Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 12, 1994 TAG: 9403120085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE and MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
That's what U.S. Sen. Charles Robb did Thursday night when he mailed a five-page letter to Democratic activists across the state defending his character but acknowledging behavior that was "not appropriate for a married man."
The letter - which was whittled down from the 70-plus page document Robb originally wrote - was a gamble, nonetheless. On the pro side for Robb, his admission of personal mistakes may deflect attention from character problems when he launches his bid on Sunday for a second Senate term. He can hope that reporters will accept his statement that the letter is his last word on the subject and that the controversy will fade by the November election.
On the other hand, the letter reopens old wounds. It gave The Washington Post an opening to print memos written by Robb and several former advisers offering new allegations about the senator's social life at Virginia Beach from 1982-1986, when he was governor. The Post had interviewed Robb about the memos more than a week ago but did not publish a story until the letter was released.
And Robb's admission may subject him to further derision. Gov. George Allen wasted little time fulfilling that prediction Friday. "I think Virginia is for lovers but maybe not that type," Allen cracked after a news conference on state tourism.
Political insiders offered varied opinions on whether Robb made the right choice. Ultimately, many said, no one may know for sure until after the election.
"April beats the hell out of October," said Kenneth Geroe, a Virginia Beach Democratic activist, arguing that it's best to air controversial matters early.
But Bailey, a Republican, says his usual advice to politicians may not have applied in this situation.
"Why would you defend yourself enormously when at the moment no one is attacking you?" he asked. "Why would you bring this all up again? . . . It invites a whole bunch of reporters to go out and open new investigations.
"He has not put this behind him. It's a fact of his life and of his political life."
Robb's political advisers insist that the letter, composed by the senator over three months, was in keeping with his longstanding pledge to come clean on controversies concerning his personal life.
"It was an unburdening of the heart," said Peggy Wilhide, Robb's press secretary.
In the letter, Robb addressed reports of marital infidelity by quoting his wife, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, as saying, " `The person you've hurt the most and the only one you've really wronged is me. And I've forgiven you.' "
He denied having been aware of any drug use at parties he attended as governor. He blamed overzealous aides for a long-running feud with former Gov. Douglas Wilder and for leaking to reporters an illegally taped telephone conversation between Wilder and a political supporter.
While many details of those episodes have been reported over the past five years, the Post added new information in the wake of the release of the letter. They quoted from a memo prepared by Robb staffers in 1990 following an internal investigation into reports of the senator's activities.
"Others have alleged that Robb was sexually involved with at least half a dozen women approximately 20 to 25 years his junior at random times from 1982 to 1986," said the memo, written by former press secretary Steven Johnson. Johnson was one of three aides who Robb later dismissed for their roles in the leaking of the Wilder tape.
The Post also quoted from a 12-page 1987 memo from Robb to executives of the Hunton & Williams law firm, where he worked after leaving the governor's office.
"I'd have to acknowledge that I have a weakness for the fairer sex - and I hope I never get over it," Robb wrote. "But I've always drawn the line on certain conduct." His wife is "the only woman I've loved, or slept with, or had coital relations with in the 20 years we've been married."
Robb, who insisted in Thursday's letter that "I live by a personal code . . . in which truth is an absolute," has repeatedly insisted that Lynda Robb is the only woman he has "loved either emotionally or physically" since their marriage.
"If you take a lawyerly approach to the use of words . . . he's not telling you he didn't allow someone to perform sexual sodomy," said one Democrat close to Robb.
In the Dec. 5, 1990, memo, Johnson wrote that interviews with people familiar with Robb's activities at the beach indicate "Robb did engage in sexual relations, or oral sex, with at least half a dozen women."
While many Democrats seemed satisfied with Robb's explanation, one who was not was Paul Goldman, a former party chairman and close adviser to Wilder.
"He hasn't told the truth about the tapes," Goldman said. "He hasn't told the truth about his relationship with women. . . . He was governor and they were attracted to his power. He has no sense of moral culpability.
"He has no integrity. He's completely untrustworthy. He's continuing his pattern of deception and blaming everyone else for his problems. . . . The only thing that's as bad as his character, as much as he lies, is amazingly enough he's running against someone who is even worse."
Goldman was referring to Oliver North, the front-runner for the GOP nomination and a principal in the Iran-Contra scandal.
The Robb camp reacted angrily to Goldman, a longtime thorn in their side. "Regrettably, Paul has been grinding that old hatchet for nine years now," said campaign spokesman Bert Rohrer. "It's a shame he just can't bury it. It's kind of sad."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB