ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
ROBIN DOLE pushed the trust issue during her Roanoke visit and found a receptive audience.
Beth Wilson had never done anything like this before.
But, at age 22, the Roanoke nurse is about to cast her first ballot for president and she wanted to make sure she knows what is going on.
So Thursday, she ventured down to the Roanoke City Market, slipped onto one of the benches at the edge of the sign-waving crowd, and watched intently as the main speaker extolled the virtues that Bob Dole would bring to the presidency.
When the rally was over, and the Republican activists began to melt away, Wilson still felt a little out of place but also felt better for coming.
"I learned something for myself today," she said proudly. And what was that? "That honesty is No.1 in politics. My parents pretty much vote Democratic, but after four years looking at Clinton, I'm interested in seeing something better. I think I can trust Dole."
Chalk up one for Bob Dole - and maybe Robin Dole, too, while you're at it.
The 41-year-old daughter of the Republican presidential candidate delighted the 100-plus Republican supporters who turned out for Thursday's noontime rally.
They cheered her well-worn political stories about how at age 5 she helped her father campaign by wearing a red poodle skirt with a sign that read "I'm For My Daddy. Are You?" They cheered the stock lines about how her father won't endanger Medicare because, as a wounded veteran, "he understands people's needs."
And they cheered her assertion that for Bob Dole, "his word is his bond."
But perhaps most importantly for her father's chances in November, Robin Dole's remarks about trust and honesty fell on receptive ears beyond the ring of party activists who crowded close to hear her.
"I just think Dole is really coming from the heart," said Camille Rich of Roanoke County, who looked on from her market stall where she was peddling handmade hats and wreaths. "I'm all for Dole."
Perhaps no one was more receptive, however, than the first-time voter attending her first political rally.
Wilson has soured on President Clinton. "He's not doing anything for my generation. My generation has a hard time getting through life. I see a lot of my friends who got out of high school and are going from job to job because it's hard to go to college. I think somebody who has been there and knows what it's like to struggle would do a better job for people."
Wilson was pretty sure she was going to vote for Dole anyway, but hearing Robin Dole speak about her father helped cinch it.
While any Republican surrogate can talk about how Dole will fight crime or cut the size of government, Robin Dole offered an up-close, albeit partisan, assessment of her father's character.
She spoke of his "inner strength and determination" to overcome his war wounds, and said he would apply the same traits to cutting the deficit.
So Democrats don't think he can cut taxes 15 percent and still balance the budget? "I can tell you, he doesn't make promises lightly," his daughter said. "Bob Dole believes it's a matter of personal will. He can do it, and will do it."
She declared the election "all boils down to a matter of trust." She asked voters to consider whom they'd trust most, "a candidate who promised a tax cut and a balanced budget when he was running four years ago and broke that promise? Or a man who is known as a man who keeps his promises?"
For Robin Dole, Thursday's trip to Roanoke was a homecoming of sorts. Visiting dignitaries are always searching for some local connection, however tenuous, to talk up.
Robin Dole, a 1976 graduate of Virginia Tech, didn't have to look far: a small knot of former classmates waited at the edge of the crowd to lend what one of them called "moral support."
Dole pointed out that she has spent 35 of her 41 years in Virginia, and now lives in Alexandria - where she works full time for her father's campaign. "It's nice to travel through my home state," she said.
Thursday marked the second day of a three-day trip across the Old Dominion, a campaign itinerary that reveals something of the political landscape this fall.
Jeff Grey, the Democratic congressional candidate challenging Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, used her trip to put out a statement declaring "Robin Dole's appearance today is a sign that Republicans think Bob Dole is weak in Virginia this year."
He appears to be correct: A poll released Thursday by Virginia Commonwealth University shows Clinton leading Dole 48 percent to 41 percent in Virginia - a state that routinely has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1964.
Roanoke County GOP activist Trixie Averill, who organized the event, suggested that Republicans simply have been complacent, and predicted that Robin Dole's visit would help energize party loyalists.
"Probably a lot of people take Virginia for granted," she said.
As long as the race in Virginia remains tight, however, voters can expect to see more visits from big-name surrogates, or perhaps the candidates themselves. The Clinton campaign this week said it would be investing more resources in Virginia, although it so far hasn't scheduled any appearances.
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. NHAT MEYER/Staff Robin Dole talks with supporters ofby CNBher father after her visit Thursday on Roanoke's City Market. color.
2. Cheering Robin Dole's speech were (from left) Ashley Harrison,
14, and Rosie Welch, Ashley's grandmother, of New Castle, and Dave
and Luisa Sublett of Roanoke County. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT