Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9412240012
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES F. ROBERTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There are three traits that should be used to evaluate the candidates:
Character is the first and most important.
Character involves basic honesty, trustworthiness and a commitment to a set of beliefs that will govern both personal and official behavior, and provide standards for the conduct of the public's business.
Soundness of judgment and wisdom should be the second measure.
As Abraham Lincoln warned, "Do not mistake knowledge for wisdom." Wisdom requires the ability to properly apply knowledge in solving real-world problems.
Finally, effective public service requires leadership.
Leadership results from the proper blending of the other two traits that depend on judgment and character.
I have attempted to apply these measures to the present senatorial candidates in Virginia. The results were not totally unexpected.
Little needs to be said about how Oliver North fared on the test. He failed. The great mystery here is how a person with a public profile that he himself constructed has been able to obtain millions of dollars in contributions from citizens throughout the country to support his candidacy.
The Robb case is a bit more difficult to evaluate. Robb has held three of the highest elective offices in Virginia: lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. senator. Yet in spite of these continuing opportunities to make notable contributions, his record seems bland at best and quite negative in some instances. His large, unjustified spending increases while governor created a chain of fiscal problems that continued all the way to the administration of Doug Wilder, when they required Draconian cuts in education and other budget items.
There is nothing in Robb's public profile to demonstrate character. The very opposite is the case. Both his personal and official conduct became the subject of extensive grand jury and other investigations, the results of which created more questions than were answered. There is little in his public service record to suggest strong character, good judgment or commitment to those principles that should govern conduct. Ross Perot put it best when commenting on Bill Clinton: "If his wife can't trust him, how can voters have any confidence in his honesty?"
Marshall Coleman emerges from among the three with the best score. He has put in the public record a statement of his principles and beliefs. His record while in public life shows a consistent commitment to those principles. His performance while attorney general is regarded as distinctly above average and far superior to those who have succeeded him in that office.
Coleman's personal profile is that of a well-informed, intelligent and decent person who should command the respect of colleagues in the Senate and be a credit to the people of Virginia. For these reasons, it seems to me that Coleman is the only one of the three candidates who offers all that voters should ask for in choosing someone to represent them as a respected member of the U.S. Senate.
If voters ever cease to follow the dictates of their conscience in selecting their leaders and representatives, they will deny themselves the opportunity to have the benefits of the best government that can be provided by a democratic system.
Charles F. Roberts of Blacksburg is a retired research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB