THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996               TAG: 9604030457
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: ITHACA, N.Y.                       LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

EX-GOV. WILDER SAYS POWELL WOULD HELP DOLE WIN THE ELECTION

The man who was the nation's first elected black governor said Tuesday that Bob Dole should ask Colin Powell to be his running mate, and Powell should accept.

Douglas Wilder, a Democrat who was governor of Virginia from 1990-94, said Dole would gain plenty of votes for the Republican ticket if he invited Powell to join the GOP. Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should accept such an invitation, Wilder said at Cornell University.

``It's a fact of life. In America, you've always had to have entry levels for minorities to step into first,'' Wilder said. ``This is the time.''

Wilder said Dole's selection of Powell would help the Kansas senator's image, making him appear less ``defensive'' on such issues as abortion and affirmative action.

Wilder was at Cornell University to give a talk on social and political challenges in the '90s. Three days earlier, former Vice President Dan Quayle told an Ithaca College audience that Powell would be a good running mate for Dole.

Wilder predicted a very close election in November.

``The American public is becoming more cynical of both parties,'' he said. ``Right now most people feel there is no difference, in terms of results, between Democrats and Republicans.'' by CNB