Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 10, 1991 TAG: 9103100068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
The former senator who dropped out of politics in 1984 after being stricken with cancer recently called his family together.
"That always means trouble," he said. "So they were concerned I was sick again. I said, `No, it's worse than that - I'm thinking of running for president.' "
Seven years of treatment for lymphoma, including chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant, have eradicated the cancer. The 50-year-old lawyer is more physically fit than most men his age, said his physician, Dr. Tak Takvorian.
Longer than that, the self-avowed liberal has endured 11 years of Republican rule that have pushed him to the cliff's edge. And he's serious about leaping.
"The only way you can be a player in this system is to run," Tsongas said. Two other options, publishing a book and persuading someone who shares his ideas to run, failed miserably, he said.
Tsongas said his plans aren't definite. Like the seasoned pol he once was, he is floating a "heavy" trial balloon in the form of an 82-page essay on his world views.
His law firm will pay to mail "Return to Purpose: Forging a New American Mandate," to 1,000 opinion-makers.
Because of the good will he earned during four years in the House and six in the Senate, political observers were hesitant to scoff outright at the notion of replaying the 1988 campaign of former Gov. Michael Dukakis, the first Greek-American from Massachusetts to seek the White House.
"The people I talked to nationally felt really burned by the Dukakis campaign," said Ann Lewis, a Massachusetts campaign strategist.
She predicted Tsongas would have trouble raising money. Young, liberal entrepreneurs who supported candidates like Dukakis are suffering in the recession, she said.
But Chris Spirou, head of the Democratic Party in the first-primary state of New Hampshire, said Tsongas is popular there.
Tsongas brings to the race an unusual mix of close ties to the business community and traditional liberal credentials, including first U.S. congressman to have served in the Peace Corps and a long list of environmental legislation.
He made a name for himself in Congress as a leader of the so-called "neo-liberals," urging that liberal idealism be tempered with economic common sense. He warned Democrats were in danger of becoming a "permanent minority" by promoting social programs at the expense of the national economy.
While battling illness, Tsongas has not been idle. He sits on eight corporate boards, heads the state's higher education board, advises non-profit organizations, and works for a prestigious law firm.
The "creation of national wealth" will be the focus of his campaign. "You cannot fund social programs if there are not taxes and there are no taxes if there is no economic growth," he said.
by CNB