ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what they're sayiong at ...
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
There is usually no shortage of opinions at an American Legion hall. That definitely holds true at American Legion Post No. 3 on Apperson Drive in Salem, where the real passion is bingo - but politics runs a close second.
Between bites of some pre-bingo potato salad and other meeting hall fare Wednesday evening, folks had plenty to say about the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and politics in general.
Hillary Clinton's speech on family values Tuesday night was music to the ears of American Legion paymaster George Bibb, a 71-year-old World War II veteran who lives in Salem.
"She didn't hold nothin' back. I watched damn near all of it," said Bibb, a Bill Clinton fan. "My wife, she watched it, too. She was talking back to the TV, saying, `tell'em like it is, honey.'''
"I just liked what she said," added R.C. Wimmer, 70, of Salem - although he admits he tuned in only after the Atlanta Braves game was over. "Family values is what she talked about. She was very articulate, very plain spoken, and you could understand every word she said."
Not everybody was so complimentary. Millie Diorio, 76, of Roanoke, said she can't stand Hillary, Bill, or just about any other politician.
"I wouldn't watch her if they paid me," the native New Yorker said with disgust. "I don't like her, or her husband, and I don't like Dole, either. So I'm going to vote for Mickey Mouse, a write-in." She loves Mario Cuomo, however, and wishes she could vote for him.
Diorio also blasted the Rev. Jesse Jackson for "screaming like a maniac." But Clayton Biller, 75, of Roanoke, called the civil rights leader's speech "outstanding - the best speech I've ever seen him give."
Steve Oertel and his wife, Yoko, of Roanoke County, have been tuning in to both conventions rather sporadically. One thing he likes is that "both parties seem to have an agenda for the future. In past years, we've heard more of what's wrong with the other guy. This year, at least, they're both putting forth more of an agenda of what they're going to do."
Of course, not everyone is enthralled by politics. Debbie Malloch said there is no way canned speeches from politicians will ever match the smoky excitement of a crowded bingo hall.
"We've been at bingo every night," Malloch, 38, of Roanoke, said with a chuckle. "That's how interested I am."
"Isn't that the truth?" chimed in her partner, Elizabeth Peters, 72, of Roanoke County. "We really don't care which one gets it ... I watched a little of the Democratic convention last night - Hillary's speech.
"That's why I cut it off. I just don't plain care for her."
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN/Staff. George Bibb (right) yells hisby CNBaffection for Bill Clinton and the Democrats. His friend R.C.
Wimmer agrees. The two were preparing for
American Legion's bingo night Wednesday. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT