Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 3, 1994 TAG: 9410040062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY AND ALEC KLEIN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Friday, prominent Democratic activists - who also happen to be Vietnam combat veterans - held news conferences in Roanoke and Virginia Beach to step up the drumbeat.
In Roanoke, Richard O'Dell, the former head of the Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs and the author of two self-help books aimed at Vietnam vets, did the honors.
He said North's mental health "should be an issue for a public servant." North has said his breakdown in 1974 was a delayed reaction to combat stress, which brought on domestic difficulties. "Public service is stressful, too," O'Dell said. "We ought to know how he responds to pressure."
O'Dell said voters also had a right to know why North, a Naval Academy graduate who was "educated at taxpayer expense and pursued a military career," never commanded troops after he returned from Vietnam. "Why was an Annapolis grad not fit for command?"
O'Dell hinted that Friday's blast was just the first of many to come in the campaign's final weeks. "I haven't thrown hand grenades since '69. This is going to be fun," he said.
As for North, spokesman Mark Merritt cried foul. "This is an incredibly low blow by Chuck Robb. He knows Ollie came forward and sought marital counseling. If Chuck Robb is going to make that an issue, shame on him."
Present without leave
It's all in the timing.
North held a brief news conference last week on the property of Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach before base security could run him off.
"We got there a little late," explained Oceana spokesman Troy Snead.
A week earlier, a North aide had called Oceana for permission for the candidate to stump at the installation's front gates.
Permission denied.
"A week ago, I gave them the [U.S. Defense Department] policy: We don't do this," Snead recalled. "They said, `OK, thanks.'''
A week later, he said, "The next thing I know, they're at the back gate."
Security alerted Snead that North was talking with local television cameras on military property in front of a sign that read: "Naval Air Station Oceana Master Jet Base."
Trespassing charges were not lodged. "It happened," Snead said. "It's done."
Ready, aim ...
Three-year-old Seth Taylor of Vinton was among the 200 or so gun lovers who turned out Saturday at Buffalo Creek Sporting Club in Bedford County to hear North talk about freedom and blast clay pigeons with a double-barrel shotgun.
Little Seth toted a toy shotgun and knew how to use it.
"Tell Mr. North what we shoot at Buffalo Creek," prompted Doris Rigdon, the tot's grandmother.
"Clay pigeons and Democrats," Seth beamed.
Checking the market
Forget the polls. Let's check in on the University of Iowa's political stock market, where political junkies from around the world can plug in via the Internet to buy and sell "shares" in various political candidates, based on how much of the vote they're expected to get in November.
Trading continues to be heavy, with Robb's stock losing the most ground and North continuing to gain value. Just as in the opinion polls, North holds a slight edge in the stock market, too.
Here, in Dow Jones fashion, is what the latest odds are on the 'net, for the week running from Friday, Sept. 23, to Thursday, Sept. 29:
North, up 0.8 percent, to 43.9 percent.
Robb, down 2.1 percent, to 42.0 percent.
Coleman, up 1.1 percent, to 11.3 percent.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB