Matalin won't help Dole after all

DALLAS (AllPolitics, April 13) -- Just two days after former Bush campaign veteran Mary Matalin said she was taking a senior role in the Bob Dole presidential effort, the wife of Clinton political consultant James Carville has sent her regrets.

The Dole campaign told CNN that Matalin informed them Friday afternoon that she wouldn't be joining the senator's Republican campaign.

Matalin did not want to become an issue. She sent a memo to Dole campaign manager Scott Reed Friday afternoon to express her concern and to say that she would not join Dole's team.

"Our country needs (Dole) not distracting inquiries about his volunteers. My continued presence will continue to be a distraction," Matalin said.

The Dole camp responded with courtesy, but nothing that sounded much like regret.

"We respect the decision she has made," a Dole staffer said. "She has made this decision in an attempt to curb any distractions to the campaign. We appreciate her thoughtfulness."

Several Republicans were upset over adding Matalin to the staff while her husband remains an adviser to Democratic President Clinton.

On Wednesday, Matalin told CNN that she would assume a "communication and strategic planning" role with the Dole campaign "as early as this month."

The 1992 Bush deputy campaign manager for political operations had said she would leave her position as co-host of the weeknight CNBC program "Equal Time," but continue hosting the CBS radio afternoon program.

The Dole campaign never issued an official announcement that Matalin was joining the campaign. Campaign workers said Matalin's role was being worked out.

On Thursday, a report ran in the Washington Times that quoted a number of national GOP officials who said she wouldn't help Dole's presidential bid. The criticisms ranged from concern over whether she could be trusted to blaming her for Bush's 1992 defeat.

"Didn't anybody take notes in '92? Republicans must be ... nuts," Wisconsin GOP Chairman David Opitz told The Washington Times. "Is she so brilliant that we are going to put up with a Mrs. Carville in our campaign?"

On the campaign trail Friday, Dole tried to distance himself from Matalin joining the campaign.

"I didn't make that selection," Dole quipped. "Mary Matalin is very fine. She's a good friend of mine. She'll do a good job. We're going to win the election. And, uh. She wants to be a volunteer so. She can be very helpful. She knows a lot about strategy and, you know. We're going to win the election." (332K AIFF sound or 332K WAV sound)

Matalin, according to her critics, has two strikes against her. First, as some noted, Bush lost in 1992, and maybe bringing in his advisers isn't a great idea.

There were also complaints about the company Matalin keeps. Her husband masterminded Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Carville's role in the 1996 Clinton re-election campaign has not yet been worked out.

Although Matalin and her supporters discounted the later complaint as sexist, the grumbling continued.

The lesson in this episode is clear: If it's an obstacle in the road to the White House, get it out of the way.

CNN Correspondent Candy Crowley contributed to this report.

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• Was Matalin A Wise Choice For Dole Campaign? - April 12
• Matalin Joins Dole's Campaign - April 10

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• Profile - Sen. Robert Dole