European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 24, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page id columns the stars and stripes sunday january 24.1968 William Schneider Bush Dole must criticize each other with care the i98k Republican Campaign i becoming a con lest of insinuations. Vice president George Bush demanded thai sen. Robert Dole release his income tax returns for the past10 Yean. The insinuation was thai Dole whose Iowa Campaign slogan is he s one of us May not be the poor Small town boy he is trying to portray himself As. Would t it be embarrassing for Dole if he turned out a be Richer than bus i7 Dole has demanded that Bush release All data All conversations he had during the Iran Contra affair. The insinuation is Llma Bush who has been campaigning on the theme of leadership May be hiding information about his actual role in Hie Altair. Would t it be embarrassing for Bush if he turned outdo have advocated an arms for hostages Deal All along the sudden Healing up of the Campaign docs not however change any of the Basic facts about the Republican contest. Bush s support is almost entirely a function of president Reagan s support. Where Reagan is Strong. Bush is Strong. Moreover there is a Good Deal of overlap Between Bush and Dole supporters. By and Large the two front runners arc competing for inc same Voles. And the Issue differences Between them arc minimal. According to a Boston Globe Survey of new Hamp Shire republicans most Dole supporters list Bush As their second Choice for the Republican nomination and most Bush supporters name Dole As their second Choice. That is Why it is risky for either candidate to attack the other. I Iowa where Bush has been running behind Dole in polls of prospective Republican caucus goers any new Voles for Bush will most Likely come from current Dole support cars. Making insinuations about Dole is probably not Hie Best Way to get them. The reverse is Siruc in new Hamp Shire where Bush has a Strong Lead. Insulting their Candi Date is probably not the Best Way for dote to win Over those voters. The one thing thai differentiates Bush and Dole supporters is their View of Reagan. When lbs news and the new York times polled prospective Republican caucus goers in Iowa this month they found thai among those who approved of Reagan s Job performance Dole and Bush were lied. But Dole led Bush by Buller than a 2-to-l ratio among the one fourth of re publicans who disapproved of Reagan s performance. Iowa is a Good state for Dole because it is a bad state for Reagan. It has been in a severe recession for Mostof the 1980s. Conversely Bush is Strong in new Hampshire because Reagan is Strong there. New Hampshire is part of the new England Boom Economy and continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in he country David Broder this relationship helps to explain some of the poll anomalies. For instance Bush does substantially Bellcar than Dole among Young Republican Vot ers. What attracts Young republicans the answer is Reagan who has always had a Strong Appeal to younger voters. Bush is also leading Dole by 2-to-l among Southern republicans even outside Texas where Bush made his Fortune. The reason again is Reagan who has a Strong base among Southern to publicans. Because Reagan is extremely popular among republicans everywhere Iowa being a conspicuous exception the Republican nomination is essentially Bush s to lose. Only two people can take in away from him. One i Reagan who has shown no inclination to be critical of his vice president the other is Bush who has a penchant for saying foolish things but so far has nol said anything serious enough iodine red it his candidacy. Until they figure out some Way to gel rid of Bush none of the other republicans will gel anywhere. There is nol much Dole can do. He can t attack Rea Gan. Among read antics Dole s loyalty is already suspect because of Nis previous criticisms of the presi Dent. Since Dole endorsed the new arms control treaty with inc soviet Union last month there Are no major Issue differences Between him and Bush As inert were for instance in the 1976 Republican contest when Reagan challenged president Ford on foreign policy. The candidates have to differ on som Climi otherwise whal s the Point and so they Are Chat longing each other s credentials who is the stronger Leader who is the belter qualified who has been More Loyal to Reagan " As for the Iran Issue it could he very damaging to Bush in the general election if he wins the nomination. He would have to defend what most voters regard As an indefensible policy. In the contest for the Nomi nation however the answer is nol so Clear. Republicans do not appreciate it when the press and the other candidates insist on bringing the Issue up. Unless of course some startling new information Comet out proving for i nuance that Bush lied or that he gave the president bad advice. Otherwise. The Best