THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406290436
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE AND DAVID POOLE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: Long
Independent J. Marshall Coleman came the closest to delivering a personal salvo by saying Republican Oliver L. North should not be elected because he ``is not a good example to young people.''
{REST} ``This comes from a guy who has flip-flopped so many times he has whiplash,'' replied North, the central figure in the Iran-Contra affair.
``The bottom line of Iran-Contra is that lives were saved,'' North said. ``You supported me on that . . . and then you flip-flopped,'' said North, who was a keynote speaker at a fund-raising breakfast during Coleman's 1989 gubernatorial campaign. .
``Yes, I did flip-flop on that,'' Coleman acknowledged. ``It was a doozy.''
The exchange highlighted a freewheeling 90-minute debate on CNN's ``Larry King Live.'' For the most part, however, the three challengers went after front-running Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb for supporting President Clinton, introducing a gasoline tax and refusing to rule out the deployment of U.S. troops in Haiti.
Robb fought back, reiterating his support for Clinton and insisting that the president's deficit-reduction plan, which included spending cuts and tax increases, has helped boost the economy.
``I'm pleased to be supportive of the president,'' Robb said. ``I make no apologies for that whatsoever.''
The challengers sought to exploit Robb's close ties to the Democratic president, whose approval rating among Virginia voters has dropped steadily during the past 18 months.
``He has become a Clinton clone,'' said J. Marshall Coleman, a former Republican state attorney general who is running as an independent. ``I want to work with (Republican U.S. Sen.) John Warner to put the breaks on the Bill Clinton express.''
Republican Oliver L. North agreed that Clinton's economic program was sapping the lifeblood from the economy.
Former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, running as an independent, blasted Robb for introducing a proposed 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.
Robb defended the bill, saying such a tax would have reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil, reduced the deficit and provided an alternative to a proposed BTU tax on all forms of energy.
Wilder also criticized Robb for voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who faced charges of sexual harassment in 1991. Robb, in return, noted that Wilder refused to take a position on Thomas that same year.
Wilder chastised Robb for casting a crucial vote last year in favor of tax increases backed by Clinton to lower the deficit. ``Please don't vote to raise our taxes anymore,'' Wilder said, lauding his own record as a fiscally conservative governor from 1990 to 1994.
North, who is running with strong support from the religious right, refused to distance himself from the Rev. Jerry Falwell, a Lynchburg televangelist who is selling video cassettes that contain unsubstantiated suggestions that Clinton may have ordered the murder of Stephen Foster, a former adviser.
``I haven't read everything he's said,'' North said of Falwell.
North billed himself as the ``only person who has met a payroll'' in a campaign against ``professional politicians who have spent their entire adult lives running for office.'' Wilder, Coleman and Robb - all lawyers - took issue with his claim.
Political scientists had predicted that the candidates would be reluctant to engage in personal attacks. Polls show voters have highly negative opinions of North, Robb and Wilder. Their goal, in the early campaign, has been to try to improve their images.
None of the challengers - despite prodding from King - attacked Robb's character.
In response to a question from King, Robb said he did not have a character problem even though he has admitted to socializing in situations ``inappropriate for a married man'' while governor from 1982-86.
``I think I have acknowledged that I am not perfect. If perfection is absolutely required, then i don't think . . . we could fill up your table tonight.
``I said that in that one area I had a couple of dents in my armor, but fortunately, I have a very forgiving and understanding wife and family. I've been forgiven by the Almighty, and I thought it was time to talk about things that actually make a difference in individual voters' lives.''
Perhaps the biggest surprise was North's statement that the United States should not push Haiti to reinstate Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected president ousted by a military junta.
North, who gained international fame during the Reagan administration for funneling military aid to anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua, also refused to consider U.S. force to improve conditions in the impoverished, oppressed Caribbean nation.
Robb, the only candidate who supports keeping force as an option, turned to North and said, ``I thought that was what you were all about.''
by CNB