Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406290141
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, Republican Oliver North and independents Douglas Wilder and Marshall Coleman took jabs at each other's records in public office in the 90-minute debate on CNN's ``Larry King Live'' from Washington, D.C.
The most spirited exchanges took place between North and Coleman, a former Republican attorney general, and Robb and Wilder, a former Democratic governor.
The candidates first ganged up on North, the Iran-Contra figure who derided his three opponents as ``professional politicians.''
``I'm the only person at this table besides you who has not spent their entire adult life running for office,'' North said to King.
``I spent almost 10 years on active duty in the Marine Corps. I didn't think that I was running for office at that time,'' Robb responded.
``It's a classic illustration of the colonel not really being familiar with my record,'' Wilder said of North, noting that for most of his career he was a lawyer and part-time legislator before being elected governor in 1989. North is a former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.
``I don't think there's a crime about being involved in public service,'' said Coleman, a former GOP attorney general and two-time loser for governor.
Wilder, Robb's longtime Democratic rival, then criticized Robb for supporting President Clinton's tax increase.
``Please don't vote to raise our taxes anymore,'' Wilder told Robb, who sat next to him at a long table.
The first-term senator said the bill raised taxes for 1.2 percent of Americans and helped strengthen the economy by lowering the deficit.
When Wilder later chastised Robb for voting for Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court, Robb countered that Wilder also supported the judge at one time.
Coleman joined in attacking the incumbent by accusing Robb of becoming ``a Clinton clone.''
``He's now a 94 percent Clinton supporter,'' Coleman said.
But Coleman aimed his sharpest barb at North by saying North should not be elected because ``he has not set the kind of example that we ought to set for our young people.''
``That's a direct affront,'' North said. ``The legacy of Iran-Contra is that lives were saved.''
North took on Clinton as well, accusing the president of ``religious bigotry'' for his recent attacks on leaders of the religious right.
In response to questions from King, Robb and North insisted they bore no ill feelings toward the independents for entering the race.
The two party nominees also defended their characters, with Robb saying his admission to marital indiscretions showed he ``had a couple of dents in my armor,'' and North saying he has always kept his commitments.
For their part, Wilder, who ended his term as the nation's first elected black governor in January, and Coleman said they entered the race because voters were dissatisfied with the party candidates.
When King noted that Coleman was the least known of the four, Coleman quipped, ``With this crowd, that's an advantage.''
The candidates occasionally smiled at each others' answers but also seemed somewhat uncomfortable as they sat shoulder to shoulder. North was admonished by King for displaying a campaign brochure, prompting Wilder to grab the pamphlet and drop it on the floor. Wilder managed to say his toll-free campaign number several times as the debate neared its end.
King, whose show played a role in the 1992 presidential campaign and last year's NAFTA trade dispute, questioned the candidates for about half the program and then open the line to callers. The show was broadcast in about 200 countries.
Virginia's Senate race is of interest worldwide because of North, who was convicted of felonies in the Iran-Contra scandal but had them overturned on appeal, said Virginia Tech communications Professor Bob Denton.
But the debate also was important for the candidates' fund raising, particularly Robb and North because most of their contributors live outside Virginia, Denton said.
He said the debate was unlikely to change the minds of many voters, who polls show are closely divided about the race.
``Debates are better at reinforcing your constituency than at persuading people,'' Denton said.
``This is performance. It's theater. It's entertainment.''
Once a highly popular governor and rising political star nationally, Robb has been tarred by his admitted marital indiscretions and reports that he partied with drug users. He has denied any knowledge of drugs.
North has blasted Robb for his support of Clinton and portrayed himself as an outsider who would shake up Washington. He has been plagued by polls showing many voters have doubts about him because of his Iran-Contra activities.
Keywords:
POLITICS
Memo: NOTE: lede