Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 19, 1992 TAG: 9203190295
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No candidate was free from the barbs of CNN's "Capital Gang" on Wednesday night. And as they chatted in Virginia Tech's Burruss Hall, they took jabs at each other as well.
They were crowd pleasers, all right. Al Hunt, who's been on The Wall Street Journal staff since 1965, even opened with a University of Virginia joke. Then he turned to politics:
"It's a strange race," he said. "Most ambitious political men are obsessed with sex at age 20 and with becoming president at age 40. . . . Bill Clinton got it backward."
He found a positive side to the House banking scandal: "We could cure the Japanese trade deficiency if we get all of the congressmen to buy Toyotas with their checks."
But mostly, Hunt mediated the discussion between Robert Novak, co-host of CNN's "Evans and Novak," and Jack Germond, part of "The McLaughlin Group" on PBS and a syndicated columnist.
Clinton, Germond said, is a tough candidate who seems to have the Democratic nomination in his grasp.
"But if another shoe were to drop . . .," Germond said. The news media have been hearing about this other shoe - another Clinton scandal - for a couple of weeks now, but with no facts, figures or details.
Were something else to rock Clinton's campaign, the analysts agreed it would be some outsider - Richard Gephardt or Lloyd Bentsen, perhaps - who would be pulled in at the last minute to take the nomination.
Surely not Paul Tsongas, who "looks and sounds like Elmer Fudd," Novak said. And not Jerry Brown, he said, "who has been running for president for the last 16 years."
The analysts agreed that Clinton's biggest threat now seems to come from Brown, who is calling Clinton on every move, making note of his "scandal a day."
"Brown can do more damage than Tsongas," Germond said.
Still, with accusations of affairs and draft dodging, Clinton has a firm grip on the lead right now.
Why? "He has an adoring political press that follows him," Novak said. "He's handsome, he's charming, he's sharp, and he's done all of the things they wish they could have done."
They talked, too, of Pat Buchanan, who has sat onstage beside them for years.
"No one questions his sincerity," Germond said. "He's serious about those issues."
Buchanan is not a threat to President Bush's regaining the nomination, but he has the president spooked, Germond said.
And it is Buchanan who seems to be setting the agenda in the campaign, Hunt added.
"If Buchanan comes out against animal rights tomorrow," he said, "Millie's in deep trouble."
Conversation ranged from the chances of a Libertarian candidate to whether Hillary Clinton's willingness to speak up on issues would hamper her husband's chances (the consensus was it probably would).
Here's what the analysts had to say about the president:
"George Bush is vulnerable in two ways," Germond said. He's vulnerable on economic issues and he's vulnerable because he's lost the aura of strength he enjoyed during the Persian Gulf War. Clinton, meanwhile, is "imposing and meaner than a junkyard dog."
On the anti-incumbency movement:
"I see a minority of 50 House members being defeated," Novak said. "The check kiting is a metaphor for something else: People don't think the government is working right. People are seeing that . . . suddenly, my congressman is a sleazebag."
On Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder:
"I was amazed that Doug Wilder ever started campaigning," Germond said. "That wasn't meant to be an insult; it was meant to be analysis."
On some of Clinton's exploits:
"You have to level with the people," Hunt said.
On Tsongas' future in politics:
"His future is behind him," Novak said.
And finally, after making jabs at Vice President Dan Quayle:
"Just because he appeals to two major constituency groups - C students and draft avoiders - doesn't mean he hasn't been good," Novak said. "I think he's been a good vice president. He's taken positions and he's been a staunch conservative."
by CNB