Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 4, 1995 TAG: 9502060041
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KERRY DOUGHERTY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher addressed a joint session of the General Assembly on Friday, the first foreigner to do so since Winston Churchill spoke here in 1946.
The visitors' gallery was jammed with guests of the legislators, and there was a formal procession that included Gov. George Allen, Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, Attorney General Jim Gilmore, members of the Allen cabinet and former Gov. Gerald Baliles. And there was no talk of Allen's despised "monarchial elite," a derisive term he uses to describe the Democratic majority.
Thatcher, whose title has grown considerably since she left office in 1990, is now officially known as The Right Honorable Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, O.M., P.C., F.R.S.
Lady Thatcher for short.
The surprisingly petite woman with the upswept hair that defies both gravity and wind also is the Chancellor of the College of William and Mary. She is in Virginia to attend Charter Day celebrations at the college today.
"As Chancellor of the College of William and Mary, I already feel at least an adopted daughter of the Commonwealth of Virginia," she said. "But when I consider all that this place has given to democracy, I am moved to say that, in spirit, I am a Virginian."
Thatcher demonstrated an understanding of Virginia as well as American history, invoking the names of Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and even Lincoln Steffens. She urged Americans to be vigilant defenders of freedom and not be complacent with the end of the Cold War.
She denounced revisionist historians who would denigrate figures such as Christopher Columbus and criticize America's dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan in World War II.
Thatcher also spoke at length of Russia.
"The situation in Russia reminds us how uneven is that path from tyranny to democracy," she said. "Events in recent months have demonstrated that we should be cautious in expecting Russia's inevitable progress to freedom. They are a sharp and timely reminder that there are still a lot of Communists about and that the forces of reform are far from being in the ascendancy."
In honor of her visit, Democrats in the House of Delegate's playful "Coffin Corner" sported Union Jack pocket squares, which they ceremoniously unfurled and waved at the conclusion of Thatcher's speech. The former prime minister laughed and bowed slightly to the 25 delegates who frequently provide comic relief on the floor of the House.
But the warm bipartisan conviviality surrounding the Thatcher visit was short-lived.
No sooner had Thatcher ducked into a white Lincoln Continental for the drive to Williamsburg than a controversy surrounding her visit emerged.
The governor, who escorted Thatcher to her waiting car, was ambushed by reporters who wanted to know why the Democratic lieutenant governor had not been invited to a luncheon in the Executive Mansion honoring the former prime minister. Allen had invited the Republican attorney general and a number of other politicians, both Republicans and Democrats.
"I don't know," insisted Allen, denying he had snubbed the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial candidate for 1998. "I just don't know."
While Allen's guests dined on creamy peanut soup, sweet potato biscuits, roasted Smithfield pork tenderloin enhanced with citrus and carmelized Virginia apple and pear tart with vanilla sauce, Beyer washed down an egg salad sandwich with Diet Coke in Chicken's, the Capitol coffee shop.
"It's his house and his party; he can invite anyone he wants," Beyer said. "If I had been invited, I certainly would have gone."
The Democrat speculated that perhaps first lady Susan Allen had drawn up the guest list and just forgotten him. "When we have a party at my house, I never know who my wife is inviting," he suggested.
The lieutenant governor said he has not lunched with the governor since they began serving together a year ago.
Allen, who did not want to talk about his guest list, told reporters he and Thatcher had discussed the problems he has been having with the General Assembly and his proposed tax cuts.
Although Thatcher made no public pronouncement on the governor's plan, Allen said she supported it privately.
```They want to take as much money as they can from the taxpayers - money they could use to buy food and clothes for their children,''' Allen quoted Thatcher as saying.
"She's one of the people I most admire," he added.
by CNB