
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 17, 1990                   TAG: 9004170475
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LONE-STAR MUD

IN EVERY election cycle, it seems, at least one race sets a new low in mudslinging. The latest: the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Texas, won last week by state Treasurer Ann Richards.

The descent into the mire began when her runoff foe, Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, alleged that Richards - who freely acknowledges she is a recovering alcoholic - also used illegal drugs, including cocaine, in the past.

Richards responded by going on the attack: She accused Mattox of using public office for personal gain, and challenged him to release his income-tax records.

As usual, there was more allegation than evidence, more bellowing than boring after the truth. The charges came to dominate the campaign, at the expense of attention to the not-insignificant matter of what either candidate planned to do if elected.

Hurling such allegations without sufficient substantiation served merely to trivialize them. So did the pledge by Mattox and his supporters to rally behind Richards for the general election.

All that drug stuff? Oh, just kidding.

by CNB