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

DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993                   TAG: 9302010243
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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THE PROBLEM WITH ZOE BAIRD

I THINK the real problem with the Zoe Baird nomination for attorney general was missed by editors and commentators alike.

Forget the fact that the combined salaries of Lawyer Baird and her law-professor husband total $12,000 per week. Forget the fact that 2 percent of their combined salaries could pay a babysitter an annual stipend of $11,500.

Forget that Ms. Baird's actions reflect that she felt the welfare of her only child was not worth 2 percent of the family's combined income.

What must be remembered is Ms. Baird's stated reason for violating both the immigration laws and the Social Security laws: Her lawyer told her to do it.

If Lawyer Baird's story can be believed - that she and her law-school professor husband accepted the blatantly bad advice given by this unknown practitioner of immigration law - then the public would not have been well served by any Justice Department appointments made by such a gullible person.

If Lawyer Baird's story cannot be believed, then she lied to the public and Congress. Either scenario demanded that her nomination be refused. LAWRENCE SHIELD BURNT CHIMNEY

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