European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 commentary the stars and stripes thursday june 4, 1992david esp Clinton unwinding Down that Long Long Trail Tiik More i3iii Clinton wins the further behind he seems to get. Instead of being Able to celebrate his Gutsy and successful run to the democratic presidential nomination the Arkansas governor trails both president Bush and billionaire Ross Perot in the polls six months before election Day. A a there a plenty of time for political fortunes to turn said George Stephano Poulos a Clinton adviser. If anyone knows that Clinton should. He began the year the prohibitive favorite for the nomination stumbled in Early primaries when his honesty and patriotism were questioned then recovered smartly. And its not Only longtime Clinton insiders who hold to that View. A the Perot phenomenon makes people comfortable with voting against George Bush a said Leslie Dach a former aide to 1988 democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. A pc Linton a real Challenge today is to organize for the fall a both in terms of Campaign Structure and message to the voters Dach said Clinton is doing that. He is seeking out state party officials planning a series of speeches selecting a running mate and perhaps airing television commercials. He also intends to emphasize his Humble beginnings because Campaign research indicates voters believe he comes from a privileged background. But How to outflank Perot As the preferred alternative to Bush ii Clinton a primary Campaign is any guide he will swing into the attack on Lirot sooner or later a just As he did earlier in the year when democratic rivals Paul Tsongas and Jerry Brown sought to Block his path to the nomination. They like Perot portrayed themselves As outsiders determined to shake up the established political system. Clinton would almost certainly prefer Bush to throw the first Stone at Perot but major primary schedule for m Quot Clinton new Mamkus Jitu Kew Casio me major Primar it schedule for r0� Perot Law King wll Donahue potau Winfrey he has kicked around a few attack lines if that does no to happen. Among the possibilities depicting the Texas billionaire As an authoritarian who poses a threat to the nations democratic system pointing out that Perot made his Fortune through government contracts and suggesting that he amassed his wealth in the 1980s, a decade when Many americans Felt left out of the economic Boom. But attacking Perot is a Gamble because it could alienate his supporters a who arc distrustful of politicians to begin with a and make it impossible to win their votes should Perot fade in the fall. A a we re going to have to fight cynicism. And we re going to have to fight for people who arc justifiably angry but not sure now to Manifest their anger a Clinton said last week. Translation Clinton needs to make sure that the people who have rejected Bush or the entire political system look to him rather than to Perot. That a no Small task for a Man who has spent his lifetime in politics and who is viewed by Many voters with scepticism because of questions Over his honesty his draft record in Vietnam and his no inhaling episode with marijuana. C the associated press Ellen Goodman group Hopes dialogue refuses abortion War the reports from the front lines of the abortion wars Are As dispiriting As Ever. Hostilities have Only escalated and opponents have now become enemies. In Utah two armies fought Over the Republican parly platform using High Decibel ammunition. In Washington groups for and against abortion rights Are waiting in separate trenches for the supreme court decision in the Pennsylvania Case. In Massachusetts operation Rescue is planning its next clinic assault and the National organization for women is training its guards. And in dozens of political races candidates Are recruiting fresh new divisions under the opposing banners of a a choices and  but in a Vine covered building behind a wooden Fence in suburban Boston a Small group of family therapists is trying to establish a demilitarized zone. The a Public conversations project they have created is on a leading Edge of the nascent movement struggling to defuse the civil wars. Their project grew out of a question that director Laura Chasin asked herself anti her colleagues in 1990 Quot do we As family therapists have skills that can be helpfully applied a out there a the Public arguments in american political life resembled the a stuck conversations of troubled families Batch member was locked into a hostile fixed position. But of All these arguments the one about abortion seemed the most tragically Frozen. A we talked about the unintended consequences of this struggle a Chasin said. A butakes Many of the most compassionate and principled people a Many of them women a and induces them to take their Energy passion Talent Money and direct it against each  As therapists they had Long been in the a pattern busting stuck Ness busting  but they wondered could they do it in the real world Over the past year and a half they invited groups of people to join a different sort of conversation. Some of their names were provided by planned parenthood and Massachusetts citizens for life All identified themselves As a pro choices or a pro life a under the ground rules people were not allowed to try to persuade each other. Instead Over three hours and under the guidance of a project member they talked and listened. They explored stereotypes of each other acknowledged ambivalence and watched what emerged from this process. Some questions indeed led Down hopeless dead ends. When does life begin is the fetus a person who should decide but of the 50 people who went through the process Only two were totally unable to find new ways of talking. A the main thing that happened was the Way these people perceived each other Chasin said. A they came in thinking a of my god in a going to be meeting with  they went out thinking a these people Are compassionate principled and share concerns that i  a indeed at moments in the videotaped conversations it is impossible to know the opponents without a Label. Which Side said for example a How do we get people who Are in the business of making Laws to Start thinking about a world in which there would be no need for abortion a a these people were in such pitched Battles a said another project member a they did no to have a clue what they had in  but gradually they uncovered a shared concern about the Well being of children and mothers. Both sides agreed that using abortion As a form of birth control was wrong. They agreed As Well about the importance of preventing unintended pregnancy and about the need for sex education. Chasin and her colleagues Harbor no grand illusions that this process will forge a great Compromise on abortion a take your placards and go Home. The project itself is dedicated to dialogue not policy making. But once a pattern has been a busted a once people Are no longer defined As demons they Hope that the Public like the family May be Able to come up with some solutions. Indeed there Are hints of this Success in other parts of this movement. In Missouri Wisconsin Texas and California people on both sides of the abortion Issue Are meeting and talking a carefully. Some have jointly endorsed legislation for sex education or funding for poor families. There is at least one computer network linking 30 previously divided thinkers. And recently the Public conversations project took its Model to a Church group and a women a group in Mississippi. Such signs look Small against the backdrop of the Trench warfare. But they Are real testimony to the longing to figure a Way out of this endless polarizing civil strife. Abortion is an argument painted mostly in Black and White when most people see shades of Gray. But Here the Public conversations project is trying to release fresh ways of thinking to stake out new ground. The color scheme they have chosen is in chasing sword  a much More peaceful Hue. C the Boston Globe