THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9411030399
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A15 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Maurice Weaver of London's Daily Telegraph (Oct. 20) is blunt. ``Mr. North is labeled a near-traitorous liar for the 1987 testimony he gave to Congress. Mr. Robb is vilified as a tax-and-spend Lefty and as a party-going . . . philanderer for his admitted marital indiscretions. Mr. Coleman, a former state attorney general, is derided as a bothersome nonentity. The airwaves are blue, the platforms blood-red and it is Mr. North, self-cast as patriot, martyr and political outsider, who is increasingly favored to win.''
Weaver decides the race is a cliffhanger ``in which a single ill-considered word or thoughtless act could cost victory, and Mr. North is doing his best to dodge the media with its awkward questions.'' He also notes that North, after nine months of campaigning, ``is looking as boyish and relaxed as ever.'' Whereas, Robb ``has the tired aura of a loser `just going through the motions.' ''
Kate Muir of The Times of London (Oct. 22) delivers another British take on the race with no punches pulled.
She describes the ``Olliemobile'' entering Charlottesville where locals ``are called to the town square to meet one of the more impressive political shysters of our time.'' Muir decides that ``it has quite slipped folks' minds that in the long-gone days of the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal, North admitted lying to Congress, expropriated money, shredded documents and helped Terry Waite become a hostage. . . . Besides, the Nuremberg defense still plays down South.''
Muir says Virginians don't see North's flaws but rather ``a patriot, a family man. . . . That image of soldierly dignity, all crisply creased uniform and Vietnam combat ribbons, has remained while the facts have withered away. North has become their prodigal son.''
Muir is also bemused by the embrace of North by a party whose members once dismissed him as ``a fanatic,'' ``a nut'' and ``a man of dubious ethics.'' ``North suddenly became a party mascot, the man to be seen with.''
In fact, ``these days, the arms-for-hostages scandal is but a stone that has rolled away. Lt. Col. North, a born-again Christian, has engineered his own resurrection, and his followers have come to worship.''
She is less than flattering about North's constituency. ``His visit certainly brings curious specimens out of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As North ignores a couple of hecklers, a shout comes from the crowd: `Go Ollie! McCarthy didn't go far enough!' ''
Muir also dissects North's positions on the issues. ``Put simply, Oliver North is running on the Happy Families platform. His manifesto is modest: anti-government, anti-tax, anti-red tape and pro-family. He is Ross Perot without the statistics, coupled with the moral righteousness of evangelist Pat Robertson.''
Muir offers the observation that to North's supporters ```family' is code for all that they hold dear apart from guns: the crusade against Social Security, unmarried mothers, abortion, sex education, political correctness and homosexuality.''
But she does not take North too seriously as a political thinker. ``In the end it does not matter why North became famous. What matters is fame itself. Once an American becomes a celebrity, he is a celebrity for life. Some suggest Virginians will vote for North for amusement's sake, out of a desire to liven up politics, in the way that a town in California recently elected a dog as mayor.''
But Muir thinks there is slightly more to it than that. ``With the Oprahfication of America, the daily fare of juicy confession and public redemption on all the chat shows, it should come as no surprise that 50 percent of Virginians consider North to be `a genuine American hero.' '' MEMO: Compiled by staff writer Keith Monroe with assistance from staff
researcher Peggy Earle.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE VIRGINIA by CNB