THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200260
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Snapshots taken Friday at noon on the U.S. Senate campaign trail:
Click. There's former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder in a church pulpit speaking to the Wayland-Blue Ridge Association of Baptist Churches in Culpeper.
Click. Here's former state Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman breaking bread with potential contributors at a Bristol eatery.
Click. There's former Iran-Contra figure Oliver L. North wooing leaders of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America in Falls Church.
What's missing from the picture is incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb, who was stuck on Capitol Hill in a congressional session deadlocked over the president's crime bill and health care reform.
Robb, who had to cancel campaign appearances for a fifth consecutive day, kept himself busy in meetings with staff, constituents and lobbyists. All the while, Robb waited for logjam-breaking votes that never came and an August recess that may not happen before the month is out.
Robb said he was a virtual hostage to the Senate while his three challengers are free to roam around the state shaking hands, hustling campaign contributions and generating media coverage.
Robb, a first-term Democrat, said he had no choice but to see his Senate duties to the end. The only thing worse than limited campaigning, he said, would be to open himself to criticism that he puts politicking ahead of keeping criminals off the streets or expanding health benefits.
``Doing the best job in the office that I have now is probably the most important thing I could be doing,'' he said.
As August slips away, however, some Democratic activists around the state are mindful that they lost last year's gubernatorial race after their nominee, Mary Sue Terry, disappeared for most of the summer.
Party activists are particularly alarmed as they watch North, the controversial Republican nominee, attract mobs of autograph-seeking spectators in his travels around the state. North, a former Marine who was convicted and then cleared of three felonies for his role in the Iran-Contra affair, has held a series of events designed to portray him as an everyday guy who can hook a fish, handle a shotgun and ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
``I don't think you can give this guy a free ride all summer,'' said Mark Graham, Democratic chairman in Washington County, who said he would like Robb to be more visible. ``To some extent, North has tried to recast his image, and he has had some success. I think if you wait until October to remind people of his record, it will be too late to slow that train down.''
Earlier this week, Robb sought to reassure Democratic activists that his campaign is alive and well despite his inability to attend a large number of campaign functions. In a letter to party leaders, Robb outlined steps his campaign is taking to invigorate grass-roots efforts, and he asked for activists to hold the lines until he can break away from the Senate.
On Friday, Robb got an unexpected furlough from Capitol Hill when the Senate, which had expected to stay in session for most of the weekend, adjourned until Monday night. That will give Robb three full days on the campaign trail, his longest stint in a month.
In an interview in his office in the Russell Senate Building, Robb said he could afford to wait to start his heavy campaigning.
His confidence stemmed in part from a recent statewide poll conducted for his campaign. He declined to provide the results but said it reinforced his belief that the two independents - Wilder and Coleman - will fade into obscurity because they lack the organization and funds that political parties can provide.
``I don't see any way for them to come into contention,'' Robb said.
In this scenario, the campaign will become a conventional two-way race that offers voters a clear choice between Robb (the insider politician with ties to President Clinton) and North (the outsider who has turned Clinton into something of a demon).
But Robb conceded that there is something fundamentally unconventional about this year's race: Instead of focusing on the incumbent, as most elections do, this one is all about one of the challengers.
``It almost becomes a referendum on North,'' Robb said.
Having burst onto the Virginia political scene in 1977 as the son-in-law of President Lyndon Johnson, Robb said he was not bothered by the fact that his own star power has been eclipsed by the celebrity of North.
Robb said the fact that people line up to shake North's hand does not necessarily mean they plan to vote for the Republican.
``They'll also go down and look at the two-headed calf,'' he said. ``It's a curiosity.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Robb
KEYWORDS: SENATE RACE CANDIDATES by CNB