■ In his successful re-election bid Bill Clinton picked up enough new support among women, Catholics, Hispanics, and young voters to offset losses with other groups from 1992, as Washington Post’s Thomas Edsall points out. For instance, Clinton won among women by a margin 9 points larger than in 1992, enough to offset 4-point decline in his male vote. House Democrats, on the other hand, won no new support from women while dropping stunning 13 points among men. . . . Cokie Roberts on causes of the gender gap: “It’s never been about abortion, it’s never been about the ERA, all of that. . . . The group most pro-choice in the country is young men between the ages of 18 and 35.” . . . Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne argues Clinton’s coalition is more liberal than Jimmy Carter’s: Carter won 71 per cent of self-described liberals, Clinton 78 per cent. Carter won 29 per cent of conservatives, Clinton 20 per cent. . . . According to post-election survey by Kellyanne Fitzpatrick’s Washington-based Polling Company, Clinton and Dole split the much-discussed “soccer moms,” 48 to 48; a majority of soccer moms supported GOP congressional candidates, 51 to 43. . . . Clinton won voters who say crime and drugs should be a top priority of Congress by stunning 56-36 margin. . . . Report in Wall Street Journal details what attention White House paid to moving to the center on crime. It set up a “war room” devoted to winning the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, while Clinton personally schmoozed officials of the organization. In contrast, Dole campaign reportedly denied FOP’s request to meet with Dole.
■ Stay timed: Speaker Newt Gingrich tells Congressional Quarterly that rehabilitating his image could take as long as twenty years. . . . Amid grumbling over Gingrich in GOP ranks, some Democrats float wild idea of electing Rep. Michael Castle (R., Del.), a leading GOP moderate, in a bi-partisan vote. . . . Rep. John Linder (R., Ga.), an ally of Gingrich, is appointed new chairman of National Republican Congressional Committee to replace Rep. Bill Paxon (R., N.Y.). . . . Massachusetts Gov. William Weld—who went out of his way to defend Clinton Administration on Whitewater in just-concluded Senate campaign—is angling to be attorney general or land a high-ranking spot in State Department in second Clinton Administration. . . . Outgoing Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour scores big business for its lack of support of Republicans during campaign. According to Barbour, the Business Roundtable, the flagship organization of big business, “did not lift a finger in the battle [for Congress] and actually helped Clinton in 1995 by conferring legitimacy on his claims to be a supporter of the balanced budget.” … In the early running to replace Barbour as new RNC chairman: retiring New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill, Michigan GOP chairman Betsy DeVos (wife of Amway executive Dick DeVos), RNC general counsel David Norcross, Michigan RNC member Chuck Yob, Lynne Cheney (wife of Dick), and Colorado RNC member Jim Nicholson. Conservative weekly Human Events floats name of Tom Pauken, sharp chairman of Texas GOP.
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