Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 10, 1994 TAG: 9402150260
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A17 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray L. Garland
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In his corner, Miller has such big names as Sen. John Warner, Rep. Tom Bliley, former Attorney General Ed Meese and former Rep. Caldwell Butler. But North has the Christian Coalition and lots of plain people attracted to his battle scars and hot-button conservatism.
While Miller draws respectable crowds who go away impressed by his cerebration, North turns out masses of frenzied enthusiasts chanting "Ol-lie, Ol-lie, Ol-lie."
But focus on that last syllable for a second, which his critics might adopt as their own chant. In the wake of North's announcement, the respected Mason-Dixon poll showed Robb trouncing him in the general election. It even showed North losing to Sylvia Clute, the virtual unknown who is challenging Robb for the Democratic nomination in the June primary.
Even worse, 47 percent of those polled said they held an unfavorable view of North. There's probably a precedent for a candidate successfully overcoming such high negatives, but I don't know of it.
Nothing is ever certain in politics, of course, but a North candidacy comes close to being a guarantee that Robb will overcome his own considerable negatives to continue as a reliable vote for President Clinton in the Senate.
On that subject, Miller tells all who will listen, "We've got to nominate with our head, not our gut." His problem is that time is painfully short for the message to sink in. Local units will soon be electing delegates. In a two-man race, once those delegates are locked in, the contest is largely decided, no matter what polls or outsiders say.
Those numerous Virginians who don't want to face a choice between Robb and North must get their names in the GOP pot right away. Or, if they believe in miracles, enlist with Clute by calling (804) 355-2155.
Every county and city must choose its delegates to the Republican convention during March. While time is short, the good news is that the rules permit a vast number of convention delegates and it's unlikely anyone wanting a berth will be denied.
Those wishing to participate - either for North or Miller - should make that fact known immediately to the party chair in their city or county. If you don't know whom to call, any Republican officeholder should be able to tell you. There will be modest costs associated with being a delegate, but most newcomers will find the welcome mat out and the process instructive.
While North's story has been frequently told, there aren't many with a clear fix on Jim Miller. A poor boy from Georgia, Miller earned his doctorate in economics at the University of Virginia and quickly made his name among those free-market, anti-inflation economists led by Nobel laureates Milton Friedman and James Buchanan. In his field, Miller has published seven books and more than 50 scholarly articles.
Miller is best known to the general public as President Reagan's first chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and as director of the Office of Management and Budget (with a seat in the Cabinet) from 1985 to 1989. There are some who will view his service at OMB as a dubious credential by reason of the sizable deficits on his watch.
While volumes could be written attempting to explain the politics that produced the enormous deficits of the past 25 years - and whether they were truly terrible or no big thing - the bottom line on Miller is that during his tenure at OMB the deficit was substantially below what it was before he arrived or would be after he departed.
In the three years before Miller became head of OMB, the deficit averaged $206 billion. During the three years he was primarily responsible for federal fiscal policy, it averaged $152 billion. In the four years since, it has averaged $250 billion.
Make of this what you will, Miller can lay legitimate claim to presiding over a period that saw greater economic growth and smaller deficits than we knew before or since. Despite two general tax increases since his time - in 1990 and 1993 - we will be extremely lucky to see deficits as low as he managed in 1986-89.
We might also note Miller's prior service as head of the mammoth Federal Trade Commission, where he reduced the staff by a third and slashed the volume of regulations being issued.
It is probably correct to say there's no candidate for Congress in the country today so familiar with the details of the federal budget and the real workings of the U.S. government as Jim Miller. Of course, that very status as well-informed, well-connected insider is grist for North's campaign against "the professional politicians who have faltered and failed us." But Miller's chief problem in this race is that he's hardly the skilled politician North is.
Those who accept their party's call to participate in the nomination of a candidate for high office have an obligation to seek a candidate who can win and who can be effective for his constituency if he does.
There can be no guarantee, of course, that Miller can beat Robb. The Mason-Dixon poll showed him closer than North, but not winning. But Miller is just beginning to make an impression, while North is both famous and infamous.
The problem with North is that he forfeits the moral high ground the Republican candidate ought to occupy against such damaged goods as Robb, while running the risk of making the election a referendum on North's record rather than Robb's.
The Republican contest is no rerun of the old moderates vs. the new conservatives. No one really doubts that Miller would be a solid, conservative voice for Virginia who would start with the respect of colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
\ Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times & World-News columnist.
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