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

DATE: TUESDAY, October 11, 1994                   TAG: 9410110143
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALEC KLEIN AND ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

NORTH: CLINTON 'BONEHEADED'

Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles Robb, building a campaign depicting his Republican rival as out of control and unable to distinguish the truth, seized the moment.

"That seems to me to be additional evidence of the kind of extreme position that we simply cannot tolerate," Robb said. "If he says it and he means it and he believes it, it is a very irresponsible statement, it is an extreme statement, and the potential consequences of that kind of approach to public policy are dangerous."

North, who called Clinton "boneheaded" and a "yahoo" in a speech last week, dismissed the president as commander in chief at a morning news conference in Norfolk. By late afternoon, at a Richmond news conference, North said he only meant to say that he doesn't have to take orders now because "I'm not in the military anymore."

North, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, said he didn't mean to suggest anything more about Clinton's role or the office of the presidency.

But he claimed that recent defense cuts ``tempted'' Iraqi President Saddam Hussein into sending troops toward Kuwait. And those cuts, North said, came ``in large measure thanks to Chuck Robb.''

``The hollow military that Bill Clinton has created with the help of Chuck Robb has tempted despots like Saddam Hussein to go beyond where they know they should go,'' North said.

``People like Saddam Hussein ... no longer believe that we have the will or the means to deter aggression.''

Robb fired back, suggesting North had endangered American soldiers by undermining the presidency and questioning the military's ability to repel Iraqi forces against Kuwait.

"It undermines soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, who are being placed in harm's way," Robb said.

Even as the two were exchanging blame, however, Iraq reportedly was preparing to withdraw its troops. That left North to take flak from military experts, who blasted his depiction of a hapless armed forces.

In recent weeks, North has had to clarify many controversial statements, deny he was quoted correctly, or claim he was quoted out of context.

On Monday, North did it on two fronts. He not only clarified his statement about Clinton, but denied suggesting to The Washington Post that the United States is too weak to defeat Iraq in another war.

He has also recently claimed he was misquoted in The Virginian-Pilot (for supporting public display of the Confederate flag) and The Wall Street Journal (for disparaging Robb's military record).

To control further damage, North's handlers have recently persuaded their candidate to keep media questions focused on the issue at hand.

On Monday, Robb finally disputed North's much-repeated 95 percent figure, saying a more accurate tally shows he votes with the president about 80 percent of the time.

"Mr. North wants to try to paint me in ways that may not conform to reality," Robb said. "He uses a figure that suits his purpose, but may not necessarily be accurate. Factual accuracy has not been the hallmark of his campaign."

Keywords:
POLITICS