Oliver North

RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, a 1996 Republican presidential hopeful, told about 400 party faithful here the other night that the Senate race in Virginia between Democratic incumbent Chuck Robb and GOP challenger Oliver North "is not about personalities, it's not about Ollie North. It's about the principles he stands for."But if Cheney were right in that assessment, the campaign would be all over now and Robb would be thinking about new employment. The fact that the polls indicate that the race is going down to the wire is attributable directly to personalities, and specifically the personality of Oliver North.

Boston -- IF YOU LIKED the 1992 Republican National Convention, with its bashing of the un-Christian and the un-straight, you'll love the 1996 convention. Assuming, that is, that the party wins as big as it expects in tomorrow's midterm elections. Last time we had Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan. We had the Republican chairman, Rich Bond, warning that if Bill Clinton was elected, Jane Fonda would be sleeping in the White House "as guest of honor at a state dinner for Fidel Castro."Next time the powerful new committee chairmen in a Republican-controlled Senate will surely be featured.

Atlanta - WHEN A politician tries to cover up his role in a scandal, he may do himself more harm than he would have by telling the truth at the start. That was so for Richard Nixon in Watergate. It is turning out the same way for George Bush in the Iran-contra affair.From the moment the public learned of the affair, in November 1986, Mr. Bush has maintained that he was not involved -- that as vice president he was "out of the loop." In particular, he has said many times that he was not aware arms were being sent to Iran in return for release of American hostages in Lebanon.

THIS IS NOT the end of the world -- it's the end of a campaign," said a wise woman, Ann Richards, in conceding defeat Tuesday night.Others on the losing side in this most recent election should follow her example and take a reality check. The world didn't end, the news isn't all bad, and, in any case, Wednesday was the first day of the rest of the next campaign.Herewith a determined look at the election's bright side by one voter who woke up the morning after feeling more intrigued than despondent about the GOP's Brave New World.

Los Angeles.--"I want to take back government from the insiders,'' began Oliver North's entry speech into partisan politics.Whatever you think of his record of lying and secrecy, you have to admire the man's bravado. Or, perhaps it is just that he has a great sense of humor.The ultimate insider has decided to run for the U.S. Senate as ''The Outsider''!In true flag-waving style, Colonel North became famous and rich enough to bankroll a campaign by revealing himself as the secret agent at the secret heart of a secret policy, supposedly kept secret even from the nation's elected policy makers.

MOUNT VERNON, Va. -- The ostensible task for former Secretary of State James Baker here the other night was to tout the candidacy of Republican senatorial nominee Oliver North at a fat-cat reception at the palatial home of a Virginia developer. But his performance demonstrated why he continues to be mentioned as a possible 1996 presidential candidate.Baker's appearance for North was in itself an eyebrow-raiser, inasmuch as Baker's old boss, former President Ronald Reagan, tried to derail North's nomination with a letter saying that North was lying about what he knew about the Iran-contra affair and about "private meetings" North claimed he had with Reagan that "just didn't happen."

WASHINGTON -- When they are not on strike, baseball players often talk about "winning ugly" -- meaning winning games that are less than artistic triumphs. The term could well be applied to whoever wins the Senate election this year in Virginia. It's ugly.You begin with two major-party candidates -- Democratic incumbent Chuck Robb and Republican challenger Oliver North -- both carrying enough political baggage to sink the Lusitania and struggling to get off the defensive.Then there are two independents -- Democratic former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and Republican Marshall Coleman, a former state attorney general with the distinction of already having lost three statewide campaigns -- running as spoilers.

Boston. Miss those long afternoons together? Find yourself looking in the personals column for a burly 56-year-old in fatigues with a 170 IQ and a taste for Pavarotti? Desperately seeking a man who is caring but, well, commanding?If you are among the millions suffering from Schwarzkopf-withdrawal, take heart. The war may be over, the daily briefings may be kaput, but the general is not going to fade away.Norman Schwarzkopf, the certifiable (four) star of Operation Desert Storm and subject of more profiles than Sting, is now in for a postwar wave of attention.

WASHINGTON -- Well, so much for the 11th Commandment.That, most active Republicans and political junkies of all sorts know, is the old Ronald Reagan credo: "Thou Shall Not Speak Ill of Another Republican."It is one that Reagan used repeatedly in his political career to stay out of Republican primaries, to sustain his image as Mr. Nice Guy and to encourage fellow Republicans to save their fire for the Democrats.He is said by Reagan biographer Lou Cannon to have endorsed a Republican only once in a congressional primary in New York, and on that occasion said nothing against the man's opponent.

Oliver North is not an American heroWhy is Oliver North looked upon as a hero? He admits to deceiving the American people and lying to their elected representatives. He admits to giving missiles and weapons to Iran which, at the time, held innocent Americans hostage and was an avowed enemy of the "Great Satan," the U.S. He further acknowledges subverting U.S. policy in Latin America.These acts are contrary to the will of the American people and the policy of the elected government. North has never been elected, by anyone, to any leadership position.