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

DATE: MONDAY, August 8, 1994                   TAG: 9408080073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HARDY                                 LENGTH: Medium

NORTH'S SLEEK ORGANIZATION LOOKS LIKE PRESIDENTIAL STUFF

Incumbent Charles Robb has warned fellow Democrats that Oliver North's organization for the Senate race is as "sophisticated" as that found in a presidential campaign. North's campaign itself claims to have raised more money than in any nonpresidential campaign in history, thanks largely to a nationwide network of donors that accounts for 80 percent of North's treasury.

So why stop at the U.S. Senate? If North can put together a presidential- style campaign, why not actually run one? North himself professes no interest in running for president; he says he wants to serve two terms as Virginia's senator and then retire.

"I've made a commitment, and I never break a commitment to anyone, not to my country, not to the Marines, not to the freedom fighters, not to the hostage families, no matter how much trouble it gets me into," he said last week during a visit to Smith Mountain Lake.

But many political observers are increasingly convinced that North-for-Senate '94 is merely the warm-up for the main event.

"I think if North gets in the Senate, he'll run for president," says former state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Goldman, who's got a good eye for prognostication. "There's nothing stopping him. He'll just go out and run in '96. He'd be crazy not to." After all, with the federal matching funds available in presidential campaigns, North could immediately double his treasury if he ran for president, Goldman notes.

That's one of the things motivating Northern Virginia developer Dan Clemente, the chief fund-raiser for Republican-turned-independent Marshall Coleman. "He's running for president," Clemente declares about North. "That's what he's doing. And he's got to be stopped right here."

It's not just the political insiders who see a North presidential bid in the offing, either. When North made a campaign appearance last week at Indian Point Marina, one of his most enthusiastic supporters was someone who can't vote for him - yet.

Vicki Jackson, visiting from Winston-Salem, N.C., insisted North autograph her baseball cap. "I fancy big things for you," she told him.

How big?

"He could be our next president," she said. "We certainly need somebody, because this administration is lousy. I would certainly vote for him."

\ North takes his best shot

North couldn't complain about the wear-and-tear of the campaign trail this weekend, not when he got to spend Friday fishing and Saturday skeet-shooting - all taped for a nationally syndicated hunting-and-fishing show, "The Outdoorsman with Buck McNeely."

How'd McNeely wrangle such a plum interview? Connections, of course.

Earlier this year, North's accountant went on a wild boar hunt with the Missouri-based TV show host; the two started talking politics and the accountant offered to set up a North appearance. McNeely said he wanted North on the show because "there's a battle shaping up in this country for the hearts and minds of people. There is a well-financed faction which wants to do away with sport hunting." And McNeely sees North as an articulate spokesman in favor of hunting.

"I see in Oliver North a future leader of this country," McNeely says.

By future leader, does he mean president?

"That concept has been discussed in much higher positions than myself," McNeely says.

Among McNeely's previous celebrity hunting guests: Former Washington Redskin Dave Butz and rock star Ted Nugent.

By the way, the show will air in Western Virginia sometime in October on WEFC, Channel 38.

Will a live album follow?

Looking for more evidence of the celebrity status of this year's Senate race? When independent Douglas Wilder kicked off his statewide tour of the state Saturday in Richmond (a tour that will pass through the Roanoke and New River valleys this Friday), some of his staffers were hawking T-shirts more suitable for a rock concert than a political campaign:

"Doug Tour '94," they proclaimed, with the list of places Wilder will visit emblazoned on the back.

Mark your calendars

Scheduling debates in a campaign is about as tricky as, well, arranging peace in the Mideast. Or Yugoslavia. For strategic reasons, some candidates want more debates; others less.

For now, there's just one more debate scheduled for the Senate race: Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Hampden-Sydney College. This four-way match-up will be televised statewide on local stations (and nationwide, via C-Span) and will be moderated by a "nationally known figure."

Odds are, it won't be Buck McNeely.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB