ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602190017
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
ON THE EVE of the New Hampshire primary, either Sen. Bob Dole or former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander seems likely to win the GOP presidential nomination.
This is as it should be, because the other candidates - excepting poor Richard Lugar, who gets nowhere despite being one of the most thoughtful and experienced of the bunch - are at least slightly wacky or slightly dangerous, and in any case not presidential material.
Pat Buchanan, in particular, spews ideas both wacky and dangerous. It is hard to imagine a party, even partially owned by the religious right, nominating a sneering extremist so ill-suited to defeat President Clinton, much less to run the country. Yet, coming off his strong second-place showing in the Iowa caucuses, the former TV commentator may be poised to hurt or even upset the wearied and struggling front-runner, Sen. Dole, in New Hampshire. Buchanan at least is giving the others a run for their money - and that is good.
Why good? Because, while his ideas are wacky and dangerous, not to mention plain wrong, Buchanan connects with real problems that worry many Americans. Forcing the other candidates to join some of the issues he's been talking about - and to come up with less simplistic, mean-spirited, divisive, bigoted and counterproductive responses - could improve the debate and profit the country.
Buchanan is an obnoxious bully who bashes immigrants and gays and invites racial hostility. He espouses protectionism and isolationism. But he has put his finger - indeed, his whole fist - on two central facts of American life today: (1) cultural anxiety about declining morals and crumbling families; (2) economic anxiety about stagnant living standards and an uncertain future even as the stock market soars and a wealthy elite grows richer.
No question, Buchanan appeals to base instincts. He would rather find someone to blame than propose ways to help. Yet, because of his calls for "cultural war" and for criminalizing abortion, he is the favorite of the religious right. And he is asking questions about trends - from teen pregnancy to juvenile crime - that concern more people than fill Pat Robertson's legions.
If the other candidates would appeal to common values and shared hopes for community renewal, instead of joining the lynch party in search of scapegoats, they could help advance the values debate.
Buchanan's economic nationalism - he wants rigid trade and immigration barriers - is malignant nonsense. Yet, because he has spent less time talking fiscal issues than he has questioning the disconnect between growth and flat wages, between stock performance and job security, he strikes a chord with the economically scared. Even Dole could be heard saying in New Hampshire the other day: "Corporate profits are setting records and so are corporate layoffs." When Republicans question corporate profits, you know something new is afoot.
If the other candidates would talk about ways to build competitiveness and share the wages of productivity-improvements, instead of joining the rush to bash foreigners and feed resentment, they could help advance the economic debate.
Buchanan's protest populism, like George Wallace's in 1968, is spiteful stuff. A bully vote Tuesday in New Hampshire and in later primaries will send an ugly, misguided message. But it reflects real alienation - and it must be rebutted, not ignored. It's up to the other candidates, especially Dole and Alexander, to propose better answers to Buchanan's questions.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB