... that Al Gore's daughter married into the Schiff family of BANKERS.

Gore's Daughter Campaigns

By SANDRA SOBIERAJ
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - While Al Gore was home babysitting Friday, his eldest
daughter collected some $25,000 for the Democratic Party and exhorted young
Americans Friday to take this year's presidential race as personally as she
does.

Karenna Gore Schiff, more and more a fixture on the campaign trail, recalled
for the College Democrats of America annual convention the year that her
father and Bill Clinton claimed the White House:

``The first time I voted was in the 1992 primary and boy, I really
underestimated the impact of that election on my life,'' she said.

Other young people, only a third of whom voted in the 1996 election, should
similarly see the race between her father and Republican George W. Bush as a
matter of ``personal well-being, not just civic responsibility,'' said
Schiff, 26.

Mother to 1-year-old Wyatt, Schiff said she dropped him at the vice
presidential residence before heading out to two appearances on Dad's behalf.
She laughed as she recounted her only instructions to Gore for babysitting
Wyatt: ``He needs to eat at 6:30. Don't forget.''

At The George Washington University, College Democrats president Kevin
Nicholson heralded Schiff as ``one of the starring members of the Democratic
Party and the future of our party.''

She has cultivated a network of young party contributors, which she activated
again on Friday night at a Capitol Hill microbrewery and restaurant where she
played host at a $25,000 fund raiser for the Democratic National Committee.

She gave student activists a speech that she had typed out in advance -
sprinkled with hip lingo - but delivered with ease and flair. Her pony tail
secured by a rubber band, with a sparkly barrette over one ear and a plain
brown bobby pin over the other, she projected a ``real person'' image in
stark contrast to the celebrity status accorded her at the convention.

Four TV news cameras crushed around her - and four boom microphones captured
her every utterance as from overhead - as she shook each of the 150 or so
students' hands, posing for pictures with dozens of them.

``We must accept that our action or inaction will have real consequences on
our lives. 'Whatever' might be a lot worse than what we expect or deserve,''
Schiff warned.

``Every ad agency in America is salivating over us. Our consumer power moves
fashion trends, dictates bestsellers, turns obscure rock bands into
superstars. We should harness that power to make the highest leaders of the
land accountable to our voices.''

Schiff said she will play an active role at next month's Democratic National
Convention, ``speaking to a lot of different groups and going to a lot of
parties.'' And, whether her father wins or loses in November, she said
``definitely will'' stay involved in politics.


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