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

DATE: MONDAY, September 12, 1994                   TAG: 9409130013
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NORTH LOSES JACKET, NOT LUNCH

Think Oliver North was trying to win on style points when he took off his jacket for last Tuesday's debate at Hampden-Sydney?

Not hardly. The Republican Senate candidate may not have been afraid of losing the debate, but he was fearful of losing something else.

Campaign insiders say North fell victim to some "bad campaign food" the day before. "He got sick the night before," confirms spokesman Dan McLagan. "Very sick." North recovered during the day Tuesday, but still wasn't feeling his old self when the debate began.

The debate hall was steaming, so North shucked his jacket in an effort to cool down - and not get queasy again. It's one thing for him to say that President Clinton's agenda makes him sick; it would have been another to demonstrate that point on national television.

Dole in Salem today for North

So much for North, the outsider.

North is bringing in some mighty big Republican insiders to boost his candidacy.

Today, he'll fly around the state - including a 2:30 p.m. stop at the Salem Civic Center - with Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, who initially toyed with endorsing independent Marshall Coleman.

Former Defense Secretary (and 1996 presidential aspirant) Dick Cheney will appear for North in Hampton Roads on Sept. 27. And on Sept. 30, another presidential wannabe, former Vice President Dan Quayle, will be in Lynchburg. That's the same day, by the way, Vice President Al Gore will be in Charlottesville and Roanoke on behalf of Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles Robb.

The battle of the pulpits

In their battle for the votes of black Virginians, Robb and Douglas Wilder are devoting a lot of time to seeing who can produce the most endorsements by black community leaders.

Last week, most of the action was in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas. After Rep. Robert Scott, D-Newport News, endorsed Robb, Wilder countered with a delegation of Richmond ministers. Robb responded with an endorsement by prominent Richmond civil rights lawyer Oliver Hill (a Roanoke native).

Today, the battleground moves to Roanoke. Week before last, nine black ministers (led by the Rev. Charles Green, the Roanoke NAACP leader) endorsed Robb. The Wilder campaign counters that today with a news conference where it will show off endorsements by what it calls a more prominent group of black ministers and community leaders who are backing Wilder. Among them: The Rev. Edward Burton of Sweet Union Baptist Church, host for the event.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB