"Its a surprise she left at this point," says TIME Washington correspondent John Dickerson. "She was the story coming out of the Iowa straw polls. Everything was going in her favor, but she was just never able to make a dent into the Republican establishment types who traditionally give to campaigns. That base has been swallowed up by George Bush." Bush, with the fastest and biggest fund-raising effort in American political history, has raised more than 10 times as much as Dole.
What now for Dole? She has been mentioned for some time as a potential running mate to Bush, but her poor showing among Republican voters makes that scenario unlikely. A September ABC News/Washington Post poll found that Bush received 61 percent of the Republican womens vote, compared to Doles 21 percent. "Just because shes a woman doesnt mean shell attract the swing votes," says Dickerson. "Its not clear that she can pull a lot of moderate and independent women. If the Democrats have a strong vice presidential candidate who can appeal to the womens vote, Dole might not have much value" on Bushs ticket.