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UPI's Capital Comment for October 18, 2001

By United Press International

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- UPI's Capital Comment -- News notes, political rumors, and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.


Window or aisle seat? -- With former South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell stepping down as head of the American Council of Life Insurers because of illness, the buzz is starting over who will replace him in that financially rewarding post. One name being tossed about is Oklahoma Republican Gov. Frank Keating, whose wife Cathy is the frontrunner in the race to replace Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., when he leaves the House. Keating, however, has just accepted appointment as chairman of Gopac, the Republican political committee once run by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And, talented though he may be, it is unlikely he could do both jobs at the same time as some suggest he could. Gopac's mission is to bring about Republican majorities in as many state legislative chambers as possible. ACLI advocates the interests of life insurers and their millions of policyholders before federal and state legislators, among other things. There are probably many state legislators whom Gopac would like to defeat that ACLI would, at the same time, be courting, hence the conflict.

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In -- Acting Massachusetts Gov, Jane Swift, the third GOPer in a row to hold the office, announces on Thursday that she will be a candidate for a full term in November 2002. The first woman in the nation to give birth while a state chief executive -- she had twins -- Swift was criticized in the last weeks of her pregnancy by several Democrats who are potential opponents and supporters of potential opponents; they questioned her ability to fulfill the requirements of office while also serving as mother to three young children.


In 2 -- Former California State Assemblywoman Audie Bock, a former Democrat who served in the state legislature as a member of the Green Party, has announced she will challenge Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., next November. Bock says that it was Lee's lone dissenting vote against granting authority to President Bush to pursue the war on terror that pushed her into the race. The district, which includes Oakland and Berkeley, is filled with enough liberal voters that Rep. Lee could find she has a real race on her hands.


Learning a lesson -- Teach for America Week advocates that people from all professions spend an hour of their time teaching children from some of the nation's disadvantaged neighborhoods. This year's event takes place this week at 16 regional sites from the Bronx to Compton to the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. As part of the activities, first lady Laura Bush returned to the classroom, leading a kindergarten class in New Jersey.

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In memoriam -- Virginia State Sen. Emily Couric, 54, who served double-duty as general chairman of the state's Democrats, has died of pancreatic cancer. Considered a rising star in the party, she won her seat by defeating a first-term Republican incumbent in 1995. Couric was widely expected to be the party's candidate for lieutenant governor in this year's race but, upon learning of her illness, she withdrew.


Be prepared -- Dr. Jane Orient, head of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness, has authored an article outlining steps America should take in order to be ready for a catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions. Among her recommendations in the piece, "Civil Defense, the Forgotten Defense" posted on the group's Web site, are that the government should "stockpile potassium iodide and directions for use to protect the thyroid gland in the event of fallout. She also urges physicians "to take a crash-course on diagnosing, treating and reporting possible cases of biological and chemical terrorism."


I'm armed -- Fly me -- A group of unions representing almost 90,000 flight attendants says that the lives of airline passengers and crew remain at high risk. United Airlines' Pat Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, says, "We're noticing that enormous lapses in security continue." To close the gaps, attendants are calling for, among other things, new laws that ensure screening of all checked bags, passenger-bag matches, strict enforcement of the one-bag carry-on limit, and mandatory security screening for all catering and ground service personnel.

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Personnel note -- C. Lynn McNair, who has of late been toiling away at the National Governors' Association, is returning to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies as vice president for philanthropic partnerships.


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