European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 18, 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 anti Clinton pettiness dominating politics am a becoming old and crotchety Quentlyn reached conclusions different from or is there a new level of Petty my own they used to make me think again partisanship in our National discourse about issues i had thought were settled. And is it Only my own political viewpoint now Only Charles Murray does that. Most that has me believing the pettiness is mostly from the right the evidence for these conclusions is mostly anecdotal even impressionistic. Take Bob Dole for example. The Senate minority Leader has never been the Guy who comes to mind when you hear the phrase Quot sweetness and William Raspberry of the rest Are so predictably anti Clinton i no longer find them Worth Reading their sole contribution to the health care debate so far As 1 could see was a Challenge that Congress should make its own health care plan available to the rest of us. Otherwise it. Has an endless Catalon of what is wrong with each and every aspect of whatever modification the democrats happen to be considering. V i used to read the opinion pages of the Washington times partly to learn what  his biting other Folk were thinking about important wit is legend in Washington and beyond. But Hasni to. The acerbic Kansan be come particularly obstructionist of issues but also for a fresh insight a for something to make me take a new look at something that May in truth have been troubling me All along another look at homelessness for instance or affirmative action or free Market economics now with the exception of Georgie late i can to find the clips to prove it but i Anne Geyer whose work is based largely seem to remember Doles trying at the beginning of the Clinton administration to be helpful a if not to the new president Personalty at least to the idea of getting useful things done for America. I thought i saw in Early 1993, a Bob Dole on reporting and Suzanne Fields who insists on wrestling with ideas until they Start to make logical not merely partisan sense the times opinion Page regulars strike me As worthless except perhaps to those who want reassurance that their anti almost publicly wrestling with himself Over Clinton rage is justified. Whether to be a member of the Loyal opposition or like his colleague Newt Gingrich merely to derail As much As possible of whatever Clinton tried to do. He seems to have chosen the latter and i believe the country is the worse for it. This is neither a defense of every Clinton proposal nor an indictment of Dole alone. He has plenty of co conspirators. In a not surprised of course that the re publican National committee is partisan. My complaint goes i Hope beyond the question of whose of is being gored. In be lived through a few Republican administrations during which the democrats were left to the opposition St role. But it does seem to me that much of the opposition then was principled a about programs and policies and ideas not merely anti Republican. The opposition St in a seeing now is not even ideological. It does no to say Here a what we need to do and Why. It says Only up ,. What disappoints me is that the minions of that Clinton or anyone who works for him the highly touted inc chairman Haley or voted for him or is married to him is Barbour find Clinton bashing a Wise use of wrong no matter what their talents. Their at least twice daily news releases faxed to lot knows How Many of us in the news business at lord knows what Cost now go unread into my White paper Only bin for recyclables. The american Enterprise Institute that influential conservative think tank used to turn out some really thoughtful work. No matter that the authors of their studies fre i say these things knowing full Well that to some readers i must seem equally Petty and partisan and obvious a knowing too that there is a Market for the line of wares in a criticizing. After All Rush Limbaugh is Rich and in a not. Still it bothers me and not merely because Clinton a priorities tend to Echo my own. What bothers me is the Transfer another circus elephant goes on a rampage mation of Public discourse into a Nasty largely pointless game like Quot fat Alberto so Johnny on the Mountain where the Point if i remember Bill Cosby correctly was to crush the other kid simply because he was on top. No matter How much fun the game by amp Tvr seems to be to those who play it this poisoning of our politics like the growing incivility to which it is related threatens to do a Good Deal of harm not just to Clinton but to America. A a. C Washington Post. Candidate with his has no time for cynics the Brick Row House in the working class neighbourhood of Somerville mass., is almost deceptively quiet this sunday afternoon. The Only sign of a political Campaign is the Bob Massie bumper sticker on the car across from the playground. As i come in the two Massie boys Are heading off with their Mother to get new sneakers for growing feet that continually test the family budget. In the modest Kitchen the Cookbook is propped open to a recipe for pumpkin soup. Bob Massie,.episcopal minister and democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts has something rare these Days a free afternoon. But he comes to the Kitchen and to this conversation with a single word on his mind cynic. This five letter word has become the title of the 1994 political season the Neon sign flashing Over the Campaign Over the relationship Between the governors and the governed. Massie does no to need polls to show him the landscape of disaffected voters of candidates running against the government they want to take Over of negative ads and More negative advisers. But this morning he went to the dictionary. A a cynic a he recites from memory now Quot is someone who believes that All people Are solely motivated by  the cynical Are those who continually question the motives of others. The synonyms that his dictionary lists Are a mocking  if there is one thing Bob Massie is not its a cynic. He is rather a newcomer who won the democratic primary and is now Mark Roosevelt a running mate in a Long shot race against gov. William Wela and it. Gov Paul Celluci he a also the Man who possesses one of the most unusual biographies in politics. This Boyish looking son of Robert and Suzanne Massie who co wrote Nicholas and Alexandra was born 38 years ago with Haemophilia. He went to Princeton Yale divinity school Ana Harvard business school. He worked for sen. Henry Quot scoop Jackson and Ralph Nader he a a pastor a teacher a writer. Like most Haemophiliacs of his age Massie was infected with his through blood transfusions. Like the Lucky minority he remains healthy and free of symptoms More than 10 years later. For years now Massie has been an ethicist in business settings and a business teacher at the Harvard divinity school. For just 10 months he a been the politician who understands both. If some see contradictions in France. If followers of David Karcsh were running for office those issues would surely be raised. But in a larger sense he says Quot everybody has a theology. Ellen Goodman his history Massie sees connections Quot the themes have always been the same. The Basic questions of principle How should we live. And How do we get there a Massie is a rare political creature who believes candidates Are asked too Little about their deepest beliefs. At one end of politics we May see the religious right rating congressional Bills on a scale of godliness. But at another extreme we Are More Likely to ask candidates about monogamy than about How spiritual beliefs Are reflected in their politics. In the narrow sense Massie believes that its fair to ask How a persons religion affects his attitudes about values such As Liberty Equality Mutual respect and Tol everybody has some kind of theory about Why we re Here whether its random or not what a really  this a theology Quot has an enormous but largely unheralded effect on government our View of human nature skews the welfare debate. Our View of the environment determines the Way we plan for it. Our belief in Progress or decline is translated into questions like Quot do we really believe that our children can Lead a better life a As a minister and politician Massie is eager to make these connections. He explains in detail Why he opposes state gambling and the death Penally Why he is against welfare bashing and in favor of health care Reform. But even he knows How rarely these words Are heard in the boxing ring of politics where Money and sound bites deliver the knockout blows. Tim Wirth undersecretary of state described Massie to me As Quot the closest thing we have in politics to a saint.�?�. But a Friend asks More archly Quot what a a Guy like him doing in a Job like this a what san his positive minister with a couple of sons doing in politics when i ask Massie says Quot when i became his positive it added to my sense of each Day As precious. It s important to do the things that matter and not to waste your time on  this year we Are suffering from the seasonal affective disorder of politics. Its hard to know if one candidate for lieutenant governor is an antidote or just an anomaly. But on this sunday in be met a citizen with no time to waste on trivia. Not even on such trivial stuff As cynicism. C Boston Globe a ,