Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 7, 1990 TAG: 9006070323
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: NEWPORT, N.H. LENGTH: Medium
His past protests to the contrary, Wilder sounded remarkably like a national candidate as he took on President Bush, the savings-and-loan crisis, nuclear proliferation and infant mortality during a visit to a state that historically has been a proving ground for presidential hopefuls.
In remarks to a Democratic group in a New Hampshire mill town, Wilder cited the theme that in January helped make him the nation's first elected black governor.
"Many are beginning to realize," he said, "that the New Mainstream can be the current capable of attracting the support needed at the national level to reclaim 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Wilder called for creation of a non-partisan, independent commission to investigate the burgeoning savings-and-loan scandal. He also tweaked Bush for backing away from a "no-new-taxes" campaign pledge.
"In 1988, the same lips which promised us no new taxes also promised to address the issue of nuclear proliferation," Wilder said. "Will the latter promise go the way of the former?"
And he seemed to hold out a promise of contacts to come in New Hampshire as he concluded: "I look forward to seeing you on my future trips to this great state."
Wilder's speech at a historic Sullivan County opera house, where a bell cast by Paul Revere greets visitors, concluded a day directed at a national audience.
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show in the morning, Wilder reiterated his claim to be interested only in serving out his gubernatorial term that expires in 1993. But Wilder told reporters later in the day that "1996 is a totally different ball game." By then, he said, he will have been out of office for a while and had time to reflect on his future.
As he delivered the commencement address at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass., in the afternoon, and spoke at the nighttime rally in New Hampshire, Wilder seemed to be appealing to voters well beyond the Old Dominion.
Comparing himself to former President John F. Kennedy, a Massachusetts native who faced religious bigotry during his 1960 campaign, Wilder told his Cambridge audience that pundits and reporters care more about barriers of race and religion than about ordinary people.
Wilder said he recalls images of Kennedy going into isolated communities in West Virginia in 1960. "Many - mostly those in the press - said that the people of West Virginia would not vote for a Catholic," he said. "And yet, Kennedy did not listen to the press; he was there to listen to the people."
Likewise, Wilder said, "Just as Kennedy knew that Catholicism was not an issue for the vast majority of Americans, I knew that race was not an issue for the vast majority of Virginians."
Wilder's evening foray into New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary of each presidential election, was dismissed by press secretary Laura Dillard as a routine response to a speaking request.
But a national press contingent - including reporters for Time magazine, NBC News and the New York Times - trailed Wilder to the Granite State. And local political leaders acknowledged that visits by politicians are usually taken as a sign of presidential ambition.
State Democratic Chairman Ramsay McLauchlan recalled that Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen tentatively scheduled a New Hampshire visit this spring, but canceled it after a trip to Iowa prompted wide attention.
"They called us up and said, `There's no way we can come,' " McLauchlan recalled. If Bentsen had appeared in New Hampshire and Iowa, "we'll have to spend the next two years answering, `Is he running for president?"' he quoted the aide as saying.
Not similarly deterred, Wilder is due to make a political swing through Iowa, at the state party's invitation, later this month.
As they awaited Wilder's arrival, New Hampshire Democratic leaders said they are impressed with Virginia's history-making governor. However, many less politically oriented residents knew little about him.
"We're looking for new talent, and Governor Wilder seems to be that person," said Susan Lawrence, the Democratic chairwoman in Sullivan County. "Everybody's looking to him as a possible new vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party."
On the sidewalks of downtown Newport, however, many seemed unaware of Wilder.
"I haven't heard of him," Marion Tucker, a retired mill worker, said before launching into a story about seeing former President Jimmy Carter and his wife at a local restaurant.
Marge Kanakis, a Newport bookkeeper, appeared to have Wilder confused with former Charlotte Mayor Harvey B. Gantt, who won Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
"I don't think I know him," she said hesitantly. "Oh, yes, I saw him on television last night - Louis Gantt, isn't it?"
by CNB