ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 1, 1995 TAG: 9512010081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: Associated Press
It's 40 lashes with a wet noodle for Ann Landers for referring to the pope as a ``Polack.''
``I should not have used a slang term for Polish,'' the advice columnist said in a statement Thursday. ``It was poor judgment, and I apologize.''
Landers drew howls of protest from Polish-Americans after The New Yorker this week published a profile of her in which she was asked for her impressions of Pope John Paul II, whom she has met.
``Looks like an angel. He has the face of an angel,'' she said.
``His eyes are sky blue, and his cheeks are pink and adorable-looking, and he has a sweet sense of humor. Of course, he's a Polack,'' she laughingly told the interviewer. ``They're very anti-woman.'
Edward Moskal, president of the Polish American Congress, which represents about 1 million people, said, ``She should have shut up after she made the nice remark about the pope.''
In apologizing, she used one of her trademark phrases: ``It's time to get out the wet noodle and give myself 40 lashes.''
The article described Landers' Jewish upbringing in Sioux City, Iowa, and her rise to become the columnist a poll once found to be the most influential woman in the United States.
Landers' real name is Eppie Lederer. Hercolumn is published in about 1,200 newspapers, including the Roanoke Times.
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: File/1990. Ann Landers/``It was poor judgment''by CNB