ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200010
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GOOLRICK
WHEN DON Beyer decided to run for lieutenant governor, I met him briefly for the first time at some nonpartisan function.
Several months later, I ran into him again amid a large crowd at a reception in Richmond tossed by a special-interest group. Beyer came up, greeted me warmly and called me by my name.
He had no particular reason to remember me, given the fleeting nature of our initial meeting. I was impressed not only by his memory but his outgoing cheerful nature. I believe I've seen enough politicians at close range to recognize those who have the extra added ingredient that translates into instant likability.
Most anyone who has met Beyer will tell you he's a likable guy, even if they don't agree with his politics. That is one of the reasons why Beyer's venom-filled negative campaign against Mike Farris in 1993 seemed so out of character.
Doubtlessly he was persuaded to do it because advisers sniffed a George Allen tidal wave in the making and feared their man would be pulled under from the riptide effect. Though some editorials roundly criticized the Beyer attacks, the fact is he may well have lost if he had remained more positive. Americans say they don't like negative campaigning, but it drives polling numbers up or down more than any other technique.
But Jim Gilmore, a Republican who will likely face Democrat Beyer for the governorship next year, won't be as vulnerable to such attacks as Farris, given his four years of experience as attorney general and his moderate-conservative ways. It would be hard, for example, to make any kind of case that Gilmore is an enemy of public education.
The question is whether Beyer will pin his hopes on making the election outcome a referendum on the performance of the Allen administration. Some strategists apparently think that is the direction in which to move, but recognize that it would pose a number of dangers.
Allen is, after all, still extremely popular with Virginians and could be a formidable presence if he deigns to campaign extensively for Gilmore. Furthermore, despite the success of some Democrats in denigrating the Allen policies, the truth is he has been successful in implementing a majority of his campaign pledges and people could start waking up to that fact.
Beyer has charm, but he lacks the clear philosophical focus that Allen brought to his own gubernatorial election and the office. Beyer's image with voters is probably pretty fuzzy, as is the case with most of the so-called New Democrats who tend to shy away from the more liberal elements of their party but proclaim undying devotion to education and preach fiscal responsibility while decrying cutting funding that might put any segment of society at risk.
The adjective "mealy-mouthed" might be apt to describe the rhetoric of those Democrats who correctly sense the twilight of liberalism but also realize that by sounding too Republican they may only persuade people to vote for the real thing instead of the ersatz version.
But just as Republicans nationally have managed often to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, the same could hold in Virginia if Gilmore pulls his punches. The Beyer campaign can be counted on to be a slick presentation presenting a candidate who looks and sounds good on television, is personable and attractive one-on-one in crowds, and who sounds as if he's got an important message. It may sound Clintonesque, but, hey, it works.
John Goolrick, a former political reporter, is an aide to U.S. Rep. Herbert Bateman, R-Va. Opinions expressed are Goolrick's own.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS GOVERNORby CNB