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/ol. 82 No. 47 GSPS 045360 10 pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, November 4, 1986
andidates
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White campaigns across Texas to put
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White predicted victory. Clem
ents, whose 18 percentage point lead
In last summer’s opinion polls had
shrunk to a margin of five to seven
)ints, declined to predict Election
Jay turnout.
On the last full day of cam-
aaigning, each candidate sounded
the themes he had relied on
[throughout the fall.
Clements said the issues were jobs
and the faltering economy. White
championed education reforms,
highway construction and the
statewide water plan passed during
his term.
Continuing the hard pace he has
[maintained for two weeks, White
[campaigned in Lubbock, Wichita
jjFalls, Dallas, Waco, Austin, Beau-
jmont and Houston. He also had San
[Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros
[working on his behalf in South
iTexas.
Clements and Bush campaigned
[across the state as well, visiting the
1 Dallas area, El Paso, San Antonio,
College Station and Houston.
White said he believed the race is
i dead even now.
“I’m very pleased with the results
[of all the polling that’s going on at
this very moment indicating that we
have pulled up 20 points in the polls
in the last several weeks and that we
are neck-and-neck,” White said.
Complimenting his campaign
workers on the job they’ve done,
White said, “I believe victory will be
ours Tuesday (today) because of that
effort on behalf of our campaign.”
Clements declined to predict to
day’s turnout, which Secretary of
State Myra McDaniel has forecast at
44 percent, or 3.2 million voters.
“The issue is going to be jobs, jobs,
jobs,” Clements said. “And that’s
going to turn our people out.”
Bush, in an appearance with
Clements at Eastfield College in
Mesquite, accused the White cam
paign of “ugly negatives” which he
said appeared to be “an effort to
shift away from Bill Clements’ re
cord. And Bill Clements has a great
record.”
White predicted that he would
run strongly in West Texas, as well
as traditional Democratic strong
holds such as the Rio Grande Valley.
“Just an extra effort right now,
just any kind of press forward, and it
will push us into the victory column
Tuesday night,” White said.
Bush said Clements proved his
leadership ability during his term as
govenor from 1978 to 1982.
“Bill Clements is pro-education,
pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-energy,”
the vice president said. “We have a
person who not only talks about the
future, but a person who has led a
positive, productive Texas for four
years when he was governor.”
rs
Freed American
pleads for release
of other captives
WIESBADEN, West Germany
|(AP) — David Jacobsen on Monday
; told of his great joy in being released
from more than 17 months of cap
tivity but said other Americans still
'held by Lebanese kidnappers “are in
hell” and must be set free.
Jacobsen, 55, arrived at the U.S.
military air base in Wiesbaden one
day after being freed by his Shiite
See related story, page 6
Moslem captors. Anglican Church
envoy Terry Waite accompanied Ja
cobsen, who was serving as adminis
trator of the American University
hospital in Beirut when he was ab
ducted on May 28,1985.
Waite, who has negotiated to free
the hostages since last year, said he
would keep on seeking the release of
five other Americans who are
among 19 foreigners still missing in
Lebanon.
They include Terry A. Anderson,
chief Middle East correspondent of
the Associated Press, and Thomas
Sutherland, acting dean of agricul
ture at the university, who also have
been held since early 1985.
Jacobsen, from Huntington
Beach, Calif., was examined at the
Air Force hospital. Col. Charles K.
Maffet, hospital director, told a news
conference that, “although he is
tired, our initial impression is that he
is physically in very good condition.
It also seems that he has dealt with
the stresses of his captivity remark
ably well.”
“It appears he has lost very little
weight,” the colonel said. “Again, he
is fit. He has had no medication
since he’s been here.”
“Initial evaluation did not reveal
any evidence of physical abuse,” he
said, adding that Jacobsen was eat
ing normal foods and even had some
wine.
In an emotional statement soon
after arrival, Jacobsen said his hap
piness was greatly diminished by the
continued captivity of the others.
“I can’t tell you how very, very
happy I am here today,” he said.
“But it’s with really mixed feelings to
be a free man again.” His voice
shook and he appeared on the verge
of tears as he said, “Those guys are
in hell, and we’ve gotta get them
home.
“The best things in life are free,
and, by God, they are.”
Jacobsen was in the hands of the
pro-Iranian Shiite group Islamic Ji
had, as are Anderson, 39, and Su
therland, 55.
He smiled occasionally and said
he felt well but gave no details of his
treatment during captivity.
Bush says Republican victory
vital to U.S. economic health
By Sondra Pickard
Senior Staff Writer
Vice President George Bush
said Monday that only with Re
publican progress can the belief
that “America is back” continue
to be felt across the nation.
