European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday August 27, 1991 the stars and stripes commentary Ernest b. Furgurson events preventing Bush Democrat showdown Jim Imber there Are dozens of Good questions to be asked about president Bush a handling of relations with the government of soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev. As far As Domestic politics is concerned none of them amounts to a bowl 01 borscht. Democrats glad to see the Long Long Celebration of the Short persian Gulf War finally wind Down were just getting their act together for 1992 when the abortive coup in Moscow stole the headlines. They might never find a candidate but Domestic issues were wiling their Way. Abortion education unemployment compensation All seemed More pressing than the fading image of a president starring in High noon against Saddam Hussein. Since those who backed Bush a use of Force turned out to be politically right no Democrat was bothering to Challenge him on foreign affairs. Their most telling criticism in that Field was that the president spent too much time abroad and too Little at Home. Now that the Moscow coup also has turned out right questions about the Bush administrations soviet policy beforehand May be classed politically with forgotten objections to the presidents military decision in the Gulf. But the Happy result in Moscow Means Bush still is going to have to Deal with Gorbachev russian president Boris Yeltsin or someone of their ilk so questions Are As valid As Ever. Should the president have staked so much on his personal relationship with Gorbachev if the coup had succeeded that would have made relations with a new regime More than Touchy. And now that the elected government is securely in Power again Bush and the rest of the West must restrain their impulse to hug him just because he is so much More attractive than the bullies of the Kab and the red army. There is still room for debate about How much Aid to extend to the Gorbachev government and How much democratization to demand in return. Is it realistic to expect conversion of a decrepit 70-year-old-controlled Economy to free Market practice almost overnight Gary Hart for example urges that we give first priority to putting bread on the soviet table rather than insisting on extensive change first. Other democrats ask whether the United states helped create the climate for the coup attempt by holding Back serious help while frustrated soviet citizens stood in line for common consumer goods. They make the valid Point that the Reagan Bush and the Taavela baby ministration refused most favored nation Trade status to the soviet Union for five years while giving it to a much More repressive regime in China. For two Days while the gang of eight a coup seemed to be a fait a comply the opposition was puzzling Over whether to criticize Bush a performance during the emergency. Most democrats joined him in speaking up strongly against the coup. But if it had succeeded they were ready to make soviet relations instead of the persian Gulf their measure of How Well he handles foreign affairs. They have seen his sensitivity to questions contrasting his reaction to the Tiana men Square massacre in Beijing and to the confrontation in Moscow. Even one Republican operative admitted that while it is important to manage crises it is More important to avoid them. Yet crises have been the Bedrock of Bush a continuing popularity. A Wall Street journal Abc poll last month found 72 percent of americans feeling a a great deals of Confidence in his handling of National Security and foreign policy while Only 23 percent Felt the same Way about a a democratic  on the Day of the coup a Gallup can Survey showed 66 percent thought the presidents response was a about rights a and his performance got better As it went along. The president made sure to quote Yeltsin the other Day about How useful the . Stand had been in reversing the coup. One head shaking  another has admitted that Bush again looks like a president of the  because he is so adamantly for elected Heads of government except perhaps in Chinche cannot discreetly claim the title. But instant communication today makes All the world a stage and most Days wherever the president is becomes Center stage. Any Democrat quibbling around Iowa or new Hampshire a or indeed the Capitol a might As Well be in outermost Siberia along with the gang of eight. C the Baltimore Sun Cynthia Tucker democrats must take Challenge or share blame Paul Tsongas is a former . Senator from Massachusetts. He is the Only Democrat so far with the gumption to declare his candidacy for president. Why is he standing alone its not As though president Bush is doing a bang up Job. He has no Domestic Agenda. His plans for education and the environment Are at Best spurious at worst pernicious. His racial politics Divide the nation and fuel old hatreds. The Economy is in a shambles. The recession that the president tossed off casually in his january state of the Union address a a we will get this recession behind us and return to growth soon a is a deeply rooted economic slump nowhere near Over. Major companies Are still laying off employees. A banking crisis threatens to follow hard on the heels of the savings and loan debacle. Huge insurance companies Teeter on the Brink of collapse. Airlines seemingly bite the dust daily. Working americans cannot afford health care. America is in Steep and dramatic economic decline. The democrats Haven to noticed the policies that led to the nations economic woes Are All Republican policies the fruit of the Reagan revolution. That revolution abdicated Federal responsibility for protecting citizens against consumer fraud environmental disaster and Hurt business excess. Those policies allowed corporate greed to flourish in the 1980s, sucking wealth out of the economic system and putting nothing Back. President Reagan ignored the mentally ill the homeless and the cities and even skimped on education. He raised taxes on the Middle class note social Security while cutting taxes for the Rich. Worse yet he went on the biggest military spending Binge of any . Peacetime Era. As a result the United states which the worlds largest creditor nation was when Reagan came to Power is now the worlds biggest debtor nation. As vice president Bush endorsed those policies. He has since copied Many of them. The democrats can to make a Campaign out of that Tsongas thinks lie can. He believes that americans can be convinced that the biggest threat to National Security lies not in the military prowess of Small nations like Iraq but rather in the financial strength of nations like Japan and Germany. He says he can weave a Campaign from the republicans Many and obvious Domestic disasters. Why done to More prominent democrats see those same opportunities there is a Host of issues that demand attention from the party traditionally associated with Ordinary working folks education health care the environment infrastructure and most especially the Economy. Where Are the democrats now that the legacy of the Reagan revolution is sending the Economy on a steady downward spiral sowing the seeds of racial discord and threatening individuals most Basic rights where Are the democrats when children who Are literally the nations future Are the poorest segment of society the democrats can to make a decent Campaign commercial out of this mess so far the democratic party is behaving As if it is bereft of ideas ashamed of its heritage and afraid of its future. If the party of the Broad Middle class does not Rise to the current Challenge it will have to share the blame for americans demise. C Cox news service