-Caveat Lector- Note: Now we know why Dems are trying to make up as much garbage on Jeb Bush as they can! Its to get the Yes Lady in! - Bill WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Reno is considering a run for governor Candidacy could stir party without a top contender BY STEVE BOUSQUET [EMAIL PROTECTED] RENO TALLAHASSEE -- Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said Friday she's exploring a possible candidacy for governor of Florida next year -- a prospect that would dramatically intensify national attention on the state if Gov. Jeb Bush seeks a second term. ``If it would serve Florida's interests, it's appealing to serve a state that I love,'' Reno, a Democrat and the only woman ever to serve as U.S. attorney general, said from her home in Kendall. ``It's something I'm exploring because I want to do what's best for the state. I've made no decision. I'm just focused on the issues I care about for Florida.'' Those issues, Reno rattled off in order, include protecting the state's natural resources, helping the elderly become more self-sufficient, strengthening Florida's stature as a trade partner with the Americas and improving computer technology, education and communications. ``Those are things I've long wanted for Florida,'' Reno said. ``I just think you have to resolve what's in the best interests of Florida.'' Reno, 62, said she has no fixed timetable for making a decision, and she declined to assess Bush's record. Bush, who easily defeated former Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay in 1998, says he will decide next month whether to seek re-election. He has noticeably stepped up his travel in the past two weeks and was in Tampa on Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and Miami and Orlando on Friday. As the younger brother of President Bush, whose 537-vote victory in Florida is still questioned by many Democrats, Jeb Bush is already likely to be a focal point of media and political attention across the country. Opponents of the president see Jeb Bush's reelection campaign as a midterm referendum on his brother's presidency. The possibility of a Reno run offers both promise and peril for the Democrats, who so far have talked tough but have not produced a clear front-runner to challenge Bush. The governor's popularity has weathered the disputed presidential election and a racially explosive fight over affirmative action in state government and public universities. NAME RECOGNITION Reno is the first Democrat mentioned who has high statewide name recognition, an asset that would enable her to avoid the tedium of marathon fundraising that preoccupies most first-time statewide candidates. ``Everybody knows her, and this is a state that is very hard to get your message out to,'' said Lance deHaven-Smith of the Florida Institute of Government at Florida State University. ``This is a huge, geographically diverse, ethnically diverse state, with many media markets.'' As a Florida native with lifelong Miami-Dade roots, Reno would be most formidable in the three-county, Democratic megalopolis of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. That is more important than ever now that the Legislature has voted to eliminate the runoff election or second primary, which means the candidate with the most votes in the first primary will automatically clinch the nomination. If Reno were to run, deHaven-Smith flatly predicted, ``She gets the nomination for sure, simply on the basis of name recognition.'' CLINTON APPOINTEE Reno, who was appointed attorney general by President Clinton in 1993, was Miami-Dade state attorney before that. She was elected the county's top prosecutor four times before she went to Washington, D.C. Reno would be a galvanizing figure for many Democrats because of a reputation as a protector of Florida's environment and for unadorned straight talk -- and for her ties to former President Clinton, who carried the state handily in 1996. However, she would also face questions about how the Justice Department under her direction handled some highly controversial cases, including a botched 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and the predawn seizure at gunpoint of 6-year-old Elián González in Miami on April 22 of last year. ELIAN FALLOUT ``The Elián González situation could hurt her, although that's not a key constituency for Democratic voters,'' deHaven-Smith said, referring to Cuban Americans who heavily supported Jeb Bush in 1998. A Reno candidacy would give the Democratic Party a political buzz it sorely lacks to compete with the star power of the first family. Democrats have begun taking the measure of more than a half-dozen potential candidates for governor, none of whom has high statewide name recognition. They include U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa; U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam and former U.S. Rep. Pete Peterson; House Minority Leader Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach; Sen. Daryl Jones, D-Miami; Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox; and Bill McBride, managing partner of Holland & Knight, the state's largest law firm. Some South Florida Democrats have begun circulating the name of Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, who has reportedly told friends he's waiting for a definitive statement of non-candidacy from ex-law partner, state Attorney General Bob Butterworth. Butterworth told The Herald in March he did not plan to run for governor. Reno said Friday her well-publicized battle with Stage 2 Parkinson's disease, which at times causes her hands and arms to tremble uncontrollably, would not be an obstacle to a grueling campaign. ``If you can go through almost eight years as attorney general, and come through it being able to kayak down the Chattooga, I think I'm going to be OK,'' said Reno, referring to the Georgia river popular among kayakers. ``But I'm going to be making sure that everyone else thought we would be OK.'' Herald researcher Elisabeth Donovan contributed to this report. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER =========CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. =======================================================================Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> =======================================================================To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
