Forbes to Withdraw from Race

WASHINGTON: Multimillionaire publisher Steve Forbes, champion of the flat tax, will withdraw from the G.O.P presidential campaign Thursday. Campaign manager Bill Dal Col confirmed that Forbes and his family would make the announcement in a 1 p.m. news conference. Forbes spent about $25 million in his ill-fated bid for the White House, but received much attention for his proposals. After winning only three delegates in Tuesday's seven primaries, a showing Forbes called "very disappointing," the candidate said he needed a win in one of the Midwestern states to continue fighting. TIME correspondent John F. Dickerson, traveling with the Forbes campaign, said despite rumors of a withdrawal, the campaign had shown no sign that they would fold tents before next week. "I was talking with Forbes' press secretary this morning, and she refused to allow that he was getting out," Dickerson reports. "They weren't even preparing room for him to wiggle out." Forbes apparently will endorse Bob Dole for the Republican nomination, leaving only Pat Buchanan to harass the front-runner until the August convention. Dickerson notes: "Unlike Buchanan, who has a different core support, the Forbes constituency is likely to melt back into the Republican electorate." Also, don't expect to see Forbes, whose challenge drained the Dole campaign coffers, out on the hustings with Dole. All of this marginalizes supply- sider Jack Kemp, who endorsed Forbes after Dole's convincing sweep of "Junior Tuesday" last week. Dickerson says Forbes' withdrawal effectively ends Kemp's chances of a significant role in either the 1996 campaign or a Dole administration.Dole Searches For A Running MateWASHINGTON, D.C.: With the GOP presidential nomination practically his, Bob Dole is calling himself the conservative Americans want in the White House. The front-runner's sweep of the seven Super Tuesday states brought in 345 delegates and brings the question of Dole's running mate to the fore. Dole maintains that he has not thought about the No. 2 slot on his ticket "in any concerted way," but did tell CBS that he believed Colin Powell would "suit up again" if asked. A new Washington Post poll shows President Clinton leading Dole by 17 points, but another survey shows by adding Powell, Dole evens the odds. "If the vice presidency is presented as a responsibility to serve, than Dole has a persuasive argument," says TIME's Tamala Edwards. "Further, the slot is less visible and less dangerous. This might be something Powell's wife can deal with. Also, being vice president would allow Powell to be the power behind the throne, giving him access without being in the glare."16 Children Killed In Scottish ShootingDUNBLANE, SCOTLAND: A heavily armed gunman burst into a Scottish elementary school at 10 a.m local time Wednesday and fired at a class of five- and six-year-olds in the gymnasium, killing a teacher, 16 children and then himself. Such acts are almost unheard of in Scotland, where gun laws are much stricter than those in the U.S. At least 12 of the 13 other children and one adult were wounded. Frantic parents, police and emergency technicians rushed to the school as hospitals in Glasgow and Edinburgh were put on alert. The shooting occurred at the 700-student Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, a 13th century cathedral village of 9,000 people 40 miles from Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth sent her condolences, and British Prime Minister John Major, now at a world summit on terrorism in Cairo, called the shootings "a mad and evil act", mirroring the reactions of parents and officials in the quiet Scottish town. The gunman, Thomas Hamilton was the 43-year-old administrator of a boys athletic club and was described as a gun enthusiast and a loner. A neighbor told the AP that Hamilton often took young boys on holiday to Loch Lomond.Liggett Group Breaks Ranks, Settles Suit