Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407220050
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: E2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Said North: "Chuck Robb has traded in his military uniform for a cheerleader's outfit for the Clinton administration."
As metaphors go, this one probably was celebrated as shrewd inside the North camp. It seems vaguely reminiscent of presidential candidate Pat Buchanan's references to "cross-dressing" Democrats, in a speech before the last Republican National Convention/Culture War/Hatefest.
Clinton, it turned out, in arguably unmanly fashion backed off his promise to end the ban on gays in the armed services. Under fire from the Joint Chiefs and others, he settled on a "Don't ask, don't tell" compromise which isn't working very well, and which the courts will probably throw out soon enough anyway.
Still, North is eager to remind voters of Robb's opposition to discrimination against homosexuals, even though this position has seemed, to some, a rather courageous one for a senator from Virginia to take.
"The kinds of relationships forged in combat are intense and cannot afford this type of interruption," said North. "There are no private bedrooms on a ship," he added, a point probably known to Robb as well, since he, like North, served as a Marine officer.
The image of Robb in a cheerleader outfit is an unseemly one, to be sure, but hardly more so than the spectacle of a major-party candidate seeking votes by promoting fear of gays.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB