THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608110081
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SAN DIEGO LENGTH: 112 lines
In a highway hotel, soaked in a California haze and circled by palm trees, 106 people are slowly gathering to pour Virginia's fuel into the engine of American politics.
Their motivation, they say, is our children. And our jobs and our livelihoods. And to preserve that most basic of comforts - simply being a Virginian without fear of crime or poverty or oppression.
The Virginia delegates and alternates at this week's Republican National Convention - and their Democratic counterparts headed for Chicago in two weeks - avow essentially the same hopes and vision as the citizens they represent, according to polls of the groups.
The same, but for one very notable departure: The delegates think they can do something about it.
As Republicans begin their quadrennial feast of presidential politics Monday, and culminate it Thursday in the nomination of Bob Dole and Jack Kemp as their marquee contestants, the host city is filled with a spirit of duty and optimism. Two-thirds of Virginia's conventioneers rate the state of the nation as excellent or good, according to interviews with half the Virginia delegation conducted by The Harwood Group, a Bethesda, Md.-based research firm.
But back in Virginia, a continent away from all the bunting and bluster, the citizens see a nation - and a political process - that is much less potent.
Two-thirds of the public thinks the state of the union is fair or poor, according to a separate poll of 627 adults conducted by the The Harwood Group.
And only half think that electing the right president can make a ``big difference'' in turning it around. Most said improving the news media would have greater success.
The results come just as the unofficial kickoff to this fall's presidential and congressional campaigns approaches. And as both parties unleash their most massive public spectacles of national politics, during which each will primp and posture and lay claim to the American dream.
``I don't blame the citizenry if they get a bit jaded,'' said Robert F. McDonnell, a delegate from Virginia Beach who served on the committee that crafted the Republican platform.
``We articulate these wonderful principles, and then sometimes in the campaign these principles get lost among all the back-and-forth politics.
``But it's not the politics that are important to us, it's those principles that really matter.''
So far for Republicans, that has meant tackling little more than how the party's stance on abortion will appear in the official Republican position papers. In the wake of three days of public lashings, members think they've ended the fractious debate in time for the opening of the convention.
At the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, a broil over morals stalled the Bush campaign like a potato in the tailpipe. According to Virginians today, such debates still hold little sway.
In response to this open-ended query: ``As you think about the election, please tell me what are the two most important concerns on your mind,'' less than 5 percent of Virginia citizens said abortion. Even the delegates to the two national conventions didn't place abortion among the top issues facing the nation, though Republicans did show more zeal.
Rather, both polls revealed a set of broad, deep-rooted sentiments about life in Virginia, unrestrained by politics and individual candidates - and political parties. They are:
The economy. Almost 30 percent stressed concern about rising prices and threats of layoffs. And that spilled over into worries about their health or their children's education.
The government. Rooted mostly in their feelings about tax rates and spending for social programs or defense, nearly a quarter of the participants were frustrated that the government seems unable to articulate priorities and then make laws to address them.
Crime. Nearly as many respondents said safety - in their homes, on the streets, in schools - should rank among the nation's priorities. Terrorism also was a concern.
Schools. Always a hot topic, education troubled Virginians not only because of the quality of the state's schools, but also because of low teacher salaries and school-age drug and crime problems, too.
The system. Citizens say one of the primary ills of government and politics is the government and the politicians - doubts about honesty, integrity and leadership.
Virginians ranked leadership as the fifth most important area in the public's agenda, but the issue also was woven into nearly every other concern they had. They considered candidates' leadership qualities equally important to their positions on political issues.
And the most important quality in a leader, according to the poll: A deep understanding of what life in Virginia - not Washington - is really like.
``Our next president, does he understand how I feel carrying my lunch to work in a brown paper bag?'' asked Bill Hinkle, a factory worker from Dublin, Va., during one of several citizen forums conducted by The Virginian-Pilot.
``I don't mind working if I get a return for my effort and I can see where I'm gaining. Does our next president understand that?
``Do they understand . . . problems of buying a home, educating our kids, buying groceries, hoping to have a retirement and hoping to buy leisure time to go on vacation or something?''
The skeptical electorate is a reality not lost on Virginia's convention-goers. But with the addition of Kemp to the party's ticket creating a little election-season buzz, most said they expect the convention dialogue to shift to the trials of everyday life, and away from the quibbles of Republican Party life.
``I look at it sort of like a graduation,'' said J. Randy Forbes, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. ``It's not the event that changes a person, it's everything that the event means.
``So all the speeches that you hear, and everything you see on TV, I don't think that's going to have any enormous impact on people's lives.
``But it's the culminating point. It's the time when the party's vision gels and is offered to the voters. That's what people should be watching for.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
The Virginian-Pilot
WHAT VIRGINIANS THINK
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION 1996 by CNB