THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994 TAG: 9406060035
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
DATELINE: 940606 LENGTH: Medium
``Virginians are sick and tired of a Congress run by backslapping good old boys and a White House governed by a bunch of 20-something kids with an earring and an ax to grind,'' he told GOP delegates who nominated him in Richmond for the U.S. Senate.
{REST} In that scornful bit about earring-wearing youths, Mr. North sounded like the Alabama demagogue. The phrase ``sick and tired'' riddled Wallace's diatribes. He, too, ``sent messages.'' And there's a touch of Wallace's machismo in the next sentence: ``I've got news for them. They will never see Ollie North crawling up the steps of the Capitol to kiss their big fat . . . rings!''
Mr. North's pause a beat before ``rings'' made the audience complicitous in vulgarity. Can you imagine Jefferson, whom Mr. North invokes, so cheapening public discourse?
Mr. North doesn't seem to realize that if elected he must work with those he is lambasting en masse.
When time comes to save an aircraft carrier in the budget, he must seek colleagues' votes because it is vital to defense as well as to survival of Newport News Shipbuilding, which builds, and Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which berths the ship.
In return, a Floridian will beg his help to save the Everglades from industrial waste. How will he reply?
With thousands of jobs at stake, GOP Sen. John Warner and Democrat Sen. Charles Robb join with Reps. Norman Sisisky, Owen Pickett, Herb Bateman and Robert Scott. That is the democratic process. Party lines vanish in those times.
With thousands of jobs at stake, Mr. North, if elected, must be willing to kiss boots as well as rings.
Despite talk about reforming the process, he is not above seeing it twisted to save his hide. Delegates had to pay a fee of $45. Talk about perks in Congress! Harry Byrd dared levy only $1.50 for a poll tax.
And, worse in Virginians' eyes, the GOP directed delegates to take a loyalty oath. That was in contravention of the right of the secret ballot. It intervened between the voter and his or her conscience. The secret ballot safeguards the voter's right at any stage to change his or her mind.
Mr. North inveighs against politicians but he is adept at separating dollars from wallets, blending new and old techniques, using snake oil on issues.
He came by the press room after his nomination, which was nice. But he wouldn't answer questions, which was not. In his speech, he cited his saving of hostages, an episode he has declined to discuss. Having broached it, might he not now open his role in Iran-Contra to questions? Voters could better assay his judgment if they knew what went through the shredder.
Mr. North has proposed Lincoln-Douglas type debates, a wise idea. But it should not be construed as replacing the news conference, an integral part of the election.
He is as engaging as any politician on the national scene. How easy it would be to succumb to his charm if he would only agree to fill us in on his character. An admission or two would not be amiss.
by CNB