Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 11, 1994 TAG: 9410110138
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER NOTE: above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Republican challenger Oliver North had the story line to himself over the summer as Robb spent most of his time in the Senate. Robb now admits that he miscalculated North's might as a celebrity and a fund-raising superpower.
But North's momentum has slowed in the past week. A string of public misstatements led his handlers to dampen North's rhetoric and even to keep him off the road to stave off fatigue. The lull made an opening for Robb to hit the airwaves Monday with an ad attacking North's ability to tell the truth.
The escalation suits independent candidate Marshall Coleman. Despite vanishing poll numbers, he continues to wait in the wings for North and Robb to destroy each other.
"Unfortunately, politics has become real rough-and-tumble these days," said state Democratic Chairman Mark Warner. Robb's "personality is not to attack, but I think he's very much engaged right now and ready to do what has to be done."
In the 13 years since his last competitive race, Robb settled into the notion that politics is a matter of dry discourse and policy study.
Of course, it was easy for Robb to stay above the fray when no one could lay a glove on him.
Robb led Virginia Democrats out of the political wilderness by winning the lieutenant governor's race in 1977 and capturing the governor's mansion four years later. He was the first of three consecutive Democratic chief executives. Democrats sported "I Live for Chuck Robb" buttons.
Seven years ago, Robb was so powerful that when word got out that he might like to serve in the U.S. Senate, GOP incumbent Paul Trible retired rather than face him.
Robb was the handsome ex-Marine with the mystique of having married the daughter of President Lyndon Johnson. Many predicted he was destined for the White House.
The aura is gone, washed away by Robb's tortured explanations of his marital infidelities during his term as governor and his feud with fellow Democrat Douglas Wilder.
The recent troubles have taken their toll on Robb. His youthful vigor is gone, leaving hunched shoulders and sunken cheeks. He looks all of his 55 years.
The life has drained from his popularity as well, leaving Robb as one of the most unpopular sitting senators in the country, according to Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. of Columbia, Md.
Robb's saving grace may be that North is one of the most polarizing figures anywhere. North gained fame in 1987 with a defiant appearance before a congressional panel investigating the Iran-Contra scandal.
North, a master campaigner, preaches a take-no-prisoners brand of conservatism that casts everyone as for him or against him, leaving little middle ground.
Throughout the summer, the Robb campaign headquarters in Northern Virginia dismissed warnings from downstate Democrats who saw North's growing strength. Robb and his advisers followed inside-the-Washington-Beltway thinking that North could not expand his appeal beyond evangelical Christians and like-minded conservatives.
Democrats now say Robb can control the script for the final weeks of the campaign if he can find a voice to rally supporters behind his candidacy - or at least to articulate the fears that many see in North.
There are signs of a new aggressiveness in Robb. He coined the phrase "Ollie's World" to describe what he claims is North's inability to distinguish between fact and fantasy. Robb's new TV spot - entitled "Lies" - lists several former associates who have accused North of being untruthful.
"I don't want to do anything to demean the office," Robb said. "It wouldn't be worth the fight to get there. That should not be misconstrued as a lack of fight in the dog."
North's campaign dismisses Robb's harsher tone as the last-ditch efforts of a desperate man. Asked if he'll begin negative ads in response, North said, "We'll see. I'm confident the voters of Virginia will see plenty of ads in the next [few] days."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB