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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1982)
opinion Battalion/Page ■ The extra costs of winning politics by Art Buchwald One of the richest men I Know is Tarbaum. Therefore I was surprised to see him handing the clerk in the super market food stamps last Wednesday. “What happened, Tarbaum?” I asked. “I lost the election for the school board last week.” “I know that, but why are you on food stamps?” “I spent .$(5 million of my own money. I got wiped out.” “I don’t believe it. Why would you spend $6 million to be elected to the school board?” “I didn’t intend to. When I decided to run the most I was going to spend was $4 million. But 1 didn’t realize it would turn into such a dirty campaign. My opponent took the low road. He said 1 thought the Head Start program was a claiming race at the Laurel Race Track. I had no choice but to buy television time and say he be lieved Remedial English was what Prince Andrew did on shore leave.” “I saw that commercial. It was quite effective.” “It should have been. It cost me a half a million bucks. When I started the race the polls had me leading by 14 points. I hired one of the best professional cam paign directors in the country. He told me the only way to win a school board election was to promise to do away with the football team and put more money in textbooks. I bought time on all four TV stations to announce my plan, and the next day my opponent was leading me by 26 points.” “So you had to play catch-up,” I said. “It cost me $2 million to deny I had said it. Then my campaign speechwriter suggested I hit hard on the prayers-in- school issue.” “Which side did you take?” “I came out on the same side as the Supreme Court, and even printed their decision in the newspapers.” “That was a stupid thing to do.” “Don’t I know it. The Prayer in School Political Action Committee decided to spend a million dollars in my district to defeat me. My campaign manager said we had to match them dollar for dollar or we’d lose the election.” “Did you ever think of bowing out of the race when it started costing you so much money?” “Yes. But my wife wouldn’t hear of it. She had invited all our friends and peo- ple who worked in my campaign to a victory party at our estate, and she said she’d be humiliated with the caterer if she had to cancel it. Besides, I found I loved campaigning and shaking hands with people, and handing out bumper stickers to strangers. Once politics gets in your blood you don’t think about what it’s going to cost you.” “So you just kept plowing ahead?” “I fired my campaign manager and brdught'in two' guys from New York whd worked on Mayor Koch’s campaign for governor. We redid , all our television commercials and started with a fresh con servative slam. In the first TV spot I promised if elected to the school board I would fire 20 percent of the teachers to balance the budget. The Teachers Politi cal Action Committee sent in a half mil lion dollars to defeat me. They plastered the town with bill boards saying I was trying to buy the election.” “That must have hurt.” “Not as much as my second commer cial when I reversed myself and said if I was elected I would hire 20 percent MORE teachers, and raise their salaries to the national level.” “So that took the teachers off your back?” “Yes, but it brought in the Political Ac tion Committee Against Paying Teachers a Living Wage, and they decided to get me for caving in to the union.” “When was that?” “I think it was about the time I had to sell my house to stay in the race.” “You sold your house?” “And the boat and the car and my wife’s diamond engagement ring. You know I only lost by 1,500 votes.” “I saw' the results election night. I’m sorry you didn’t make it, Tarbaum. You certainly put your money where your mouth was. At least $6 million of it.” “Oh well, as we say in politics, easy come, easy go.” The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member oi Texas Press Assoeiation Southwest Journalism Conference Editor. Diana Sultenfuss Managing Editor Phyllis Henderson Associate Editor Denise Richter City Editor Gary Barker Assistant City Editor HopeE. Paasch Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb Entertainment Editor Nancy Floeck- Assistant Entertainment Editor Colette 11 utchings News Editors Cathy Capps, Johna Jo Maurer, Daniel Puckett, Jan Werner, Todd Woodard Staff Writers Jennifer Carr, Susan Dittman, Beverly Hamilton, David Johnson, John Lopez, Robert McGlohon, Carol Smith, Dana Smelser, Joe Tindel, John Wagner, Rebeca Zimmermann Copyeditors Elaine Engstrom. Jan Svvaner, Chris Thayer Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artist Pam Starasinic Photographers David Fisher, Jorge Casari, Ronald W. Emerson, Octavio Garcia, Irene Mees, John Ryan, Robert Snider paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those o f the editor ot the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions ot Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents, The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial mat ter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed and show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) 845- 2611. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’s fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and exami nation periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semes ter, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. ' Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-proth, self-supporting news- United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Memorial scene stirring As a representative of Texas A&M at the National Salute to Vietnam Veterans in Washington, D.C. this past weekend, I had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the men and women who served our country in Vietnam. I was so touched, I felt obligated to share this ex perience with my fellow Aggies. Prior to my visit to Washington, I hadn’t ever given much thought to the situation that our returning veterans en countered. Nor did I have a deep senti ment for those who lost their lives there. However, after participating in these ceremonies, I now feel a tremendous in debtedness to these brave men and women. There were two different forms of rec ognition Saturday. The first was a large- scale parade, lasting two and a half hours. In this parade, a delegation of Vietnam veterans from each of the 50 states and five territories marched proudly down Constitution Avenue. Most of these vets were attired in some sort of uniform. Whether it fit or not wasn’t the point. The fact is, they were proud of their uniform, proud of their medals and proud that they had served the United States of America. Many of these men were amputees, propelling themselves along in