European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday june 20, 1994 j commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 ing and not Only in Virginia Tom Baxter tie first instinct looking from a distance at the Keystone kops race for the Senate in Virginia May be to thank your Lucky stars you done to live there. The rest of the country does no to have to choose among Chuck Robb Douglas Wilder Oliver North and Marshall Coleman but in this race we could be seeing the forerunner of what elections elsewhere will be like by the end of the decade. The old Dominion race officially became a free for All when the two politicians who carried their respective party a standards in the 1989 governors race announced they were bolting to make Independent bids. Coleman a former Republican jumped into the race with support from the United we stand crowd. Wilder announced maximizing the embarrassment to incumbent Robb who was winning a lacklustre Low turnout democratic primary by an unimpressive margin. It looks bad enough for the future of the two party system that neither Wilder nor Coleman appears to have lost any election advantage by taking a walk. Even worse this Campaign will spotlight Robb and North As the party loyalists which will Lead some insiders to contemplate whether its Worth it to be inside anymore. It required a special set of circumstances for Virginia to get to this Point but the rest of the country Isnit far behind. In Iowa rep. Fred Grandy has written supporters to say he May run for governor As an Independent after losing the Republican primary to incumbent Terry Branstad. Or take Alabama. The two party system will hold there this year but Only it seems through Force of habit. Incumbent gov. Jim Folsom had to hold off a primary Challenge from Paul Hubbert whose Alabama educational association practically amounts to a party in itself. 1 former gov. Fob James a Democrat turned Republican might have run As an Samson revly step \ Independent a and May wish he had after his gop Runoff Battle with state sen. Ann Bedsole. With Only a Little imagination and perhaps a Little More animosity among the candidates this could have been a four Way Virginia style race. Beneath the colourful personality clashes that have dominated the news about the Virginia race there is a contest Between two theories about How to organize a political party a and both Are losing. Republicans have a tightly wound Federal style system. All Power begins at the local level and Only those whose supporters show up at neighbourhood caucuses move ahead there Are no exceptions. Republicans like to say this protects them from the excesses of the democrats but it also makes it easier for Small intensely committed groups like North a supporters to gain the upper hand. At the National and state Levels democrats have opted for a looser More inclusive organization which Aims to keep As Many groups As possible under the party tent. This approach also has its advantages but its weaknesses were also on display this week when Wilder voted in the democratic primary and then announced that he plans to run against the democratic nominee. One important Issue at play in the Virginia race is which of these approaches is Best suited for an Era in which parly loyalties Are fraying a or whether both will prove inadequate for elections in which the vote is split three four or even More ways. That a the new look of american politics and Virginia is leading the Way c cok nows Stivic parenting lot More complicated than old Days still being in the fathers Day mood let me Tell you what fathers really want. We want our intrinsic authority Back. This essential prerogative of fatherhood has been stolen from us by children who want us to be their friends and by those children smothers who insist on shared parental ism. Your father is certainly not your enemy but neither is he Only your Friend. You choose your friends your father if you re Lucky you have had from the Start and you Are obligated to look up to him no matter How Low he May sink. He should be Friendly a ready to help willing to ask for help Able to share a Confidence a but he has an unspoken claim on his offspring a respect that no Friend has. If your father taught you to Call him by his first name he was a Pater too families. Whether you choose the formal a father a the informal a a dad or the Breezy a pops a your use of the family title is your unmistakable signal of filial deference. On the other hand he gets to Call you whatever he likes Kiddo. What about the new parental Equality Mother now often brings Home the Bacon or at least her fair share of it Why  she expect father to share child nurturing duties along with other household tasks that a for parents to work out Between themselves but As far As most kids Are concerned the sources of parental Power Are not the same. Moth empower is rooted in love father Power in authority. The ultimate maternal Sanction is a Pihis would break your momus  the ultimate paternal guilt in planter is a dad will be disappointed in  perhaps nurturing is not Unnur Tural for a Man but its something women Are usually better at. Father is better at appearing to Lay Down the Law especially when a tacit understanding exists that Mother is the senior partner in decisions ranging from bedtime to budgeting for kids clothes to advice on premarital sex. Mothers cops and welfare reformers know that the Lack of a a father figure in so Many broken Homes or single Mother families is one big cause of misdirected youth. That a Why its Good for All of us to exhort nubile males to drop the sex As sport attitude and take up their responsibilities As fathers. What psychological incentive can we give Young fathers to do their duty with All its trials a the nights awake the worries about not spending Quality time adolescent rebellion the Money for College a fatherhood is Tough enough we done to have to strip away its unique mystique of lifelong respect. Beyond the pleasures of watching their seed miraculously develop fathers who make the family Effort need recognition As a a head of a household. Frequent challenges to that authority Are affirmations not denials of its existence occasional obedience also helps. The expectation of paternal authority a freely if grudgingly Given a goes with the family territory. Lest we forget amid advertising s Din father s William Safire Day is a sadly empty time for Many families. Though my father died before i was old enough to know him 1 could rely on a Strong Mother and older Brothers for familial guidance because my own son and daughter know my experience with fatherhood is strictly from the lop Down they Cut me some sentimental Slack on intrinsic authority. That a because they grasp the Way the family a profound allegiance of affection differs from All other forms of control. Dio Chrysostom an ancient moral preceptor related a conversation Between Philip of Macedon and his Young son Alexander who was being instructed by Aristotle and was destined to become Alexander the great ruler of the entire Western world. King Philip asked the boy if his hero was Achilles the legendary conqueror. S the answer was no a Achilles was in subjection to others a Alexander replied Quot and went on a military expedition with a Small Force under the orders of a foreign general. But i would submit in no Case to the control of any King  exasperated at this affront Philip asked a and Are you not Alexander under my control a Quot in no Way a said his son a for i do not obey you As a King hut As a  c Nert Yolk times 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 United states government