. Aside from joking that her spouse, former Senate majority leader Bob Dole, is a house-husband and declaring that her goal is to ''make history,'' Dole plays down her gender and rarely mentions her academic and professional trailblazing.
''I am not running because I am a woman,'' Dole, 63, said last month in Winston-Salem. ''I don't want people to vote for me because I am a woman. I want them to vote for me because I am the best qualified.''
Campaign aides say Dole understands how to maintain the balance between wooing women voters and not alienating men, and Ferraro thinks she's got it about right. ''I never gave a woman's speech,'' Ferraro said. ''When you're the only one wearing a bright-colored dress and wearing lipstick, it's pretty obvious who the woman candidate is.''
Dole's experience running the American Red Cross and heading two Cabinet departments may help inoculate her against the stereotype that women don't have the savvy or insider's edge to be the chief executive. Proving herself an expert on foreign policy and defense ''is a hurdle,'' DiVall said. But her softer image could help dispel the notion that all Republicans are dour and judgmental, she said.
But Dole already hears the types of observations never made about men: On National Public Radio this week, political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said Dole had to prove she was running for more than ''national hostess.'' She also faces the conventional wisdom that she would make a perfect vice presidential candidate.
''Is anybody saying John McCain would make a great vice president? No,'' said Ari Fleischer, Dole's press secretary, speaking of the Arizona senator. Dole emphasizes that she is not running for or interested in the number two spot.
''I think it works to our advantage. Every time they say `vice president,' more women turn out at our events, and we move up a notch,'' Fleischer added. ''Women are tired of being told they are equal to men and then getting the second job. This feeling is shared by millions of women: `Give us a crack at the really great job.'''
