THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411240201
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Several years back, a friend presented me with a gift for my desk - a plaque that advises, ``Be sure brain is engaged before putting mouth in gear.''
Co-workers and visitors alike have chuckled knowingly at the message. While I can't say I've heeded the caution continuously, I do believe it has spared me a hefty serving of foot-in-the-mouth leather.
So I'm convinced that it would be a good use of tax dollars or a great public service if every public official were issued one of the plaques the day of office-taking. It might be even better for some if the message were imprinted on strips they could apply to the backs of their hands, Band Aid-like, for reference before - and while - making any public utterance.
Some might counter that freedom of speech guarantees that they can say what they want, politically correct or not. For those who behave as my mother used to describe the blunt-spoken, ``What comes up comes out,'' a reminder that it also frees them to make fools of themselves.
Some statements of the blessedly concluded Senate campaign and the giddiness over the Republican whomping of Democrats brought all this to mind.
Each of us, of course, has said things that, even as the words escaped our mouth, we wish we had not even thought, much the less expressed. Still, there's a difference between Joe Citizen and Sen. So and So. We don't expect tongue-slipping idiocy from people in high places.
That explains the strong reaction to Oliver North's proclamation that the president is not his commander in chief, Vice President Al Gore's misguided labeling of North supporters as people with an extra chromosome and Sen. Jesse Helms' assessment that neither he nor the people in the armed forces believe Bill Clinton is up to the job of commanding the military. And the off-handed but nonetheless inexcusable Helms-ism that Clinton is so disliked by North Carolina's military population that he'd better bring a bodyguard if he comes to visit.
The North comment illustrated why his handlers insisted that he hold to a script. That statement and other missteps caused voters to question his judgment: If he couldn't measure the impact of statements on the campaign trail, how could he be trusted not to embarrass Virginians in the Senate?
Gore's smart-mouth comment offended scores of people - his intended target, North supporters; and people he had no idea he was disparaging, people with Down's syndrome and their relatives and friends. The syndrome is a congenital condition caused by abnormal chromosomes.
While the vice president later made it clear that he did not intend to poke fun at Down's, you can bet he won't soon be attributing ``humorous'' conditions to anyone without first making sure they're not real conditions with real consequences.
As for Jesse Helms, little surprises. The firebrand conservative makes so many extreme utterances that, if he weren't in line to be chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we could pass off his anti-Clinton statements as just more of the same.
But he is a senior Republican, in line to lead one of Congress' most prestigious panels. While Helms did say it was ``a mistake'' to imply that the president would be endangered by visiting North Carolina, he did not have the good grace to apologize.
His Republican cohorts should insist on it. Three words will do: I am sorry.
If he can't say that sincerely, then Republican leaders should evaluate his ability to be their liaison with the president, who oversees foreign policy.
In the meantime, Mr. Helms goes to the top of the list of those needing the reminder, ``Be sure brain is engaged before putting mouth in gear.'' MEMO: Comment? Call 446-2494.
by CNB