THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 28, 1996 TAG: 9610280051
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SPRINGFIELD LENGTH: 86 lines
An exuberant crowd of about 10,000 greeted President Clinton as he stuck a toe in Virginia on Sunday, hopeful of becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state in 32 years.
With Virginia polls earlier this month showing Clinton ahead by up to 9 percentage points over Republican Bob Dole, Clinton campaigned for almost two hours at a Northern Virginia park.
He also delivered a much-needed endorsement of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mark R. Warner.
``Most people of Virginia have been voting against my party for three decades,'' the president told a cheering crowd waving red, white and blue Clinton-Gore placards. ``I know how hard it is to break habits. But one of the things we teach our kids is that some habits have to be broken.''
His appearance came eight days after Dole stumped in Norfolk and signifies that Virginia, after years of being written off in national campaigns as a GOP safe haven, is suddenly up for grabs.
Dole is sending his wife and daughter to the Old Dominion this week. His wife, Elizabeth, is slated to address a rally at the state Capitol in Richmond on Tuesday. His daughter, Robin, is expected to campaign Thursday in South Hampton Roads at a site yet to be announced.
In addition, independent candidate H. Ross Perot is scheduled to speak today at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Clinton's appearance in Virginia is part of a last-minute effort to contest the South, which, with few exceptions over the past 44 years, has been almost wholly owned by GOP presidential candidates. This year, however, polls have shown Clinton with leads or running competitively in all of Dixie except South Carolina and Texas. The Clinton camp has scheduled Southern stops during six of the final 11 days of the race.
Two Clinton campaign workers said privately this week that the goal in contesting Virginia and other Southern states goes deeper than trying to demoralize Dole.
They said an overwhelming victory Nov. 5 would give Clinton a mandate to enact his economic and social agendas.
They also said victories in Virginia and other Southern states could provide much-needed momentum for future Democratic candidates. They said a Clinton win in Virginia combined with a national victory would, for example, make it difficult for the Republicans to make the president an issue in next year's gubernatorial race, as they did successfully in 1993.
The campaign sources acknow-ledged, however, that Clinton advisers are not scheduling any other presidential appearances in Virginia or allocating money for television advertising in the state. Dole, on the other hand, has authorized a ``modest'' television campaign in Virginia as well as massive literature drops in vote-rich Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
Clinton promoted his ``family agenda'' during a 35-minute speech. He renewed calls to expand the Family Leave Act and to allow up to $10,000 in tax deductions a year for college tuitions. ``This race is not about party,'' he said. ``It's about our visions for the future.''
He said his goal is ``to give this country the finest education in the world when I leave office in the 21st century.'' He said he hoped to have every public school and library in the nation hooked up to Internet ``so that, for the first time in this nation's history, the poorest schools will have access to the same information as children in the very richest districts.''
``That's my vision,'' he added. ``What's the other side want to do? What they want to do is abolish the Department of Education.''
Clinton lauded Mark Warner, who stood by the president's side, as a leader ``for the future.'' The president, however, made no disparaging remarks about Republican incumbent John W. Warner, the heavy favorite to win his fourth Senate term.
For Mark Warner, who said he is narrowing the gap in the Senate race, the appearance offered a measure of validity to his campaign and a chance to run on any coattails the president may have.
Mark Warner is running weakly in Northern Virginia, traditionally a Democratic bastion, while Clinton appears strong there.
``I don't know how long the president's coattails are going to be,'' said Mark Warner, who has endorsed almost all of Clinton's agenda. ``Ultimately, this race is going to come down to Mark Warner vs. John Warner.'' MEMO: Dole, Clinton both descended from kings, presidents/A2 ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Associated Press
President Clinton delivered a
35-minute speech Sunday at a Northern Virginia park.
``This race is not about party,'' he said. ``It's about our visions
for the future.''
KEYWORDS: ENDORSEMENT CANDIDATE SENATE RACE VIRGINIA 1996 by CNB