THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070639
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger on Thursday called Republican U.S. Senate nominee Oliver L. North a man of ``no moral character whatsoever'' who ``wouldn't recognize the truth if it hit him over the head with a baseball bat.''
Eagleburger, who served as secretary of state at the end of President Bush's term, appeared at a news conference with former Virginia GOP Gov. Linwood Holton to support independent Senate candidate J. Marshall Coleman.
Eagleburger likened the retired Marine to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who went on communist witch-hunts during the 1950s. ``Not because of what he (North) says, but because of his total contempt for honesty,'' Eagleburger said. ``His total contempt for telling the truth. His total contempt for the people of America because he thinks he can get away with it.''
Asked why prominent Republicans such as Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas have come on board for North, Eagleburger repeated the question: ``Are they showing poor judgment? Yeah. There you go.''
Eagleburger claimed North has overstated his role in planning the liberation of Grenada during the Reagan administration, and said he doubted ``some pipsqueak lieutenant colonel'' could have been as prominent in White House affairs as North has claimed.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES
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