Gore Goes West
Courting key constituencies, Al Gore promised stronger health protections for women on Monday and traded words of support with a big union, the Teamsters.
Opening a week where he's focusing on health care, Gore met with health experts – and tennis star Andre Agassi – to promote his proposals to help women fight breast cancer and other diseases.
"What's going on now is not acceptable," Gore said, criticizing what he called the "phony bill of rights" touted by Republicans. Agassi was along because of breast cancer in his family. Gore lost a sister to the disease.
After collecting the endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, announced earlier this month, Gore headed to Hollywood. He was raising $3 million at a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser featuring prominent Hollywood figures such as Rob Reiner at a $10,000-per-couple dinner.
Gore has been criticized by the Republicans in the past week for raising money from the entertainment industry even as he criticizes violent films and music.
GOP vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, campaigning in Washington state, said Monday that Gore seeks votes in school appearances by day and "pretends to be on the side of the moms and dads, when in reality at night they're out collecting money from the industry that seems to know no restraint in what they peddle to our children."
Spokesman Chris Lehane said Gore also uses the events to make his points in person to those running Hollywood.
Earlier, in Las Vegas, Gore said he would push Congress to give women coverage for screening programs to detect cancer as part of a package of health proposals.
A Republican alternative "leaves out more than 100 million Americans," he said.
Gore then went to a noisy gym at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas to push his health proposals at a colorful rally as he opened a West Coast campaign swing emphasizing an issue that polls suggest works in his favor.
"Let's put an end to the HMO penalties and incentives that encourage doctors and nurses to give women substandard care," Gore said. "That's wrong and it ought to be against the law."
It was a theme Gore planned to emphasize all week, accusing insurance companies of interfering with health care decisions and arguing for stronger consumer rights.
In Nevada, he endorsed legislation that would require coverage of mastectomies, mammograms and other procedures crucial to women.
"I'm calling for new patients' rights legislation to make sure women get the best health care, not just the cheapest," he said.
His effort came as Bush, too, began a week in which he has pledged to focus more on specific issues. Gore didn't refer to Bush by name, but agreed with the emphasis.
"You bet I think this campaign ought to be about the issues," said Gore.
His swing comes as some polls suggest the race is ompetitive in Nevada, while Gore maintains a comfortable lead in California. He was seeking to bolster that edge with a day in Southern California followed by a day in Northern California.
Women are a key constituency where Gore has a lead over Bush, and some polls have suggested health care is an issue that plays to Gore's strength for that reason.
The legislation Gore is pushing focuses directly on women and is sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Diane Feinstein, D-Calif. It would require minimum hospital stays for various cancer treatment, and ensure that a woman would have access to a second opinion when there's a cancer diagnosis.
It would also ensure coverage for obstetrics and gynecological services.
Underscoring the importance of the issue, aides noted that 75 percent of women under 65 get health care through managed-care programs and make most family health care decisions.