Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KERRY DOUGHERTY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: HAMPDEN-SYDNEY LENGTH: Medium
And with them came the terrifying sound of hundreds of pairs of penny loafers stomping in unison.
``Ol-lie, Ol-lie, Ol-lie,'' came the chant from a field house full of white guys dressed almost identically in button-down shirts, rep ties, short haircuts and shiny leather shoes. Think of ``Animal House'' meets ``Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.''
``Give me an O, Give me an L, Give me another L ...''
The thunderous noise rocked the wooden gymnasium floor, drowning out all attempts at conversation as the crowd in the packed Kirby Field House awaited the U.S. Senate debate Tuesday night.
Moderator Judy Woodruff threatened to take time away from Oliver North during the debate if his supporters could not control themselves.
Finally, Hampden-Sydney College President Samuel V. Wilson was compelled to take to the microphone.
``The ver-ah hon-ah of this place is at stake,'' he scolded. ``I have promised four ver-ah distinguished gentlemen that we would provide a dignified forum. ... The best thing we can do is sit on our hands throughout the debate.
``I know I can count on you.'' Ver-ah sure he could.
And so the mob quieted. Until Ollie shed his suit jacket.
``North, North, North,'' they roared.
And when he rolled up his sleeves, they did it again.
In the moments before the cameras began to roll, the candidates stood pensively, perusing their notes, surveying the crowd.
North, with his aw-shucks demeanor, was trying to look humble, but a grin kept sneaking onto his face as though at heart he was one of the frat boys himself, giddy with pranks about to be played on his fellow candidates. He gave several thumbs up to his supporters as if to test their lung capacity.
The partisan crowd (could all of their daddies have gotten rich under Reagan?), powered by testosterone and affection for Ollie, managed, just barely, to keep their ardor under control.
In a rare, lighthearted moment during the debate, Sen. Charles Robb joked about the absence of Democrats at the college, saying there had been a Democrat at Hampden-Sydney four years ago, and when he left ``he took the Democratic Club with him.''
The remark drew some of the loudest cheers he received all night.
There were other memorable moments: Bursts of former Gov. Douglas Wilder's stiletto wit, former Attorney General Marshall Coleman's display of his encyclopedic knowledge of the issues (or was it just his impersonation of an encyclopedia salesman?), North's managing not to look nuts.
But most memorable of all was Robb, threatening to take food out of the mouths of widows and orphans to fix the federal deficit.
It was the unforgettable soundbite of the night, one that surely will dog the senator wherever he goes for the next eight weeks.
Pity Robb's poor spin doctors. Their patient seems bent on suicide.
``He was very aggressive,'' Robb campaign aide Peggy Wilhide said approvingly after the debate. ``He did much better than he did at The Homestead.''
Better? What a relative world is the political one. For the only way Robb could have looked worse than he did at Hot Springs in July would have been if he were wheeled onto the Hampden-Sydney stage on a gurney. He spent most of that mercifully untelevised July debate slumped in a chair, while his three opponents took turns pummeling him.
``Widows and orphans is just an expression,'' Wilhide continued, smiling gamely. ``It's not necessarily the terminology I would have picked, but it's just an expression.''
Nice to get a glimpse into how members of the Senate refer to the peasantry, isn't it?
Once the cameras clicked off, the Ollie Chorus picked up its refrain. Mobs of people swarmed onto the stage; autograph hounds elbowed reporters and television cameramen. Candidates and handlers were predictably delighted with the debate. Robb's camp kept saying he had been on the offensive. The independents claimed victory.
And North? He was heading for the door. A rally in his honor was under way outside. Or was it just another pledge-week social?
North mounted a podium and delivered his SOS (same old speech). It worked as well in the Weejun region as it does at the American Legion Hall.
``Robb was right, there aren't any Democrats at Hampden-Sydney,'' boasted Republican Club president Rick Broughton, a senior political-science major headed for law school next year. ``I don't even think there were any here four years ago.''
The Republican Party claims some hefty numbers at the pricey private men's school. Out of a student body of 950, about 150 are members of the Republican club. Even more belong to Students for North, Ollie's statewide college support group.
Think about it. That's a lot of penny loafers marching for North.
Kerry Dougherty of Landmark News Service files occasional dispatches on the offbeat side of Virginia's 1994 U.S. Senate race.
by CNB