THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411020469
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DWAYNE YANCEY AND DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
A fired-up Sen. Charles S. Robb roused a Roanoke rally Tuesday by calling Oliver North ``a document-shredding, drug-condoning, Noriega-coddling, Swiss banking, law-breaking, letter-faking, self-serving snake oil salesman who can't tell the difference between the truth and a lie.''
An enthusiastic crowd of 250 cheering Democrats squeezed into Robb headquarters to hear the usually tongue-tied incumbent deliver a rip-roaring speech that had supporters shouting out, ``Give 'em hell.''
``I think it's the best speech he's ever given,'' said Salem lawyer Bob Hunt. ``If he keeps giving that speech, that'll put him over the top.''
With a week to go before the election, Robb appears to have set his sights on attacking North on two fronts, blistering the Republican as a flat-out liar and attempting to depict him as an extremist who would endanger Social Security: ``In Ollie's World . . . Social Security is made voluntary and throws over half our seniors into poverty.''
But what delighted Democrats was Robb's bare-knuckled characterization of North as a liar.
``Just ask Nancy Reagan. Just ask President Reagan. Just ask Norman Schwarzkopf. Just ask Colin Powell. Just ask anyone who worked with him,'' Robb roared.
North spokesman Mark Merritt later replied: ``I can describe Chuck Robb in two words - desperate, liberal. Those are far more hurtful words than anything he can ever say about Ollie North.''
In his speech, Robb also defended his record and that of the Clinton administration. ``Oliver North talks about my record on taxes, so let's talk about my record on taxes,'' Robb said.
Yes, Robb said, he voted for Clinton's deficit-reduction package that, as Republicans like to point out, is the largest tax increase in history.
But, Robb said, ``only 1.3 percent of the wealthiest Virginians got a tax increase.'' He said the bill provided a ``tax break for 330,000 Virginia families and 30,000 small businesses'' - plus trimmed the deficit.
The Roanoke rally was the final stop in a four-city tour of the state.
In Norfolk, he advised Virginians to think twice before voting for North as a way to express their frustration with Washington.
``They could have a six-year hangover from one short, brief, exhilarating moment,'' Robb told about 20 supporters gathered for a lunch at Adante Restaurant.
House of Delegates Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr. argued that North is out of touch with Hampton Roads because the Republican has said he would not make gaining a seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee a top priority at a time when post-Cold War military downsizing threatens the region's economy.
``Is that not Ollie's World?'' Moss said. ``That is not the real world. . . senator.''
Both Robb and Republican Sen. John W. Warner are members of the Armed Services Committee. North told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Oct. 15 that his two top committee choices would be Commerce and Agriculture. Armed Services would be a backup option, he was quoted as saying.
Merritt said Tuesday that North would like to be ``on all the committees equally.'' He declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, the latest public opinion poll shows that Robb has pulled slightly ahead of North, but the race is still a statistical dead-heat.
A Roanoke College survey showed Robb with nearly 39 percent, North with 35 percent, independent J. Marshall Coleman with nearly 14 percent and nearly 12 percent undecided.
The survey of 580 randomly selected voters, conducted between Oct. 27-30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Charles S. Robb talks Tuesday with Thelma Poole, a retired
teacher, after he spoke at a senior citizens center in Richmond.
Poole told the senator that violence in schools could be reduced by
establishing school prayer.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES
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