After arriving at Easterwood
Airport aboard Air Force Two,
Bush addressed an enthusiastic,
flag-waving crowd packed into
Rudder Auditorium. Bush was
accompanied by Sen. Phil
Gramm, former Gov. Bill Clem
ents and U.S. Rep. Joe Barton in
a program titled “A Panorama of
Republican Perspectives on Is
sues Facing the State of Texas,”
sponsored by the Memorial Stu
dent Center’s Political Forum.
Although Political Forum orig
inally intended that these officials
address problems affecting the
state, the program turned out to
be a last-minute pep rally for
Texas Republicans facing today’s
elections as Bush and Gramm
gave their final endorsements.
In an interview last week Ann
Levy, chairwoman of Political Fo
rum, said speakers were asked to
address only the specified topic
and not to mention any candi
dates’ names. Political Forum also
invited Democratic speakers, in
cluding Gov. Mark White, but
they declined the invitation.
“I will try to be brief,” Bush
said, “but it’s going to be tough to
be nonpolitical. I think I’m going
to give up . . . because there’s too
much at stake tomorrow.”
Bush said Texas needs a gover
nor who is achievement-oriented
and who understands jobs and
the economy.
“Today across the U.S. there
are more Americans at work than
at any time in history,” Bush said.
“It’s jobs that count, and Texa l s
has not kept up with that.
“When Bill Clements was gov
ernor, there was a good record on
jobs.”
Saying the country now feels
that “America is back,” Bush said
Republicans want to take the
proper steps at the polls to see
that America not only stays
“back” but also stays on the move.
When the Reagan administra
tion took office in Washington,
Bush said, inflation was at 12.5
percent and the prime interest
rate was 21.5 percent.
“Now you can go to downtown
Bryan, and it’s 2.9 percent to buy
a car,” he said. “That is Republi
can progress and with all respect
to Political Forum, we’re going to
keep it that way.”
Bush talked of the Grenada in
vasion and how the Reagan ad
ministration was criticized for
that as well as for the bombing of
Libya.
“Well let me tell you something
about that,” Bush said. “We feel
an obligation to protect the lives
open
else,’
of American citizens wherever
they are in the world, and if we
find state-sponsored fingerprints
on another active terrorist, we’ll
hit Moammar Gadhafi again.
“If we’re not willing to stand
up for our people, who will?”
Bush said although he’s been
unfairly accused of running a se
cret war in Nicaragua, it is the
U.S. government’s policy to sup
port those fighting for freedom
and democracy in Central Amer
ica. He said Nicaragua openly vi
olated its promise to “go down
democracy’s road.
Reagan’s Strategic Defense Ini
tiative, Bush said, should instead
be labeled the “strategic defense
against nuclear weapons,” be
cause, he said, it is not a threat to
any single human life, but only to
those weapons already launched
in the atmosphere.
Ending his speech, Bush said
he feels a “visceral commitment
to seeing that Bill Clements is the
next governor of this great state.”
Gramm focused on the tradi
tional ideals of the Republican
Party, saying it’s a party that be
lieves in limited government and
in opportunity for the individual
citizen.
“It (the Republican Party) be
lieves that government ought to
derate on a budget like everyone
Gramm said. “It’s a party
that believes the working men
and women of America ought to
be the first claimants on their in
come.”
Gramm said the bottom line in
this campaign, when all the rhe
toric is cut through, is the ques
tion of who can do more to reb
uild the business climate in
Texas.
“We’re not going to balance the
budget of this state if we follow
the policies of these last four
years and simply raise taxes
again,” Gramm said. “Who can
do more in bringing new business
and industry to Texas of the two
people running for governor? I
think you know who will do more,
and I think you share that view.”
Barton said if voters will look at
the record and not the rhetoric,
it’s the Republican Party in the
last six years that has gotten the
job done.
“The Democrats still talk a
good game,” Barton said, “but
they don’t deliver.
“Republicans today are looking
toward the future with hope. The
Democrats today are looking at
the past with longing and talking
about the good old days.”
In one of his last campaign
speeches before the election,
Clements expressed hope that he
will carry the A&M campus in the
election as he did in 1982, and
said “if we choose wisely and
exercise good judgment tomor
row, we’re going to retire old
what’s-his-name.”
Photo by John Makely
Members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets greet Vice Pres
ident George Bush as he arrives at Easterwood Airport.
Photo by Shawn Edward?
