THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280570
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Compiled by staff writer Keith Monroe with assistance by staff
researcher Peggy Earle.
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
As the Virginia Senate election draws near, comment on the race increases. Oliver North's remark that Clinton was not his commander-in-chief started ripples that haven't yet subsided.
Of that episode, Wayne Woodlief in the Boston Herald (10-18) says: ``Oliver North, the convicted liar and Iran- Contra conspirator, stepped so far over the line he may not get back, by claiming America's military lacked the right stuff to repel Saddam.''
An editorial in the Philadelphia Daily News (10-14) makes a similar point.
``Ollie North is a preposterous excuse for a candidate for United States Senate. But control of the Senate may be at stake, and several prominent fatheads are dreaming of being Republican candidate for president in 1996.
``So presto! A convicted felon who lies so thoroughly that even Ronald Reagan has to correct the record may become a preposterous U.S. senator. . . .
``Ollie, no doubt stung by President Clinton's recent foreign policy successes, has told the world `he's not my commander-in-chief.'
``Not to be ungentle, Ollie, but he is too. Bill Clinton is president, which makes him your commander-in-chief. You will have to wait if you wish to salute someone more to your liking, like Raoul Cedras or Benito Mussolini.
``Until then, Ollie, grit your teeth and honor your oath and the Constitution.''
Thomas Oliphant, writing in the Boston Globe, took note of the same remarks. ``North spent early October committing a series of well-covered gaffes on the stump that reminded foe and fanatic alike that he is the same extremist who peddled weapons in Tehran, broke the law in Central America, lied about it and is unrepentant.
``They were compounded by his irresponsible blurting out of the absurd, not to mention politically dumb, claim that U.S. troops could not stop a second Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. That was in turn compounded by North's tasteless crack that President Clinton is not his commander-in-chief.''
Oliphant suggests that the third alternative, J. Marshall Coleman, is not a credible candidate and hopes John Warner will recognize the fact before it's too late. ``Warner's immense standing here can be used to either club North or nudge a non-viable Coleman out after one final try at reviving him.
``Hunkering down, though, is not a worthy option. Warner has bravely done what the rest of his party's big shots were afraid to do, but sometimes courage requires repetitive, not single, acts.''
In passing, Oliphant refers to ``Bob (Any Republican Will Do) Dole.''
Bill Thompson, writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (10-19) makes a similar point when he asks how Dan Quayle can support the U.S. Senate candidacy of Oliver North.
Quayle has admitted that North made ``some mistakes.'' But, according to Thompson, Quayle has explained that ``none of that is important. What matters, insisted the former vice president and would-be commander-in-chief, is that we can count on Ollie North to promote the conservative agenda if he is elected to the Senate.''
Thompson thinks ``conservatives and liberals alike ought to be slightly more selective about the sort of person they choose to represent their interests'' and goes on to accuse Republicans of hypocrisy in overlooking the sins of one of their own.
``If Robb had been convicted of a crime and his conviction overturned on a technicality, Quayle and others would be expressing shock and outrage at the notion of such a person offering himself as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.''
He makes a similar point about North's commander-in-chief bashing. ``Our troops, North said, would never be able to take down Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi army if another war were to break out in the Persian Gulf.
``What would Dan Quayle and other conservatives be saying about a liberal Democrat who disparaged the U.S. military? That's easy: They'd be accusing him of treason.
``Strange, isn't it? Many of the very same people who are constantly screaming about Bill Clinton's alleged inability to get on speaking terms with the truth are now beating the drum for Ollie North, a certified liar.
``Dan Quayle ought to be ashamed of himself.''
An opposing view of the commander-in-chief brouhaha was offered by Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (10-17). He took Vice President Al Gore to task for rhetorical overkill when he accused North of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
``Not the least amusing aspect of this hysterical broadside from the Vice President is how it magnifies the importance of North, who is less a menace than a melodramatist.''
Greenberg says that North ``once seemed to think of himself as a masterful secret agent who could overturn whole governments. One government he definitely brought to a standstill for a couple of years was that of the United States of America. Nicaragua's Sandinistas could not have sown more confusion and division in American ranks if they had planted Ollie North as a mole. Now he seems to think of himself as some kind of falsely accused martyr; he was totally unconvincing in that role until Al Gore came along.''
The Washington Post's Sunday Magazine followed Marion Barry and Oliver North for a week and found each to be a potent campaigner. Kent Jenkins Jr. concluded that ``both men are virtuosos of emotion, capable of somehow conveying not just what their supporters think, but how they feel.''
He describes the persona North has adopted for the race: ``Ollie North, friend of working people, may be asking for a big job in Washington, but he'll have none of the town's starchy rituals and inside-the-Beltway clubbiness. . . told.''
Jenkins places North and Barry in the line of populists who transform politics into an ``us-vs.-them warfare.'' But where Barry addresses the have-nots, ``North focuses more on the struggle between the haves and their fears. He's speaking to voters who live in relative comfort, but worry that bureaucrats or criminals or some faceless threat will take their security away. His supporters figure that when government tries to lend a helping hand, that hand ends up in their pockets.''
In following North for a week, the Post listens in as North visits a country club, motor speedway, gun club and as he preaches to a roomful of 800 Crystal City conservative Christian women. ``He affirms that faith has a place in government. He gets political, just a bit, praising William Bennett's recent ``The Book of Virtues'' and saying that `across that Potomac River is a city that would reject those virtues in the name of tolerance.' He pronounces the word `tolerance' as if he were saying `cod liver oil' or `drag queen.'''
The contrast of North's slick campaigning and Robb's ineptitude continues to attract attention. Mark Barabak noted Robb's slow start in the San Diego Union-Tribune (10-17). ``Robb's complacency now looks to be a potentially fatal blunder, having let North use the summer and early fall to define the Senate race and to redefine his image among Virginians.''
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATES U.S. SENATE RACE CAMPAIGN by CNB