Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9401270228
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG SCHNEIDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
North's presence in the race - as a hyper-funded national icon, revered and reviled - guarantees the whole country will be looking on. It is all the more enticing that if North wins the Republican nomination over a respected but poorly financed opponent, he confronts another scandal-scarred celebrity in Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles Robb.
"This is one of the hottest races in the country," said William Schneider, national political analyst for Cable News Network. "Wherever Ollie North goes, the heat turns up. . . . He is, believe me, not a typical Virginia candidate."
The only reason North is pursuing politics here, Schneider said, is "he happens to live in Virginia because it's near Washington." It was there, of course, that the former Marine lieutenant colonel achieved fame as the central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal of the Reagan administration.
North was convicted of felony charges for his role in the arms-for-hostages scheme, but the verdicts were set aside on technicalities. North then became a folk hero to those who relished his defiance of Congress.
As he girded in the past year to make a run at the very body he believes persecuted him, North drew especially unfavorable publicity from the national media. Critical articles appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The New Yorker and even Reader's Digest.
Consequently, North approaches the Senate race with uncommon access to and heightened wariness of the media.
He primed for today's big announcement by appearing Wednesday night on CNN's "Larry King Live," a forum not usually available to a statewide politician.
On Friday, North will offer himself up to Ted Koppel on ABC's "Nightline."
But today in Virginia, the candidate won't have so much to say. At each of four stops - first Norfolk, then Richmond, Roanoke and Northern Virginia - North is to speak for less than 10 minutes before clearing out.
He has said that there would be no time for questions from the public or reporters. Campaign staff members indicated Wednesday, though, that their man might field a few.
"Let's be clear about this: We're not talking about a normal campaign. We're talking about someone who is hugely popular and whose supporters are extremely loyal," said Joe Elton, a consultant to North.
To ensure North looks popular at each announcement, the candidate took the unusual step of mailing out invitations and tickets. The tickets were free and are not required for admission, but the mailing should guarantee overwhelmingly positive turnouts.
"If they can pack these events, it'll look positively messianic. Like a revival meeting," Schneider said.
The invitations also were an opportunity to flex North's biggest muscle: fund raising.
"We must raise $2.3 million by the end of the first week of February," North wrote in a "Dear Friend" letter accompanying the tickets. He added that he already has $1.5 million toward a campaign goal of $15 million.
"I've seen nothing like $15 million before," marveled political analyst Tom Morris, president of Emory & Henry College. "That would be an all-time record in Virginia."
The state's most expensive race to date was the 1989 gubernatorial contest between Democrat Douglas Wilder and Republican Marshall Coleman; the two men spent a combined total of $16.2 million.
North can raise unprecedented cash because of his nationwide base of support. "North will have pockets so deep they'll be wrapped around his ankles by the end of this campaign," said Bob Holsworth, a political analyst at Virginia Commonwealth University.
"The downside," Holsworth said, "is that he has to be careful he doesn't give the impression that he cares more about being the spokesperson for the national conservative movement than about representing the people of Virginia."
North's Republican opponent - former Reagan administration budget director Jim Miller - already is developing that theme.
"Maybe if Mr. North wasn't so busy with balloon drops and glitz," said Jonathan Baron, Miller's spokesman, "he could answer the questions that matter most to Virginians."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB