ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610280009
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
ASKED after the Civil War who was responsible for Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, Confederate Gen. George Pickett replied, "I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."
If asked after the Nov. 5 election why he failed to unseat three-term Republican Sen. John Warner, as the polls suggest could happen, Democratic challenger Mark Warner (no kin) might well reply that the incumbent had something to do with it.
True, Mark Warner's centerpiece message - that government needs to understand and engage the transition from an industrial to an information-based economy - is, ironically, hard to convey in the 30-second soundbites that dominate information-dispensing in contemporary politics. It is hard even with the more than $5 million the Democrat has contributed to his campaign from his own cellular-phone fortune.
But Mark Warner's bigger problem is John Warner.
John Warner has served competently in the Senate for 18 years, and before that as undersecretary and then secretary of the Navy. Mark Warner, while no dilettantish stranger to politics, has never held public office.
A more fitting first run for Mark Warner might have been for the U.S. House. There, too, he could work on technology policy, as well as on what he correctly perceives to be one of the country's greatest challenges: how to assure that the electronic-information revolution doesn't leave behind large segments of the population.
John Warner takes pride in his ability to bring federal spending to Virginia, from defense installations to highways. More importantly, he has earned the confidence of many Virginians for his ability to distinguish between matters of practical politics and matters of high principle. For that ability, more than any other consideration, we recommend his re-election.
To be sure, independents and Democrats who plan to use their vote as a thank-you to the senator for refusing to support the odious Oliver North, the Iran-Contra figure and 1994 GOP Senate nominee, should bear in mind that the senator is a traditional Republican whose voting record strays only occasionally from the party line. He is backing Bob Dole for president (though, wisely, reserving judgment on the Dole tax-cut proposal lest it undo the march toward a balanced budget).
Still, John Warner's refusal two years ago to support North remains a pre-eminent example of the senator's willingness to put principle above party. Things have worked out OK for the senator: He eventually got a committee chairmanship (Senate Rules) despite his apostasy, and his stand against North is apparently proving a net plus with the voters. But that was far from certain at the time.
Conversely, John Warner on policy issues often acts in the Senate as a negotiator and compromiser with those of differing viewpoints. He has maintained cordial working relationships with senators on the other side of the aisle. The senator's approach is a reminder that one task of politics is to harmonize the diverse interests and viewpoints of a sprawling and rambunctious nation.
John Warner may not be the Senate's most powerful member, nor its most impassioned orator or expert lawmaker. But in an era when some regard every difference of opinion as an apocalyptic battle between forces of light and darkness, his comprehension of the proper distinction between principle and practicalities has been good for Virginia and good for the country.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS SENATE ENDORSEMENTby CNB