Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 11, 1994 TAG: 9410110125
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tom Fiedler, the political editor of the Miami Herald (Oct. 4), found something else Republican candidate Oliver North and Washington D.C.'s once and probably future mayor, Marion Barry, have in common - and Democratic Sens. Charles Robb and Ted Kennedy as well: Confession. ``One wonders if the venue where absolution is sought hasn't shifted from the confessional to the political process, with voters acting in the role of priest.
``In this case, the imperfect politician comes to the voting booth seeking forgiveness in exchange for good works and a promise of future rectitude.''
Fiedler notes that both Robb and North ``have entered the public confessional, baring their sins. For Robb, they are ones of the flesh, moments of indiscretion with a beauty queen and at parties where others used drugs. For North, who shows no remorse, they are sins against the commandments, `bearing false witness'-to the Congress, no less - to cover up his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.''
Fiedler suggests that even if candidates are willing to repent of past errors, electing them may not be wise. ``Who will trust Oliver North, should he be elected? His reputation as a pathological liar precedes him into a body that still depends on a personal word to forge deals. Robb, of course, would return to the Senate knowing that his once limitless aspirations are forever gone. He will be doomed, like Kennedy, to wander the Capitol pursued by whispers.
``Confession and absolution may be good for the soul. But it remains unclear whether it's good for politics.''
Finally, Marc Cooper from, of all things, Spin Magazine (November) has uncovered a new example of North's stretching the truth. He followed the candidate to an Outdoor Sports show, to an upscale fund-raiser in the Washington suburbs and to Smith Mountain Lake. There North went fishing with Buck McNeely, the host of a TV hunting and fishing show who calls himself the King of the Rednecks.
For over an hour the two sat in a boat and chatted on videotape about the right to keep and bear arms while trying to hook a fish big enough to keep. They had no luck. And that's when the latest scandal occurred.
McNeely, wanting to portray North in a heroic outdoorsy mode, has the camera turned off, then he ``leans down, pops open a tank under his seat, and pulls out a still-wriggling striped bass, maybe four to five pounds. North grabs the gasping creature under its gills. As the camera light blinks red again, North lifts the fish high, raising that same right hand he did before Congress, flashing his gap teeth and staring right into the lens with his powder-blue peepers.''
Compiled by Keith Monroe of Landmark News Service with help from Peggy Earle.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB