The Presidential Election Of Mrs Elizabeth Dole

The Presidential Election Of Mrs. Elizabeth Dole Essay, Research Paper

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF

MRS. ELIZABETH DOLE

As President of the American Red Cross, Elizabeth Dole has led an extraordinary public service career in which she has served six United States Presidents and has been named by the Gallup Poll as one of the world s ten most admired women.

Born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, Elizabeth Dole was apparently always diligent. She obtained excellent grades and won the prize in an essay writing competition offered annually by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Her classmates voted her Most Likely to Succeed, and would often remark that she would one day be a First Lady or a President. Following in her brother s footsteps, she attended Duke University. She was elected president of the Women s Student Government Association. Elizabeth Dole left Duke with a bachelor s degree in political science, with recognition as Student Leader of the Year, Phi Beta Kappa and was the May Queen. She then went on to earn her law degree from Harvard Law School as well as obtaining a master s in education and government from Harvard.

Elizabeth Dole headed the White House Office of Consumer Affairs under both Presidents Johnson and Nixon. It was there that she began a career-long dedication to public safety, for which she received the National Safety Council s Distinguished Service Award in 1989. By 1974, Nixon had appointed her a Federal Trade Commissioner.

She and Bob Dole were married in 1975 while she was still with the FTC, and when he became the Vice Presidential candidate under Jerry Ford, she took a leave of absence to campaign for him. In 1980, the now married Elizabeth Dole, impressed Ronald Reagan to the extent that he appointed her director of his transition team s human services group and a year later, promoted her to head of the White House Office of Public Liaison. In February 1983, Elizabeth Dole joined President Reagan s Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation – the first woman to hold that position.

During her four years at Transportation, the United States enjoyed the safest years in its history in all three major areas rail, air, and highway. Some of her many safety initiatives included a new regulation which required air bags or automatic safety belts in all new cars and spawned safety belt laws in 36 states and the District of Columbia. She led the crusade to raise the drinking age to 21; directed the overhaul of the aviation safety inspection system; and imposed tougher aviation security measures at the U.S. airports, which led to tightened security measures around the world. She also oversaw the sale of CONRAIL, the government-owned freight railroad that returned $1.2 billion dollars to the U.S. Treasury.

In January of 1989, President Bush swore in Elizabeth Dole as the nation s 20th Secretary of Labor. As Labor Secretary, she served as the President s chief adviser on labor and work force issues. She has worked to help shatter the glass ceiling for America s working women and minorities, increase safety and health in the workplace, upgrade the skills of the American work force, and improve relations between labor and management, playing a key role in bringing the parties together to resolve the bitter eleven month Pittston Coal Strike.

In 1993, Women Executives in State Government honored Elizabeth Dole with their Lifetime Achievement Award for her many achievements in helping women and minorities break through the glass ceiling. Also this year, she was selected for induction into the Safety and Health Hall of Fame International for her numerous transportation, workplace, and blood safety accomplishments. She went on to receive the North Carolina Press Association s first North Carolinian of the Year Award.

As President of the American Red Cross, Elizabeth Dole oversaw nearly 30,000 staff members and more than 1.5 million volunteers who comprise the world s foremost humanitarian organization. She was a member of that volunteer force in 1991, taking no salary her first year.

The American Red Cross provides 52% of America s blood supply. While blood is overwhelmingly safe, to quote the Food and Drug Administration, four months into her presidency, Elizabeth Dole secured approval of the organization s Board of Governors to launch a sweeping $148 million state of the art blood system which will be able to quickly and efficiently incorporate medical technology as it evolves.

Following two years of record breaking natural disasters, Elizabeth Dole launched an aggressive relief campaign that raised $172 million dollars in 1992 to assist victims of disasters including Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki.

Elizabeth Dole certainly has the political credentials as well as strong other values. She understands how to be powerful and yet remain human, warm and sincere. She understands the importance of integrity, morality, and accountability in government. With all the scandal that Bill Clinton has brought to Washington, observers say that Mrs. Dole s strong religious and traditional values could work as a remedy. If our country will ever be ready for a female in the Oval Office it is now, with Elizabeth Dole. There will be, however, significant electoral, institutional, and constitutional ramifications if she is elected.

First of all, the Electoral College