The Scorecard, based on extensive research into the Northern Ireland-related voting records, speeches, articles, and other activities of the five main Presidential Candidates and two New York Senate candidates, called for the election of Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton, based on their exemplary efforts toward the ongoing peace process. Sen. Rick Lazio also received praise, receiving Northern Ireland Alert's second highest ranking, "VERY ACTIVE." Texas governor George W. Bush and Reform Party candidate Patrick Buchanan were evaluated as "INTERESTED," the fourth highest ranking. John Hagelin of the Reform/Natural Law Party and Ralph Nader of the Green Party were ranked as "UNINTERESTED," Northern Ireland Alert's lowest score.

Of the Vice Presidential candidates, Sen. Joseph Lieberman received a solid "ACTIVE" evaluation, the third highest ranking. From a Northern Ireland perspective, Dick Cheney of the Republican Party, Winona LaDuke of the Green Party, Ezola Foster of the Reform Party, and Nat Goldhaber of the Reform/Natural Law party were found to contribute nothing to their respective tickets and were thus considered "UNINTERESTED."

Among the activities discussed in Northern Ireland Alert's seventeen-page analysis of the candidates are the following:

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

• Vice President Gore's 1988 call for a special envoy to Northern Ireland, four years before then candidate Bill Clinton's much more publicized promise;
  
• the recent manner in which "a disconnect seems to have arisen between the Clinton Administration's plentiful assistance to Northern Ireland and the Gore campaign's willingness or ability to embrace this legacy and current Irish issues with passion and detail";
  
• the Republican Party's efforts to move away from the "hands off" Irish policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations, culminated by the party's recent platform, which deals with Northern Ireland peace and human rights issues in a manner that is "focused and articulate."

Governor Bush's recent interest in Northern Ireland affairs, which has helped mask and atone for earlier campaign missteps, including his much-criticized campaign stop at Bob Jones University, well-known for its anti-Catholic views.

Patrick Buchanan's long interest in Northern Ireland political affairs and surprising support of the Clinton Administration's "good job" at "intervening there and trying to bring some measure of justice and peace to the Irish people on both sides of the quarrel." Also explored are Buchanan's support for a visa for Gerry Adams, his apocalyptic view of a forced united Ireland "solution" as "the end game," and his aversion to providing "huge dollops of foreign aid" to Northern Ireland; the lack of activity and paucity of interest shown to date by the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of the Green and Reform/Natural Law parties.

NEW YORK SENATE RACE

Northern Ireland Alert's highest ranking of "DEDICATED" to Mrs. Clinton, given that "no politician currently campaigning for office has shown more interest and dedication in addressing the economic and gender concerns of the current and future generations of Northern Ireland."

Rep. Rick Lazio's "VERY ACTIVE" attention to Irish issues during his House career, including his willingness to support controversial issues, such as suspension of deportation efforts against Irish nationals, and his vote in favor of a House bill discontinuing FBI training for Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary ("RUC") (until the White House certifies that the RUC does not include members who have committed or condoned human rights violations, including any role in the murder of human rights attorneys Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane).

Publisher: James J. Brosnahan, Esq.-Brosnahan is a senior partner with Morrison & Foerster llp. He is a former president of the San Francisco chapter of the Irish American Bar Association. As a trial lawyer, he traveled to Northern Ireland in 1996. In 1999 he returned there as part of a Lawyers Committee for Human Rights investigative mission. This year, on behalf of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, he visited Belfast to teach trial procedure to Northern Ireland lawyers. He has attended high-level discussions at the White House regarding Northern Ireland affairs.

Editor: Dan VanDeMortel-VanDeMortel is a paralegal with Morrison & Foerster llp, SanðFrancisco. He has traveled to Northern Ireland with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and has volunteered for the Committee on the Administration of Justice (a Belfast-based human rights organization). He regularly writes about Northern Ireland human rights topics.

Assistants: Judy Burgin, Leslie Cassidy, Molly Feerick, Steven Frankenstein, Richard Gilbert, Danny Ngan, Hank Roberts, Tessa Robinson, Sylvia Sequeira, Cecily Shores, Patricia Stich Regan, Jean-Luc Szach, Helen Wentz, Mary Whitten