"I think there obviously will be a role for the military personnel who
have retired in Florida and who also are registered to vote there," he said.
"I think it's too early for me to reach any judgment in terms of the
proportionalities, how they are going to vote, but they certainly will have
an impact in a race that close in that state."
Cohen, a former Republican senator, is in the unusual position of serving
in the Cabinet of a Democrat administration.
The military has a historically higher voter turnout than the general
public – about 65 percent, compared to 49 percent.
The majority of the military vote is cast by absentee ballot.
The military is largely presumed to be heavily Republican, with some
estimates counting as many as 80 percent of the 1.2 million active duty
personnel.
Military officers at the Pentagon say this sounds like a reasonable
proportion because service members tend to be socially and fiscally
conservative.
Interestingly, Gore promised the Defense Department a much larger budget
boost than Bush – $100 billion over 10 years, versus $45 billion.
But officers planning to vote Republican asserted their votes were swayed
more by Bush's presumed national security team, specifically former Gen.
Colin Powell and presumed Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, a well-regarded
former defense secretary.
And many in the military feel strongly that the Clinton-Gore administration has weakened America's defense. Now it might be payback time.
Copyright 2000 by United Press International.
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