Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 4

tW Harris Survey Voters highly critical of Dukakis on Biden disclosures By Louis Harris Dukakis come from constituencies particularly sensitive to his campaign For example blue-collar workers and union members tended to feel more than other groups that the preparation and distribution of the tapes on Biden was an unethical act And 89 percent bf blue-collar and 77 percent of union members felt Sassos behavior was unethical Most resentful of the timing of the release of the anti-Biden material were voters in the West women blacks union members and most of all those who classify themselves as liberals The lowest marks accorded Dukakis for the way he handled the episode were from voters in the West (56 percent negative) those who live in big cities (61 percent negative) those under 30 (62 percent negative) union members (57 percent negative) and liberals (57 percent negative) One of the ironies of these results is that a 73-23 percent majority of the entire electorate and only a slightly lower 69-27 per ple in public life generally do not have a very high sense of morality and should be scrutinized fully for their moral fiber All of this suggests that the public thinks the media has been too hard on public figures applying standards that nave been too harsh At the same time however clear-cut majorities are convinced that two of the major political casualties of 1987 Gary Hart and Joseph Biden -should have dropped out of the contest And in the case of Gov Dukakis majorities have no qualms in condemning what his campaign manager aid in divulging the facts about Biden and then in criticizing the way the Massachusetts governor handled the entire affair Just how serious is the damage to Dukakis remains to be seen He was a rising second to Jesse Jackson in the early polls among Democrats If he fails to grow or even slips then the Biden disclosure episode could well be a turning point in his 1988 fortunes cent majority of Democratic voters believe that "because he had plagiarized whole speeches from others without ever saving they were not his own words and he had cheated on a law school exam it was right that Sen Joseph Biden dropped out as a candidate" A 57-42 percent majority of the voters indicated that they thought that "because of his in-" volyement with Donna Ricefit was right that Gary Hart dropped out as a candidate earlier in thq year In fact the voters are highly critical of the media in its role in exposing the foibles of candidates which later has led to their quitting the race A 63-34 percent majority of voters nationwide agrees with the charge that "the media has not been fair to presidential candidates preferring to dig up or to carry a sensational story magnifying it beyond its real importance" In addition a 58-38 percent majority of all voters disagrees sharply with the claim that "peo of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings chaired by Biden However among Democratic voters a 44-42 percent plurality did resent it feeling tne Dukakis camp was trying to prevent Biden from gaining ground from a positive snowing in the Robert Bork hearings By contrast a 52-38 percent majority of independent voters did not resent the timing of the Biden video tape disclosures When asked directly if the entire episode made them think less of Dukakis or if it made no difference by 74-18 percent among all voters and an identical margin among Democratic voters most said it would not change their minds However 18 percent which is over one in every Bix is not an unappreciable number This is especially the case in the Democratic primaries where currently there is a six-man field In other words the potential loss of 18 percent of the Democratic elec torate could make a real difference The key groups most critical of A substantial 72-23 percent majority of all voters hold the view that when the campaign manager of Gov Michael Dukakis prepared and distributed tapes which proved that Sen Joseph Biden was using speeches from other public figures without acknowledgement he was committing an unethical act according to this latest Harris Survey men by telephone between Oct 2-7 among a national cross section of 1000 voters Dukakis finally accepted the resignation of his close aide and campaign' manager and then stumped Iowa apologizing for the behavior of his staff However a 53-43 percent majority of the likely electorate nonetheless gave the Massachusetts governor negative marks on the way he handled the entire affair As serious as this overall negative response is just as significant is the fact that Democratic voters are more critical of Dukakis than independent or Republican voters The first threshold which the governor must cross of course is to obtain his partys nomination And the rank and file of Democrats will be more important than the rest of the voters For example a higher 75-20 percent majority of Democratic voters feel the preparation and dissemination of tne tapes by Dukakis campaign manager John Sasso was "unethical higher than the nation as a whole Democratic voters give the governor a 54-41 percent negative rating on his handling of the entire affair Equally dramatic is the fact that a relatively close 48-40 percent plurality of all voters said they did not resent the fact