wheelchairs, and were perhaps the proudest of all. These men weren’t bitter; they were happy that America, although somewhat belatedly, was finally paying tribute to them for fighting in Vietnam. Tears came to my eyes several times as these marching units would stop and sing “God Bless America". The spectators joined in, eager to display the love they have for the greatest nation in the world, the United States of America. I felt an uncompara ble spirit of patriotism fill my soul as I mike holmes down and cried. Experiencing this and othersi cidents, I began to get a new fei out the war. Vietnam is theonlyd that our generation has been invow and I thank God for that. But In that all wars produce these sameel War is not the glorious eventik movies portray. It is oftentimes an wanted job, as in the case of by 1 Balt, Leading jre meetiri] iday to d items in a t served in Vietnam. However, sen rexas”con vour fellow Americans in the Anf|ytheTex; watched these men an women march by but the true story was yet to come. In the second form of recognition, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedi cated. This massive structure pays hom age to the 57,939 who didn’t return. One may think 58,000 casualties is a large amount, but the true magnitude of the loss can’t be truly understood until one can see how large a monument was re quired to commemorate it. The memo rial is 500 feet long with names engraved five per line. I was greatly moved to see the veter an’s reaction to this memorial. There was, and always will be, some controversy over the memorial, but the veterans all seemed to be glad that fallen comrades were finally achieving recognition. However, it wasn’t a totally joyous occa sion. I watched man after woman walk, stop, and look for names of their loved ones. The grief in their eyes was tremen dous. I saw mothers wiping tears away. I saw an ex-Marine walk along, f ully dres sed in camouflage, looking at names he recognized with tears filling his eyes. Af ter he had walked past the entire memo rial, he walked to a nearby tree and sat ment t< Vietnam. f orc es is the ultimate in showing* pstitute. ism. for the Vietnam veterans,A» ; State a had never properly thanked them : us * P*‘ u answering the call of duty. I begc trulv realize this Saturday. L p p in" Latet that day, I approached sen Lxt legis Veterans and extended my ham an uary. thanks lor their serving. These ment dark Whit overjoved that someone apprea peak at 1 what they had done. It wasobviousn he impon that these-t elut tting veterans haveki ources. hard time due to America’s generals I ! 1 1 stltut owards our involvemeni un j S s ‘ apid pop . r , Texas, of’fi I lowever, no matter how one teel oncerne( j out out participation, one fgctrei 10 tthesta We did participate, these mem ne waters women did serve as they werecalld iceds. and deserve our thanks for thesacnl “Educa they made. I would encourage each iroblem,” every one of you to show your appra j 1011 ^ be tion In personally thanking anyofiCt h0It ‘jS e - know who served in Vietnam fori , • ” . . . ;upply is have nevei received their proper . , e [ 0 ffj c j a come and America should conttnueii , e | () p wate showing of appreciation. A bigstepi /ear 2000; taken Saturday and it is our responsii es said, as Americans to keep this action grow Mike Holmes, Corps Commander,! senior clct n it ;il engineering majork n Grand Prairie. by D; Bs American more efficie jpust divei sources in nator K< [ere Wednc Many sta homeowner saving impi ingthem ta> pans or gr the costs of .aperton s; Capertoi Tower was 'olitical Fo: l&M Rene sources Ass Water re iroblem ii laperton sr He said 1 he public ind develop he entire st o Texans i is well as to ;ast. West German Vogel faces worl by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer Perhaps more than any of his Amer ican counterparts, 56-year-old Hans- Jochen Vogel has his work cut out for him. As the man slated to face West Ger many’s conservative Chancellor Helmut Kohl in March’s general elections, the new leader of the lef tist Social Democrats must unite a party that is more deeply split than the Democrats in the United States. His task may take years, to the benefit of both Kohl’s conservative coali tion and the Reagan administration. The once-unified Social Democratic Party (SPD) of former chancellor Helmut Schmidt remains seriously divided on the issue of nuclear weapons. Originally proposes by Schmidt, NATO’s plan to deploy 214 medium-range missiles on German soil next year drew enough fire from the SPD’s left wing, as well as the youthful and increasingly powerful Green Party, to topple the former chan cellor. Vogel may have been the best choice for mending the rift and appealing to West Germans in general. The personal favorite of Willy Brandt, Vogel is also a Catholic from conservative Bavaria. He was highly critical of the left during a stint as mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972; as minister of justice from 1974 to 1981, he earned high marks from the left for his resistance to demands for strict anti-terrorist laws. Meanwhile, a brief te nure as mayor of youth-oriented West Berlin, where Schmidt posted him last year to repair party splits, brought him into close contact with the Greens. Despite his experience, Vogel acknow ledges that Kohl’s party won’t go down easily. Though 180,000 trade unionists turned out last weekend in Stuttgart to protest the new government’s economic austerity program, Kohl has refused to comply with a Reagan administration re quest that West Germany boost defense expenditures in real terms next year (something which Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger will surely mention when his counterpart, Manfred Woer- ner, visits Washington next week). Nor will reconciliation with the Greens and their supporters (who, according to opinion polls, number about 10 percent of the populace) happen overnight. Deeply troubled by nuclear proliferafion as well as the foreign influences over Ger man economic and Cultural life, the Greens repeatedly say that they will not compromise their princiles for thesi of the SPD. Twice in the last year,inf< SPD efforts to form a majority witlill Greens in Hamburg city governnid have failed. As Karsten Voigt, a progressive met her of the Bundestag and a securitjfl pert for the SPD, told us recently,"] run to the Greens, the SPD will be into bigger struggle. It will kill ourcredibl Besides, if the cause of their frustrai was laid down years ago, we can't ovS come it quickly. Th# Greens willconlto to plague us for a couple of years, least.” When the March election arrivfl Vogel’s work to revive the SPDma only begun. Berry’s World by Jim Berry D1982 by NBA. Inc, “When I grow up, I’m going to be successful and not have much time to spend with my kids, too!”