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

DATE: SUNDAY, March 27, 1994                   TAG: 9403200177
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: D4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by PRESTON BRYANT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

O'NEILL'S MEMOIRS: POIGNANT, PRACTICAL

An era ended with this year's passing of Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1986.

Described often as the consummate politician, O'Neill, spent only $35 in his first political campaign - a race for Cambridge, MA, city council - and he lost by only 160 votes. But in that campaign, he learned the political lessons that would later carry him to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and its Speaker's chair and then to the U.S. House and its Speaker's chair.

Among those lessons is the one for which he is best known: "all politics is local." In short, politicians should know their constituents, stay in touch with them, and think of them whenever a vote is cast.

It isn't surprising that this old-fashioned politician chose the phrase for the title of the book published shortly before his death. It is at once a collection of stories fondly remembered from his 50 years of public service and a series of poignant lessons for today's political leaders.

In his title story, O'Neill stresses the importance of paying attention to one's voters and knowing what concerns them most. "Winston Churchill got beat because he neglected his electoral district while he was leading Great Britain in World War II. Sam Rayburn almost got beat when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives. George Bush let his great triumph in the Gulf War distract him from domestic politics. Look what it got him."

And aside from offering such practical advice, O'Neill also comes across as a great defender of the realm. "Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they decided our form of government. The President proposes and the Congress disposes, all in due course ... The voters, the press and everybody ought to realize it. The system will work if you give it a chance."

"All Politics Is Local" isn't the product of years of stolid research, only years of real experience. That's what makes it most useful, as well as fun to read.

\ Preston Bryant writes about politics from Lynchburg.