European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes column Walter r. Mears Bush feeling pressure despite his popularity in the taunting chatter of the dugout. They d Call it Rabbit cars a Ballpark Slang for the Way some players seem to hear every boo and jeer no matter How Long and loud the cheers of the fans. This condition now appears to be afflicting a retired Ivy league first baseman. But then. George Bush has company among presidents As Well As ballplayers. Thuv d like the applause to be unanimous. And they keep going to Bat anyhow. So hours after Bush said on the Way to the Cartagena drug Summit that he was going to change his ways and Stop holding so Many press conferences he held numbers .18 and 39. The presidential pique apparently stemmed from critical accounts of his comments at no. 37. On monday. Feb. 13. Which turned out the nest Day to Hase been misleading at Best. On wednesday he said he had t known that what he said would t survive a Das s events. On thursday irked the president said he was going to change his ways and Stop holding so mans ques Tiona Iid answer sessions because he was t going to gel burned any More. Bush has been holding presidential press conferences at a rate never approached in the Era of televised questions and answers. There s been nothing like it since the Early years of Lyndon b. Johnson s presidency and Many of his sessions were olt camera. Bush was supposed to have trouble with communications a at least by comparison with the smooth old professional. Ronald Reagan a and he Nas spent a year proving otherwise. And it s working. Thirteen months into his term. Bush has poll approval a manic is gaining the approval of 75 to 80 percent in the major Public opinion sur sess. All those news conferences have helped build that standing. But that constant exposure can be wearing even grating especially when i Tom Wicker leads to Adverse commentary about the answers some of which have indeed been misleading. Hence the rebuke which Wasny to unusual although such flare ups usually come when a president is having political trouble. Bush s political Stock is up. So there is not Likely to be a major shift in the Way he docs business communication included. It s working too Well for that. Among the specific items on which Bush comments have turned out to be misleading plan Ahe As poll ratings far beyond those of his predecessors. Reagan included. His Job pc for a the president said feb. 13 that he did no to think it was time for a conference of the four Allied Powers of world War ii on German reunification Quot not at this  the next Day. The United states the soviet Union. Britain and France agreed on such a conference a Long after the administration had started planning for what became the Malta Summit meeting with Mikhail s. Gorbachev. Bush said no such plans were in the works. He then said there would be no set Agenda for Malta and went there with 21 proposals to be discussed. A shortly alter the administration banned High level Exchange visits with China because of the military crackdown on democracy demonstrators two Bush aides were sent on a secret Mission to Beijing. They went again in december. Bush took shelter in semantics saying he had t banned contacts Only exchanges. Episodes like those have led to complaints that Bush and his aides sometimes mislead the press and therefore the Public in order to maintain secrecy on things they Aren t ready to announce. There Are other ways to handle the problem. As Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii said after acknowledging a televised misstatement on China he could and should have said no comment. Bush did a lot of no commenting As he lectured reporters aboard air Force one on the Way to Colombia. �?�1 hate to be secretive to say nothing of  he said choosing the words his critics had used. A i think we have too Many press conferences Quot he said. Quot its not Good. It s overexposure to the thing. Quot so from now on it s going to be a Little  later thai Day while House press Secretary Marlin fit water said the president had Only been kidding. Quot i think the president had it backward Quot said chief of staff John Sununu. Quot i m supposed to be the bad  editor s note a Walter r Mafi. Vice president and Colum Psi Tor the associated press has reported on Washington and National politics Tor More than 26 years Victory in Early Calif primary could be a Winner the probable shift of the California primary from june to March 3 is about a Force 6 earthquake on the electoral scale a Short of what quake watchers Call Quot the big one Quot Only because in one major respect it fails to change the political landscape. That exception is the continuing status of Iowa and new Hampshire atop of the presidential nominating scene. Those Small states arc permitted by democratic pans fial a in which the republicans acquiesce a to hold their caucuses Iowa and primary new Hamp hire before any others make their choices. California s move up the primary ladder therefore docs not diminish a it May enhance a the outsize influence these minor cd chloral Vole Stales unfortunately exert on presidential nominations. A candidate in either party who wins both obviously gels a big publicity boost into the newly significant California primary to be scheduled one week after new Hampshire votes. A candidate who wins even one of the Small states a or who. Like Gary Hart or Jimmy Carter makes in Bolh a huge gain from unknown to contender a will be belter off heading into California than he would have been without a Good showing in Iowa and new Hampshire. And the value of i Host slates contests which some think offsets their Baleful political influence is that they arc Small enough even for unknowns to raise the funds to compete there and perhaps become known. In All other respects the California shift a from a june Date when the nomination has usually been determined a would rattle the political windows and break a few. A Clear Winner in the most populous slate in the Union which in 1992. Owing to population gains will have even More electoral votes would gel a Long leg up on his or her party s presidential nomination. If he or she already had reaped the publicity benefits of a Victory in one stale or both California could sew it up. That huge state however relics heavily on television for its political campaigns. Making an effective run there demands plenty of Money and an appealing to presence a what is becoming sadly known As a Quot Media Genic Quot candidate with lots of Cash. California is Likely to Weed out any pecuniary culls still running and to put More emphasis on candidates hairdos. A possible byproduct to be deplored is that California is the Home of Hollywood whose famous names and faces sometimes have undue effect on politics and w Hose rulers arc a plentiful source of political Cash. It s possible therefore that a California primary might turn on which candidate can Trot out the most popular stars or raise the most Hollywood Money. California s governor and senators a who often figure anyway in presidential speculation a become instantly More Likely to enter and win this primary since they already will have won statewide victories and have statewide reputations. Should the Republican senator Pete Wilson be elected governor this year a he a the favorite a he could be a Strong candidate for the 1996 presidential nomination assuming George Bush runs in 1992. Similarly any Democrat who Defeated him for governor in 1990 or 1994 or won his Senate seat might be catapulted into a presidential candidacy. A Clear Winner in Thal stale would be an overwhelming favorite in the so called super tuesday primaries most of them in the South which would follow a week later. Super tuesday includes major primaries in Florida and Texas and any candidate who could carry both after winning California would be a sure thing for a party nomination. Super tuesday might become More important however. If after Iowa new Hampshire and California no established Leader had emerged in one or the other parly. Democrats say they favor the earlier California primary because a Winner there would be Likely to lock up the nomination Early and have More time to Campaign nationwide. The problem with that is that it applies to the republicans Loo. Some republicans favor the move because they believe Liberal voters in California will Force an even More Liberal nominee on the democrats a thus in the Republican View a More certain loser nationally. This May Overlook the fact that a Democrat a particularly a California Democrat a who could a in that stale in the general election would Knock a big Hole in the Victory coalitions republicans recently have been assembling. A better reason to approve the change is that it brings a major state influence to the Early primaries. Carrying Iowa or new Hampshire Means Little for a National election. But Victory in California is sure to bring the indispensable Aura of a Winner