ANOTHER DOLE DEPARTURE
Ari Fleischer isn't the only one leaving Elizabeth Dole's spin shop. The communications director has been joined by press secretary Mike Paranzino, who had started working for the Dole campaign in June. Paranzino gave notice on August 24 and stopped working last Tuesday.

Like Fleischer, Paranzino insists that his departure was amicable and for personal reasons; he still supports Mrs. Dole. Still, it's unusual for a presidential campaign to suffer such turnover right after its signal triumph — Mrs. Dole's universally hyped third-place showing in the Iowa straw poll on August 14. Reporters have complained that Mrs. Dole doesn't give them much to write about; they are likely to regard these recent staff changes as evidence that her press aides, too, have been frustrated by the campaign's thin message.

SPACE GIRLS
Whatever happened to sisterhood? The National Press Club recently sent out a panicky plea for members to attend a luncheon on Thursday for Col. Eileen Collins, the first female commander of a space shuttle mission, and her crew. "We are in danger of having to cancel this luncheon because of a low turnout. I would hate for us to have to cancel," writes Larry Lipman, president of the NPC, in an email missive. "Col. Collins will show some slides from her mission and discuss the importance of men AND WOMEN in space. . . . It would be embarrassing to have such a paltry turnout the ballroom seems empty. It would be embarrassing to have to cancel this luncheon."

HURRICANE WARD
Ward Connerly told NR last week his effort to ban racial preferences in Florida is right on schedule. He hopes the Sunshine State will pass a Florida Civil Rights Initiative next year modeled on California's Proposition 209. Republican Gov. Jeb Bush is also reportedly considering an executive order limiting the use of racial preferences in state government. Said Connerly: "That would be welcome, but we really need the ballot initiative, too."

Connerly, who has endorsed George W. Bush for president, also shared his rave review of Steve Forbes's speech to the National Baptist Convention, which coincidentally was delivered in Tampa: "I praise Steve for being inclusive without resorting to the odious practice of racial pandering perfected by 'Reverend' Al Gore and other Democrats and even some Republican politicians.

"Steve Forbes has not only said he would bring this nation together by ending quotas and preferences, he has demonstrated this commitment by endorsing and campaigning for specific proposals. . . . For example, his leadership and active involvement in the overwhelmingly successful Washington State Civil Rights Initiative ('Initiative 200') last year was indispensable. His straightforward message and deeds -- devoid of slogans and labels -- will bring Americans together under the banner of equality and opportunity."