THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 8, 1996 TAG: 9606080001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Kerry Dougherty
LENGTH: 72 lines
U.S. Senators John Warner and John McCain were on the podium at a fund-raising dinner Monday night. An ancient, invisible man was there, too.
The unseen guy was Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Although no one with a microphone breathed his name, there were many references to the fact that John Warner is just a 93-year-old's heartbeat away from chairmanship of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.
Warner has become a kind of American Prince Charles, waiting for the elderly one to step aside or kick the bucket so he can snag that really important job.
The ramifications for Hampton Roads if Warner ever assumes the chairmanship of the Armed Service Committee - either through Thurmond's retirement or, let's face it, his death - could be tremendous.
Conversely, if Warner is not returned to the Senate - either because he loses Tuesday's Republican primary or is defeated in November by Democrat Mark Warner - it could be costly for Virginia.
``I can't believe anyone is trying to knock Warner off in the primary,'' said Robert Bruce Kendall, a local lawyer and former Maury High School basketball star who was seated next to me at dinner. ``Without the Navy and naval facilities we're dead in the water.''
Privately, Republicans like Kendall voiced frustration at Jim Miller's bid to unseat Warner. But the outward tone of the evening was atypical of most political events in an election year: There was a complete absence of vitriol. Virginia's embattled senator received several standing ovations before the night was over.
It didn't hurt that one of the most popular Republicans in the country was sitting beside him at the head table. The quick-witted and pugnacious John McCain is a much sought-after surrogate all over the country for Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole. And McCain's name keeps surfacing as a possible Dole running mate, although McCain says he doesn't want the job.
McCain enthusiastically endorsed Warner. And he, too, alluded to the invisible old senator by saying ``nothing would make me prouder'' than to continue serving on the Armed Services Committee with Warner at the helm.
McCain is a Naval Academy graduate, the son and grandson of admirals and one of the most famous of Vietnam's POWs. He languished five years in the infamous ``Hanoi Hilton'' where he received virtually no medical treatment for injuries he received when he ejected from his Navy jet.
As the evening unfolded it became clear that Warner and McCain have a lot more in common than just being members of the country's most exclusive club. They are entertaining raconteurs, with vivid memories - and imaginations.
McCain became wistful remembering his bachelor Navy days in Virginia Beach and worried aloud that he still had outstanding bar tabs at watering holes there.
Warner, who served in both the Navy and the Marine Corps, quipped that he was one of the only members of the Senate who had to go to boot camp twice.
But McCain used that confession to point out an alarming trend in Congress: fewer and fewer politicians have ever worn a uniform.
While that may not matter for many legislative issues, a dwindling number of ex-military members of Congress could be bad news for areas like Hampton Roads that depend heavily on defense spending.
``It's easy to learn about weapons systems,'' McCain said. ``But there is a most unique aspect to the military that can't be learned in a briefing . . . many of my colleagues now don't know what it's like to leave your family for a nine-month cruise. It's vital to have someone like John Warner who does.''
That remark was well received at my table.
``At 93, Strom Thurmond's liable to call it quits next month,'' Kendall mused hopefully. ``Think of what John Warner could do as chairman of Armed Services.
``Without the Navy we'd just be another Wanchese, N.C.'' he declared. ``A fishing village.'' MEMO: Ms. Dougherty is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB