European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday wednesday january1/2, 1991 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7in 1990, political talk bit backs lips promises set verbal minefields by Robin tone the new York times Washington a it was a year when president Bush moved from a no new taxes to a tax Revenue increases to a strange request to a read my  almost every candidate running wanted to be an outsider and was urging voters to a take your government backs and put a new blood  thinking in the Capitol. Almost everybody was learning a new language to talk about abortion. A everybody in every state was saying t Trust the women of a Blanks to make that decision a a a said Bob Strupi a democratic consultant. For better or for worse 1990s Epli tics will Echo in its sound ites the 10 or 15-second snippets of speech endlessly repeated in television commercials or on  until they come to Caps Lize an Issue a politician a mood. Sound bites have become the language of politics rarely approaching the grandeur of earlier eras of political oratory but emblematic of the times when a Media consultant is More Likely to look for inspiration from Clint Eastwood movies than from the Bible. V Many of the sound bites of 1990 were characterized by a rough Edge of anger and anxiety in a striking change from the expansive language of the Reagan glory Days. A a a a a a it was a year of a this will not be another Vietnam rather than a a american a Back a of a you needed that jobs but a it had to go to a minority rather than a morning in  v it was a year when thie language of politics got grim and careful. A. A a  a / v a. And for those who needed further proof 1990 also demonstrated How unforgiving the modern Campaign can be toward the unscripted sound bite. Much of Domestic politics this year revolved around a Long tortuous climb Down from around bite that was emblematic of the 1980s a read my lips no new  two years after Bush delivered the phrase at the Republican National convention in new Orleans he found himself trapped and tormented by a line that would not die. _ a reporters used it comedians used it a every place you turned around in the culture it was identified with a George Bush a said Kathleen Hall Jamieson Dean of the Annenberg school for communication at the University of Pennsylvania and a  in political speech. \. A v. The Whitehouse tried to Back away from it quietly. When the. Budget negotiations stalled in june and congressional democrats insisted that Bush take the i first step on taxes the White House issued a carefully worded news release saying that a tax Revenue increases were among the measures that would be necessary5. But every Democrat in Washington offered a full textual analysis of the new Whitemouse position and How it broke with the past Bush then reached for the legacy of another Republican president who changed his mind in a changing world a like Abraham Lincoln said a ill think  a a by october no doubt weary of the digs of a thousand headline writers television nexus directors and late night comedy writers Bush hoisted himself on his own sound bite. When reporters dressed the jogging president for is latest position on taxes Bush declared a read my  Bush did have his resonant moments in 1990. On aug. 5, As he returned from Camp David and paused to talk to reporters on the White House Lawn he aset the tone for much of what was to come m the struggle with Iran. A this will not stand a he said. A this wih not stand this aggression against  another line that echoed at years end was delivered amid growing Public anxiety As the United states sent additional troops to the persian Gulf. A this will not be another Vietnam a the president said. A this will not be a protracted drawn out  such statements become extraordinarily important As a nation confronts the possibility of War Jamieson said. A ultimately what War rhetoric docs is set the criteria by which you assess Success or failure a she said. A it Bush stands on that he better make sure that its a Short warm which we get what we went  on the Campaign Trail candidates struggled to find the perfect sound bite to exploit the Public mood which was particularly sour in 1990. Many campaigns sought to Appeal to the voters cynicism and anger toward Washington. In Indiana a Senate challenger asked a Are you fed up with what so happening in Washington a in Oregon his counterpart asserted a the Rich and powerful Are robbing us Blind and the politicians in Washington Are not doing a thing to Stop  president Bush. A read my hips there were Oiler variations on the theme irom coast to coast. The race Issue seemed to be bubbling anew in the political dialogue with a recessionary twist. A sound bite from 199 that will surely Echo came in a television commercial Tor sen Jesse Helms