THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190021
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
As I read letters in support of Oliver North's candidacy for the U.S. Senate, three thoughts keep coming back to me:
1. They all say exactly what I want to hear. If this stuff is to be believed, North will champion the fight against intrusive, expensive, inefficient, counterproductive government and bring about an environment in which the productive men and women of this nation will be permitted to enrich themselves and those around them, freed of the sociobureaucratic shackles of this Clintonista regime. It's, well, almost too good to be true.
2. None of this stuff tells how he's going to bring all this about. Nobody in Congress has the slightest reason to trust him; many frankly don't like him. With whom will he collaborate? How effective can he be?
3. What grounds do we have for trusting him? This character first came to our attention by lying to Congress. Is there some convincing reason we should believe he has stopped lying?
For the benefit of everyone whose moms forgot to tell them this when they were 10 years old: ``If someone offers you something that seems too good to be true, it probably is.''
DAVID C. LONEY
Norfolk, Aug. 15, 1994 by CNB