THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994 TAG: 9409160083
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Real Politik
SOURCE: Kerry Dougherty
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
WELL, HE'S out.
Doug Wilder finally pulled the ripcord and floated away from the insanity that is passing as a U.S. Senate race in Virginia this year.
Chuck Robb should be extremely happy. He should be very grateful, maybe slip Doug his old black book.
Wilder's absence is sure to boost the incumbent 10 points in the polls.
In appreciation, Robb should demonstrate what a true statesman he is - as he did on Larry King's show when he said if he weren't in the race, he'd vote for Wilder - and find his old foe a job.
Wilder won't appreciate it, but he's 63 years old and unemployed. Where does the former governor go next?
Here are some suggestions.
Vice president. Stop laughing. Wilder had said - on the record and over the airwaves - that the only job he would leave the race for was Al Gore's. Provided the president would immediately resign. Not a bad idea, even though Wilder's out of the race now. Chuck should call the veep immediately and have a robot-to-robot talk about rewarding his old nemesis.
Director of the NAACP. We actually asked Wilder about whether he might not replace recently removed Benjamin Chavis. Wilder said former NAACP Director Benjamin Hooks asked him the same question. Doug told both of us that heading the NAACP is the one job he's never wanted.
Of course, Wilder doesn't always mean what he says.
Chairman of the FCC. This could be the perfect job for the former governor. Many people believe Wilder was in the race because his cellular telephone conversation wound up on tape and in the hands of his arch enemy you-know-who. Wilder knows the wily world of communications.
Surely Robb could lean on his buddy at the White House to appoint Wilder to the position. Nice office on M Street in Washington (near a couple of swanky restuarants and a short cab ride from Georgetown) and a salary of $123,100.
NASA Administrator. Seems crazy but the space program has been in the doldrums for years. Wilder, with his love of choppers, might just be the man for the job. Chuck could call Bill and apply the pressure. Spacious office on E Street SW, and a salary of $133,000. This could be Robb's chance to put the pesky former governor in orbit once and for all.
Baseball commissioner. This position has been unfilled for far too long. If Wilder took it, he would feel right at home sandwiched between the warring owners and players. He may actually be thinking about this job because we've noticed he talks the talk. Just last week he said that a U.S. Senator needs to be able to ``hit as well as pitch and to go nine innings.''
Director of DEA. During the campaign Doug developed a strong interest in drug abuse. He was angry because he said Ollie North turned a blind eye to drug smugglers during Iran-Contra and he was outraged that Chuck partied his governorship away in Virginia Beach with sunburned sleazeballs and druggies. He could crack down on all the low-lifes while pretending they were Chuck Robb.
Of course, Wilder may resist these job offers if he suspects the Robb campaign was behind it.
But it's in Robb's best interest to find a job for Doug. Otherwise he could find Wilder pulling a Ross Perot at the 11th hour if the North campaign comes forward with new embarrassing revelations about the junior senator from Virginia.
Remember. Wilder's name is still on the ballot.
You knew it was coming.
What are well-dressed North supporters sporting this fall? Newly minted campaign buttons which read: ``Widows and Orphans for North.''
As supporters of Ollie North jammed into a tiny room in the Piedmont Aviation building in Norfolk on Monday for an audience with North and Bob Dole, those with the shiny new campaign buttons were the envy of the rest.
``They're great, just wonderful,'' North gushed when he saw one. ``Now that's entrepreneurship at its best.''
As usual, North found time to talk with his supporters while snubbing reporters. North knows well that no vote was ever lost by kicking the press in the teeth. So he does it at every opportunity.
And his campaign workers are not above telling little white lies to the hard working members of the Fourth Estate.
Like the aide who cleared the airport lobby by telling television reporters that North was already in the building on Monday. ``We've got him upstairs in a holding room,'' one said.
WTKR Channel 3's Paula Miller was not amused when she and her cameraman found themselves trapped in the tiny, too-warm reception room while North, Dole and aides taxied in on the runway below.
``I can't believe they said he was already in here,'' she fumed. ``That stinks.''
None of us were amused when the thin and grim Bob Dole - who looked less than happy to be consorting with the man he once described as a ``loose cannon'' - and North refused to take questions from the press during their flying tour of the Commonwealth.
``We've got to get to Richmond,'' Dole said, baring his watch without looking at it as he trotted toward the door.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE by CNB