in cd a lit the tinal week of his re election Campaign against to incr Max or 1 Larvey Gantt of Chai Lotte a Democrat w to is Black. A you needed that Job and you were the Best qualified a the announcer intoned a but it had to go to a minority because of a racial  at the same time the political struggle Oxer abortion was reopened by the supreme Couit and politicians a Here seeking the least dangerous path through a verbal minefield. This meant for Manv candidates language that emphasized a a choices and a trusting the  it also meant for Many candidates beginning ones position by noting a i am personally opposed to abortion a said Doug Bailey a Republican consultant. There was Otten a a a but after that. A any candidate who did Stait that xxiv the pro the people would say a of Here it comes a a a Bailey said. The political year had its unscripted moments with the spontaneous lines that can become the stuff of consultants nightmares. Clayton Williams the Republican candidate for the governorship of , uttered death by a thousand sound bites. The Folksy oilman spent much of the Spring trying to get Over a remark he made comparing bad weather to rape a if its inevitable a he told reporters Quot relax and enjoy  he capped the fall Campaign with a sound bite that was widely and devastate ugly replayed. Asked in a televised interview about a critical ballot measure that affected gubernatorial appointments Williams said a proposition one is which excuse Mcra it was the Only proposition on the ballot. Williams was a political Novice but even veterans can falter. Sen. Claiborne  Rhode Island the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee was asked during the Campaign what he Hud done recently for Rhode Island. �?o1  give you a specific answer a the 7i-year-Oid demo Era tic lawmaker replied. A my Quot memory a not As Good As it should  Pell was returned to office by a Large margin. A in the end though the sound bites that echoed said something about the times anxious uneasy and often very angry. There was remarkably Little whimsy in the Lan Guage and remarkably Little humor i he buoyant cadences of the 1980s were gone. Clayton Williams a. A relax and enjoy it. % to Pioneer recess i on Coughlan Dies Washington up the head of the american Stock Exchange and the chairman of the congressional joint economic committee agreed sunday the. Country is in a recession and said they expect the Federal Reserve Board to further Cut interest rates to help bail it out. A interviewed on cd so a face the nation Quot the american Exchange chairman James Jones and rep. Lee h. Hamilton d-ind., also said unemployment could Rise to about 7 percent. Hamilton declared that a monetary policy is clearly the main Factor in getting us out of the  but he added a we in Congress and the president hav e to do our Side of it too and we have to keep a credible budget deficit reduction Effort in . Setting interest rates is largely a function of the Federal Reserve. In recent weeks the fed moved to Cut the discount rate the amount it charges Banks to borrow Money by half a percentage Point to 6.5 percent. A a a Hamilton said Congress should avoid the temptation to Cut taxes or boost spending saying a we have an budget agreement in place now. Lets stay with  i Jones agreed with Hamilton and said that fed chairman Alan Greenspan a is less worried about inflation now than he was and More worried about  Jones said the duration of the recession depends in Large part on when the persian Gulf crisis is resolved. A he guessed it would be the third or fourth Quarter of 1991 before any recon cry. A Jones forecast a continued slowdown n in the Stock Market until a some certainty is established in the Middle East and the economic situation is resolved. _. On no cd so meet the press a Senate minority Leader Bob Dole r.-kan., said that 1991 might be the time to seek a Cut in the social Security payroll tax along with an increase in what wealthier retirees Are charged for part of their medicare coverage. He also suggested a Cut in the capital gains tax. Asked whether he would Lead the Way on the tax question Dole said he do be Happy to lend my Effort if a package could be put  san Francisco a a time broadcaster in the san Francisco Bay area and one of the founders of armed forces radio died saturday of a heart attack his family said  Coughlan who kept his age secret died at Marin general Hospital in Greenbrae after collapsing at his Home. He worked for More than 30 years at go to serving As sales manager talk show Host news Anchor general manager and most re cantly As a special assignment a reporter. Coughlan Egan his broadcasting career in 194/ at radio station Hub in Watsonville while stationed at nearby Camp Mcquaide. He served in the Pacific during world War ii and helped found armed forces radio