Way to summarize the italic effect is to paraphrase something inc mexican presi Dent on said with respect to be cop nomination Iran Sci Glicr helps Bush nor hurts him. Quite the contrary. Campaign mistakes make Biden a Wiser Man this nation has been built by men and women who were strengthened by adversity and Learned from i hair mistakes. At the beginning of this presidential election year i want to spend a moment on a Man who is contrary to his own expectations not running. Sen. Joseph r. Biden jr., decl. Is a healthy reminder Hal there arc victories thai Are nol measured in votes. In the View of this longtime septic Biden has grown up tremendously in the four months since he withdrew from the presidential race amid a swirl of controversy about his exaggeration of his academic record and his alleged plagiarism. The Biden i saw in a iwo hour interview last week had no time for self pity or self justification. He was excited about the Triphy was about to begin to Western Europe and the scheduled meetings with the leaders of Britain. France. West Germany and the nato forces la was looking ahead to a Senate year in which he will share the Gavel in inc hearings on the intermediate Range nuclear forces treaty and later conduct hearings in the War Powers act and the procedures for com mitting . Forces in non nuclear conflicts. In his hard earned Wisdom. Biden readily acknowledges responsibility Lor most of inc mistakes and  that led to his Early departure from the rate saying he was  immature and naive about the demands of a presidential Campaign. Instead of re entering the race with inc Hope thai voters will forgive and forget anything As Gary Hart has done Biden Lias chosen the harder path working to gain greater respect in his present Job. He began impressively by running the judiciary committee hearings on the supreme court Nomi nations of judges Robert h. Bork and Anthony Kennedy with a skill tact and fairness that earned bipartisan Praise. In leading the Effort that Defeated Bork and Selich stage for confirmation of Kennedy Biden Rose above partisanship and narrow  docs not exaggerate when he says those hearings helped educate the nation on the qualities Hal Are Vitalin a supreme court Justice and inc proper role of the Senate in filling court vacancies. They also made it Clear 10 everyone including the supreme court that National consensus exists on the civil rights Fains the h High court certified during the past generation. After listening to him. I believe thai Biden is just As Well prepared to use the 198s foreign relation committee hearings for a similar educational purpose to re establish an essential bipartisan Center. That can sustain foreign policy on a Slaboc  bal is an ambitious goal but Biden has managed to formulaic the fundamental questions that need to be answered in considering inc inf treaty and the War Powers legislation How should the Atlantic Alliance organize us Security and assure cohesion in an Era when nuclear forces arc progressively being reduced nol increased under what circumstances and through what processes should inc United Stales commit its own forces in a limited War Biden looks at these questions now in a perspective Hal is broader than the rhetorical framework of his aborted presidential Campaign. Last year candidate Biden was forever praising the special qualities of he contemporaries who came of age in the 1960s. This year Biden is cautioning people in my generation nol to forget that we have had More than 40 years of peace in Europe and nuclear weapons have been part of  does t mean we have to cling to nukes tie said. Bui As we reduce the nuclear arsenals we taller have a plan in place that will assure the Security an peace of Europe for the next 40  the same enlarged perspective applies to his own role in politics. Biden has nol changed his View expressed in so Many of his eloquent passionate Campaign speeches that the next five years can be As important for Good or ill. As the first five year after world War i or world War  Given the changes ill the soviet Union China and the world Economy that is probably no exaggeration. But now that he is oui of the presidential race Biden is Able to Sec thai his Campaign hymns to presidential leadership bpm cd the question. To Lead you must have a sense Ofili rellion. Biden now says convincingly that he understands it is not enough to say As he often did i can move a  you can move a generation people will see h. You talk about where you want to move nol How Good you area  he now declares. Isar Menis like Hal make me believe Joe Biden really has thought through what happened to him in 1987, that he did in fact least a hell of a lot of lessons from myals fee Doris i think he Pui find him far belter presidential material at 49 or s3 or57 or 61. And meantime Delaware and the nation have a senator who in providing no Small service by taking on some of the most important challenges we face