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

DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994                   TAG: 9410170081
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROBB THANKS NORTH FOR THE LIFT

``He will be so mad,'' Roser said. ``I begged him to come, but he said, `I'm not going to a craft show.' Now I can tell him that, `You missed a chance to meet Ollie North.'''

North's unannounced stroll through the indoor craft show was a big hit, with folks snapping up bumper stickers and waiting in line for an autograph from the man who, having defied Congress, now wants to serve in the U.S. Senate.

It was exactly the kind of event North's handlers had envisioned when they instituted a new strategy last week to shield North from making statements that later need elaboration or outright correction.

In recent weeks, North expressed support for a group advocating the display of the Confederate flag over public buildings, said he never lied to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal and suggested that defense cuts have left the United States incapable of repelling a possible Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb said Saturday that North's misstatements have breathed new life into his own re-election hopes.

``The campaign is going very well,'' he told more than 100 supporters at Uncle Louie's restaurant on Little Creek Road. ``But I cannot claim all the credit for it. Ollie has given me a number of boosts the last few days.''

Robb spent more than an hour fielding questions about issues, but he declined to discuss his after-hours socializing during his term as governor from 1982-86. The fallout from Robb's admitted marital infidelity and attendance at parties where cocaine was used have put Robb - once the state's most popular politician - in a fight for his political life.

North has enjoyed several gaffe-free days, thanks in large measure to efforts limiting opportunities for reporters to ask him questions or observe him in unscripted moments.

But reporters who tailed his entourage asked if he knew his wife had traveled to Philadelphia in 1986 to meet with arms dealers interested in setting up a $200,000 ``insurance policy'' for the North children. North said, ``I would suggest that what you do is to go back and look at the record, because it is extensive. Thank you.''

Keywords:
POLITICS