that the damaging anti-Biden materials were distributed on the eve 't i All lion-dwarf liberals mi-myrn- r-k I I'' if V' EmvarmEiSQ Of the Democrats running who do not have congressional voting records Jesse Jackson could be characterized as very liberal Gov Michael Dukakis as rather liberal and Gov Bruce Babbitt as somewhat liberal Is there hope for this liberal contingent? It is said that the nominee will put a non-liberal on the ticket as a vice presidential candidate Thats hardly helpful: Voters usually dont vote on the basis of No 2 when they can vote for No 1 A second strategy more plausible: The somewhat-liberals can change gears and try to become credible as moderates Gore may be trying to do this now Its not an impossible strategy only difficult Remember that the Republican candidate in the general election will have ammunition to make his case against Democratic liberalism So: Its going to be tough for Democrats in 1988 And it may 'pet worse After the 1990 Census 1 due to population shifts the Southern and Western states generally tilted conservative will gain still mdre Electoral College votes Sooner or later the Democrats will have to become less liberal to compete nationally What has happened recently and what has not happened recently point the other way The Democrats now have six non-dwarf liberals They would be better off if they also -''had some non-dwarf non-liberals on the team What has happened in Democratic presidential politics? Sen Gary Hart dropped out Sen Joe Biden dropped out Rep Patricia Schroeder and Sen Sam Nunn decided not to enter Its time to pause and see where we are When the dust settled the field went from eight liberals to seven liberals to six liberals Also: It has (properly) been deemed unfair and now numerically inaccurate to call the Democratic field "the Seven Dwarfs In politics as in life sometimes what does not happen is more important than what does What did not happen in recent Democratic politics is this: A non-liberal candidate did not enter the ranks In late August it was Nunn who said no During September it became clearer that like Nunn former Virginia Gov Charles Robb would not pick up the non-liberal standard What does this mean? It makes it less likely that the Democrats will win the White House in 1988 Why? Because liberalism has become a buzzword loser in national politics (Only 22 percent of Americans identify themselves as liberals) 1 In recent presidential elections' 1 the Democrats could at least maintain that their party was a big party the fabled big tent and that it gave a friendly home to a broad spectrum of views and voters The evidence could typically be found in the primary field In 1984 for example Sen John Glenn Sen Ernest Hollings and Mailbag Gov Reubin Askew were all mod-erate-to-conservative Democrats But as it looks now there will be no such moderate-to-conservative Democrat running in 1988 The non-dwarf Democratic candidates are either very liberal rather liberal or somewhat liberal This will allow the Republicans to claim that not only is the national Democratic Party liberal but that non-liberals have Even up the ghost because they low theyre not wanted Now I do not believe that Nunn and Robb decided not to run because they thought the party is too liberal They had personal reasons But that doesnt matter They arent running no non-liberal is running the Republicans -will make hay out of this tasof 4bvent kt Make no mistake about ity 1 Republicans will have evidence to 4use Consider the congressional ratings index of the Americans for Democratic Action a very li-' beral organization An' ADA rating of 100 is a perfect liberal score The three Democrats running who have congressional ratings (for 1986) look like this: Sen Paul Simon 89 Rep Richard Gephardt 70 Sen Albert Gore 70 (By contrast Nunn has an ADA rating of 30) totavEdfiqlit': 'au each pnesaiq thfl ojwef tot tlimexeMst wasn'f rtyhj 9veJi 10 Jiope lieseTueftllfis cornejo fti CoSperation-ivise- lof It's plait? to both mjfini fowfi JsdcJiievoij by -rr i ft'' i Stherer-87 Lupus event slated for Oct 25 Johnson City Press WHAI I none DON KNOW Will HUIT THIM Opinion care about them and their problems For any size donation we will launch a balloon in the name of that person you know who has Lupus fping to be an informal potluck unen highlighted by theLUpus-Awareness Balloon Launch Everyone is invited to attend We appreciate your support and I am Lupus is a recurring and cur- sure that someone you know with rently uncarable inflammatory Lupus will appreciate a balloon Safe intersection now EDITOR: The purpose" of this letter is twofold One is to inform federal employees who are signing up for the Combined Federal Campaign fund allocations that the Mt Empire Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America Inc is eligible to receive your contributions through your CFC signup We are not listed on the signup form but can be written in with this information: Mt Empire Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America Inc 3132 Memorial Blvd Kingsport TN 37664 We appreciate you taking the extra time to write us in and thank you foryour support The second purpose iB that we would like to announce a very special event On Oct 25 we are having a Lupus Awareness Balloon Launch! People with Lupus and