European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 8, 1991 the stars Quot and stripes Page 13 commentary James Resto heart trouble May give Bush needed caution a according to Marlin Fitzwater the White House press Secretary president Bush thinks the reaction to his irregular heartbeat a is a lot of hoopla about  but that a not what the rest of Washington thinks. It gets a heart flutter of its own every time a presidents heart skips a beat. It is not worried about Bush a physical condition but it is thinking psychologically in a different Way. It is reassured by his doctors optimistic medical reports but not by the suggestions that he will soon be Back on his regular routine. For that routine is a frenzy of physical activity even during vacation and his closest friends worry that his problem is not a a shortness of breath but a shortness of rest a and patience. His daily engagement Calendar tells us More about his heart problem than his medical charts do. He is physically in motion and mentally impulsive. Even Camp David is not a Refuge but an Arena for sports and argument. Bush saw More lawmakers held More news conferences flew More Miles and saw More world leaders in his first eight months in office than Ronald Reagan did William Safire in eight years. He is on the to news More than Dan rather. He promised a a gentler american but went to War in Panama to get rid of Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega and did no to know what to do with him when he caught him. And he went to War again to. Get rid of Saddam Hussein who was he said a worse that Hitler a an obvious impossibility. One result of this activity was that he stood higher in the popularity polls at this Point in his first term than any president has since Franklin d. Roosevelt a so much so that most observers have assumed his re election. But this heart problem has revived the question of succession particularly the doubts about his Choice of Dan Quayle As vice president. He has even awakened the democrats from their Long sleep a an astonishing development. Unlike Reagan a mistakes Bush a catch up with him. Noriega was on the Cia payroll when Bush headed that Agency. Bush was involved in rearming Iraq before the Middle East War and has refused to publish the record of those arms deals or accept responsibility for encouraging Saddam to believe that Washington did not intervene in Arab disputes. A and it was on his Assurance that Quayle was chosen As the most qualified vice presidential nominee available. All these  been virtually forgotten until this sudden warning about the presidents health. Just a few Days ago chief of staff John Sununu was saying there was no doubt but that of Ayle would be on the Bush ticket in 1992, but now other Republican leaders Are not so sure. Not that Quayle has been a Surprise. He has performed precisely As expected. He has been discreet obedient modest and devoid of presidential pretensions a or evidence of ability to govern in a Way he has been badly treated a chucked into a position for which he was not prepared a mainly for Bush a personal and political convenience. Accordingly recent events have restored two of the most pressing but neglected problems in Washington How our political leaders Are chosen and How decisions of great importance Are made. Bush was probably better prepared for the presidency than any other nominee since the second world  Ca reer in politics diplomacy business and intelligence was Ideal training but he has acted As his own Secretary of state without much attention to the worlds Best foreign service. He has concentrated on foreign policy using cold War tactics and has left the mounting Domestic problems of debt education race and health primarily to Sununu a political mind. Meanwhile he talks of a new world order in a new american Century which can he directed Only by the Power of the United states. But simpler and More urgent questions now come to the fore. As Dwight d. Eisenhower said when he got out of Korea and refused to plunge deeper into Vietnam nothing is More unpredictable than War and More Uncertain than human life. Ike benefited by his heart attack in 1955. It made him More cautious than he was in the Early Days of his first term a More suspicious of what he called the military Industrial Complex a and More eager to assure himself of the support of Congress and the allies before risking War on his own. It could be that this minor Accident will do the same for George Bush. C Tho new York time Sage old concern private morality Public ethics when Thomas Jefferson a political Hatchet Man James Monroe was told to derail the career of Alexander Hamilton he leaked to a sycophantic editor some embarrassing letters. They seemed to show Hamilton abusing the Public Trust by secretly making payoffs a a a a Hamilton responded to this jeffersonian hardball by making Public the full sordid Story he had been blackmailed years before by the husband of a woman with whom he had a torrid affair. The father of federalism chose to accept the opprobrium of his attempted cover up of an adultery scandal rather than let if be thought he had abused the Public Trust at the Treasury. His morals in private life were questionable but his ethics in Public life were impeccable. The citizens of the new nation agreed with those priorities and Hamin tones career was saved. The grand tradition marches on. Americans Are being presented again with a Brouhaha about private morality and a concern with Public ethics. Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia stands accused by Abc news of having attended parties at which a former used car Salesman claims cocaine was used a charge already heard and shrugged Olif Yby Virginia vote Sand a new and titillating a for having taken at least a Massage in 1984 from a former miss Virginia. The woman gaining celebrity by claiming seven years afterwards to have had a gubernatorial affair is the sort who carries a concealed tape recorder into meetings then makes her eavesdropping on a Dopey Robb aide available for audio enhancement and National dissemination. Will this outdated gossip gain Abc news respect no. Will it ruin Robby a chances for a run for the White House i think not. Even if he did absent himself from Fidelity with miss Virgini voters will see that As a private moral matter. / a but what of the character Issue would we want As our Leader one who has sinned while professing to be pure its not the morality but the hypocrisy say the Morali Zers. That a like a headline Hunting prosecutor who cannot prove a crime seeking an indictment for conspiracy to commit one. A character issues is a euphemism used by those not honest enough to admit to peephole interest. Its a hypocritical charge of hypocrisy a powdering of the Bluenose. Such Shock ability has destroyed candidacies in the recent past. In that regard it was Good to see Gary Hart testifying this week to House armed services about the Success of Maneule ability in desert storm an area of military Reform in which he was a Leader for a decade. The Media s justification of their stakeout of his bed room was Akin to a rapists discredited defense a the asked for it.�?�. The morally upright John Sununu a sin on the other hand is the hubris that leads to ethical blindness. Some Brilliant but shallow minds thrust into positions of Power assume they can do no wrong in the Pursuit of right. Whips wed by great Power and Little Money they feel like impoverished billionaires and order up luxuries that others use Money to buy. So he paid Only $1,200 for trips that Cost taxpayers a half million dollars plus Crew salaries on the arrogant notion that the president would be helpless if denied a secure voice contacts with his indispensable chief of staff winging to the ski slopes. If the missiles arc coming in no secure line is needed to shout a retaliate a that pompous excuse for a Plush ride is a thumb in the Eye to every taxpayer a and in the Case of an ostentatious Cost Cutter genuine hypocrisy. Led by . News Friday night release the Media did not expose merely a the appearance of  As president Bush extenuate it but a real ethical transgression. Using National Security As a cover for personal luxury is not wrong because it appears wrong but because it is wrong. Secretly padding the paycheck with Perks May net be unlawful but it is surely unethical. Our palindromic pal is not being punished for being this administrations abominable no Man but for stirring the Public a unerring sense of  supporters later tried to get even with Jefferson by exhuming stories of an adulterous past. Old Tom survived that blast at immorality Indus private affairs. Then As now its unethical conduct in Public affairs that troubles the  the new York times a the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the . Government