European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday november 15,1987 William Safire gop presidential lineup appears promising Ivey the Field of Republican candidates looks pretty Good. At the debate conducted on Bill Buckley s firing line our six pack came across As both More experienced and comfortable in its own skin than he democratic six pack did on he same program. Conventional Wisdom and Flash poll shave in that George Bush As front runner with the most to lose won for not los ing. Maybe so but the debate four ions months before voting season begins is mow instructive in demonstrating How the six men conflict differentiate refine and memorize their messages and read to the unexpected. Pal Robertson s Mission was not to preach to his own choir but to assure other voters that he is nol a religious fanatic or Tammy Bakker s husband. He succeeded in appearing not to be a Dan Ger to the Republic but his practice Case on to went a bridgework Loo far the smile is engaging but he is not running for or congeniality. Nobody crossed swords with him in debate because All other candidates want his religious right supporters after he pulls our like the democrats Jesse Jackson the Republican preacher is treated with such respect As to make him a debate untouchable. Pete do Pom. Coached to look directly into the camera at All limes to project sincerity knew he had to Lake on the front runner to establish his identity. He stepped into a Buzz saw by challenging the vice president s vagueness or. Bush responded by calling him Pierre an aristocratic appellation Dupont apparently considers unlucky and savaged the former Delaware governor for his nutty dumb idea on supplementing social Security with iras actually a Good idea Ai iconoclastic As his plan to eliminate farm support George Bush had the Best pre pared opening and close suggesting staff professionalism and a scythe word leadership at least As frequently As Bob Dole did. Primed to engage if provoked so Aslo eliminate the dread Wirna fac Tor he tangled with Al Haig on the inf treaty and it was George s turn a the Buzz saw when recalling a crucial test within the administration in 1982, Al slopped George with i never heard a Whimp out of whim p. Meaning James j. Kilpatrick Peep is from he verb whimper and also spawned inc Slang wimp this was a sly Shol thai made up Lor Al Haig tense and ponderous Al first loosened up As he two hour debate wore an and actually began to enjoy his role which i suspect is to persuade the re publican convention to reject the Bush Dole Extension of Reagan detente. Haig s grasp of the proposed missile treaty was incisive linking an intermediate agreement with reduction of conventional and strategic weaponry. For one glorious minute he sounded like a president. Bob Dole calling As usual for leadership a Quality Ifni depth polls must put at the head of the list pursued his sideline strategy a or. Nice Guy. Dote appeared Al ease on the platform but As other debaters gained strength he wryly sought to identify wild i Host in the audience who were bored and those who May still be watching reminiscent of his unfortunate 1976 Mondale encounter. Jack Kemp seemed to be the Only one focused on the reach of he Market crash reminding viewers of his program for world currency stabilization which used to draw yawns. He scorned Dole s protestations against a Rise in the income tax Rale which Means rises in other taxes and called for a Cut in the capita gains to to stimulate investment. As usual the Buffalo congressman was the most specific of the major candidates he separated from his softer tin colleagues on Star wars deployment and invited democrats to make a Campaign Issue of space defense. His strength in debate showed in the fourth Quarter when he subtly zapped he Bush dolt leadership repetition with i Don t think leadership is calling for it or just talk ing about the most Lincoln esque moment in this joint appearance belonged to Pete Dupont who heard George Bush say that peace would be his top priority and had the presence of mind to and lib Georee is a genuine War hero and surely he has not forgotten what he was so Brave for. World War ii was not about peace it was about Freedom. So is ski about Freedom. So is joining in common cause with Freedom fighters around the c my Yak Taft Reagan should fire consummate Bungler Meese in the Wake of the Ginsburg fiasco president Reagan ought o take two useful Steps. He could begin by firing that consummate Bungler attorney general de Meese. What a mess if Meese had done his Job the presi Dent first nominee Robert Bork would now be sit Ting on the court. Meese failed miserably to compre Hend the virulent nature of the opposition. While he slumbered bark s Liberal foes went to work. The Nomi nation went Down the tubes. Me a s next Happy contribution was to insist upon the nomination of Douglas Ginsburg the president has no expertise in jurisprudence he was totally de pendent upon Meese s judgment and advice. As events proved Meese s judgment was terrible. It was nol that Ginsburg. At 41, was unforgivable Young. William o. Douglas went on the court at 40, Potter Stewart at 43, Byron White at -45. Neither was in of critical importance that Ginsburg had served for barely a year on the Conn of appeals for the District of Columbia. These re Tva Lions could have been surmounted. Ginsburg was doomed by All the other Bio graphical details hat began to pile up. In transpired Hal Ginsburg had dropped out of Cornell 10 found a computerized dating service. He married an Ami nuclear activist thai marriage ended in divorce. Subset que Nelly he married or. Hallee Morgan an obstetrician. At his suggestion his two daughters took their mothers surnames. It had nothing to do with gins Burg s judicial qualifications but in developed i hat As a resident physician at a Boston Hospital. Or. Morgan had performed two abortions and assisted in a third. In 1968 Ginsburg actively supported Robert Kennedy s candidacy for president. In 197 he became Law clerk to supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall and drafted opinions for him. He joined the faculty of Harvard Law school his students rated him poorly As a teacher. Ginsburg is a jew thai fact figured in test s calculations but he is nol actively a jew. In the 1980s he acquired nearly 1140.000 in Stock of a Toronto company that operates Cable television in Canada and in six Stales in the United states. As an assistant attorney general in i486, Ginsburg drafted a Brief for the Justice department in a Case involving Cable to. Later in the year he became a circuit judge. Since then he has written a dozen opinions for he court none of them of much importance All this dribbled out. Then came the Bombshell disclosure that in the 1460s and on a few occasions in the 1970s, Ginsburg had smoked marijuana. The last such incident occurred when he was a professor of Law. Reagan had described his nominee As a Man who believes profoundly in the Rule of across the nation arose a chorus of Haw Haws we always knew the supreme court was going to Well Ginsburg is jus right for the High court. When the country starts to snicker Al a Public figure the Public figure is done for. Meese blundered. That is the Long and the Short of it. He foisted upon the president a nominee who could be depicted As the ultimate bearded hippie of the 60s. The caricature is cruel and untrue a Many quarters Ginsburg is highly regarded but in this town perception counts for More than reality. How could Meese have done this to the president the attorney general is nol the brightest Guy who Ever served in that position. He had to survive an investigation of his personal finances by an Independent coun Sel before he could take the Job. Now he s up to i ears in the we tech affair. He s an embarrassment. It is nol the end of the world. Lyndon Johnson went through a similar Travail. In june 1968 he nominated Abe Fonas to succeed chief Justice Earl Warren. Simultaneously he nominated the Lac Lusier Homer Tho Berry to replace Fonas. The Senate refused logo along. Fortas resigned in May of l%9. Whereupon Richard Nixon tried to win confirmation with Clemens Haynsworth rejected 55-45 and g. Harrold Carat Tell rejected Sims. The Fonas Seal stayed empty until april 1970. The court survived Bui u was a bad Lime. The prisident is now trying one Mari Lime with judge Anthony Kennedy of California. Etui f and of Hie presi Dent will Pray hated Meese keeps his cd u my hands o t