their families support our organization by membership in it The Lupus Awareness Balloon Launch is an opportunity -for others to show that someone you know who has Lupus that you being launched in their name DIANNA PIPKIN Jonesborough Todays trivia 1 What is the title of Sakharovs essay advocating disarmament and intellectual freedom? (a) "My Country and the World (b) "The Survival of Man (c) "The Wrongs and Rights of a Di- -vided Planet 2 Who succeeded Spiro Agnew as vice president of the United States? (a) Robert Dole (b) Gerald Ford (c) Nelson Rockefeller disease of unknown cause in which there are striking alterations in the individuals immunologic System Lupus is so common a disease that almost everyone knows of someone with Lupus Unfortunately most people dont understand what Lupus actually is or the problems in creates The way to help create more understanding of Lupus and its manifestations is through public awareness Please help us to be able to reach out and support those who have Lupus through your donation by sending it along with the name of the person you want the balloon launched for to Mt Empire chapter LFA Inc 1 (a) In 1975 Andrei Sakharov 3132 Memorial Blvd KingsixirtwjBanteliiR essay "My Country and 1 TN 37664-or by-calling (615) the World 2 (b) Gerald Ford 246-5178 for more information succeeded Agnew as vice presi-Our meeting on Oct 25 is dent on Dec 6 1973 When the original Appalachian highway was designed to pass Erwin the states engineers made a curious goof: They left the intersection of US 23-19 with State Rt 107-81 at grade level The highway in virtually all other respects was designed with all the elements of an interstate highway But interstate highways dont have on-grade intersections People traveling on the highway expected it to be just like an interstate Or in short they certainly didnt expect to find traffic crossing in front of them It was the only on-grade intersection on US 23 from Kingsport to south of Erwin This particular intersection in Erwin was the scene of almost daily accidents and several fatalities Finally good sense prevailed Rep Zane Whitson prodded the state And Robert Farris then Transportation commissioner authorized design and construction of an overpass interchange The interchange has finally been completed No longer will traffic on the superhighway be confronted with local traffic at the intersection with the state highway Whitson and Farris can take some pride in that fact Moreover the new interchange brings the highway into virtually full compliance with interstate specifications which certainly wont damage the effort to have 1-26 extended across the mountain from Asheville NC Johnson City Press Berry's World USPS 276-320 Formerly the JOHNSON CT-ZpriEsS CHRONICLI WHI IMI IOil DON I IHOW WfU Well-deserved award Vol 68 No 66 Wednesday October 14 1987 Published daily and Sunday by Press Inc at News Center Boone Street at Mam and Market Johnson City Tenn (Johiv son City Press founded June 12 1934 Staff-News founded 1918 Chronicle founded 1 921 Absorbed by the Press Jan 21 1935 Published as Press-Chronicle from 1943 to 1985 when name returned to the original Johnson City Press Second Class postage paid at Johnson City TN 37605 Republlcatlon of all matter herein Is prohibited without the express consent of the owners Subscription per year by mall- Within 100 miles $90 outside 100 miles $101 (The Johnson City Press welcomes and publishes letters to the editor provided writers sian their names and addresses and limit letters to 500 words One letter per writer will be used In a four-week period We reserve the right to edit all letters CARL A JONES i Publisher TIM JONES JOHN A JONES TOM HODGE General Manager Editor-in-Chlef Editorial Director If theres one spot in the world that could stand a little peace its Central America where guerrilla wars abound Hence its small wonder that the Nobel Committee in Norway has seen fit to award the 1987 Peace Prize to President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica for developing and promoting a peace plan to end the wars in Central America And certainly in Upper East Tennessee we have reason to be especially elated over Anas honor A one-time student at East Tennessee State University he is of course the only former ETSU student to win the Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament said that as the peate plans architect Arias "made an outstanding contribution to the possible return of stability uid peace to a region long torn by strife and civil war Arias 46 was elected president of Costa Rica in May 1986 His country is the most stable in all of Latin America Immediately upon taking office he began working on the plan involving Costa Ricas neighbors The Central American peace plan was signed on Aug 7 in Guatemala City by Arias and the presidents of Nicaragua El Salvador Honduras and Guatemala Arias plan was aimed at ending guerrilla wars in El Salvador Guatemala and Nicaragua It calls calls for cease-fires amnesties and democratic reforms in Central America as well as an end to outside aid to rebels in the region We applaud the selection of Oscar Anas for the Peace Prize It is recognition of progress and jfort in a most difficult part of the world III? MNU Mam bar of Audit Sunni Circulation! 9 4 "Its great for freeways 4.