EDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Alan Keyes says the Panama Canal treaty was a ''stupid mistake'' and that he would take steps to return the canal to US control if elected. Last month, the United States turned control of the canal over to Panama as called for under a 1977 treaty, which Keyes said he did not support. Skeptics, including Keyes, believe the Chinese could be seeking ways to control the waterway. '' We're in a situation now where it would be folly to wait until the Communist Chinese get some kind of entrenched foothold in Panama,'' Keyes told about 200 people Wednesday after a speech. (AP)
Hatch blames woes on `Eastern press'
NEWTON, Iowa - Orrin Hatch, running dead last in the polls among Republican presidential hopefuls in advance of Iowa's first test of the election year, yesterday accused some in the news media of distorting the contest. ''The Eastern liberal press is telling everybody in Iowa who they should support,'' the Utah senator said. ''They're saying this race is only among (Texas Governor George) Bush, (Arizona Senator John) McCain and (publisher Steve) Forbes,'' he said. ''I'll tell you something. If the people of Iowa want to set them back and let them know they're not going to be dictated to by the Eastern liberal press, then they ought to vote for me,'' in the Jan. 24 party precinct caucuses, he said. (Reuters)
Bush, Gore, Bradley not in issue survey
WASHINGTON - A wide-ranging questionnaire delving into the presidential candidates stand on issues was released yesterday, although only five of the major contenders took part. Republicans Gary Bauer, Steve Forbes, Orrin Hatch, Alan Keyes, and John McCain completed the survey by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan voter education group that asks questions of candidates and helps the public research issues, voting records, and statements. The responses are available on the group's Web site and through a toll free phone number and free booklet. Vote Smart officials expressed disappointment that the survey was not answered by the other major declared candidates - Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley, Pat Buchanan of the Reform Party, and Republican George W. Bush. (AP)
Conservation group calls Bush a threat
WASHINGTON - The League of Conservation voters said yesterday that Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush represented the ''biggest threat'' to the environment among the four leading entrants in the presidential race. The group's ''2000 Presidential Profiles,'' released yesterday, gave Bush's top Republican challenger, Arizona Senator John McCain, a mixed review. The two Democratic candidates, Vice President Al Gore and former senator Bill Bradley, were called longtime friends of the environment, though neither was endorsed by the group. (Reuters)
GOP Minn. Senator faces new challenge
MINNEAPOLIS - A former Minnesota congressman has launched what observers said yesterday could be a Jesse Ventura-style, grass-roots campaign against politically vulnerable Republican incumbent Senator Rod Grams. Democrat Tim Penny sent a letter to election officials Wednesday announcing the formation of campaign committee to vie for the Democratic nomination to face Grams in November, one of 19 Republican Senate seats up for election this fall. A survey last month of Minnesota voters' ranked Penny second only to Ventura in favorable terms, while Grams was second-to-last, barely ahead of President Clinton. (Reuters)