A&M students gather outside Rudder Tower Monday af
ternoon, yelling “Beat the hell outta Mark White.”
Democrats aiming for Senate majority
Candidates wind up campaigns
(AP) — The candidates submitted
their case to the voters Monday in
the tense struggle for control of the
Senate, the shining prize in today’s
elections to pick the nation’s 100th
Congress and three dozen gover
nors.
President Reagan played his role
as chief campaigner to the end,
stumping for GOP candidates in two
College Station fire marshal says
arson caused fires in store, club
By Bob Grube
Staff Writer
College Station Fire Marshal
| Harry Davis said Monday the week
end fires at the nightclub MC 2 and
■ The Christmas Store were caused by
| arson.
; “At this time, we don’t know if the
fires are related or what started
| them,” Davis said, “but we do know
|j it was arson. We don’t want to specu
late on whether or not the fires are
related.”
Fari Estakhri, owner of MC 2 , and
M.L. “Red” Cashion, owner of The
Christmas Store, were unavailable
I for comment Monday.
Davis said the fire at MC 2 started
about 5:40 Saturday morning and
was put out at about 6:20 a.m. He
said the flames had worked their
way between some of the walls inside
the building.
He said it took more time to extin
guish the fire in those areas.
“The building (MC 2 ) was origi
nally a train depot and it’s over 100
years old, so the wood burned faster
than it normally would have,” Davis
said.
“We know the fire started on the
east side of the building, but that’s all
we know right now,” he said. “We
don’t know how the fires were
started yet.”
Davis said the fire at The
Christmas Store started shortly after
the fire at MC 2 , but was not as dam
aging.
He said he received the call from
the dispatcher and was the first per
son at the scene.
Davis said the fire was small and
looked like it had just started, so he
was able to extinguish it with a gar
den hose lying nearby.
Bicker Cain, buyer for The
Christmas Store, said only the out
side of the building was burned. Nei
ther the interior nor its inventory
was harmed, he said.
Davis said the College Station Fire
Department is continuing its investi
gation into both fires.
western states in a bid to keep the
Senate from falling into hostile
Democratic hands in his final two
years in office.
Visiting Nevada for GOP Senate
candidate Jim Santini, the president
said, “It’s time we got the facts out
about Jim’s opponent. I don’t think
the fiercely independent people of
Nevada want as their senator a tax-
and-spend liberal who is against a
balanced budget amendment.”
Then it was on to Costa Mesa,
Calif., where the president bolstered
his partisan rhetoric in favor of a
sentimental speech marking the end
of what he termed “the last cam
paign.”
The real issue, he said, is “that fu
ture that all of us want: a future of
prosperity, of freedom for the indi
vidual; above all, a future where
America is safe and secure.”
Leaders of both parties in the
House of Representatives made
their final forays of the nation’s cost
liest mid-term campaign — and one
of the nastiest.
Rep. Guy Vander Jagt of Michi
gan, who chairs the Republican con
gressional campaign committee,
headed for Maryland, Ohio, Michi
gan, Texas and North Carolina.
His Democratic counterpart, Rep.
Tony Coelho of California, had a
stop in Annapolis, Md. on his sched
ule.
Most of the attention nationally
was focused on the Senate races. Re
publicans hold a 53-47 edge in the
current Senate, but are defending
22 of the 34 seats on the ballot.
Democrats said they would gain
more than enough seats to end six
years of Republican rule. The GOP
sounded less confident about pre
dicting the outcome.
The final straw polls seemed to
swirl in the wind rather than blow in
any discernible direction.
Democrats said their best chances
for gains are in Maryland and Ne-
See related story, page 5
vada, where Republican incumbents
are retiring, and in Florida, where
GOP Sen. Paula Hawkins is trailing.
Republicans said they would pick
up a seat in Missouri, where Demo
cratic Sen. Thomas Eagleton is step
ping down.
The races in Alabama, Colorado,
Idaho, North Dakota and South Da
kota all appeared too close to call,
and all except Colorado featured in
cumbent Republicans battling to
hold their seats. Incumbents seemed
in slightly better shape but not safe
in several more states, including Re
publican seats in Georgia, Alaska,
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and a
Democratic seat in California.
In the 435-member House, there
was general agreement that Demo-.
crats would pad their current major
ity by as many as 10 seats. Republi
cans said that wouldn’t be so bad,
pointing out that in the last 30 years,
the average election-year loss - in the
sixth year of a national administra
tion is 47 seats.
Democrats hold a 253-180 edge in
the current House. Two seats for
merly held by Republicans are va
cant.
Republicans are counting on gains
in the 36 statehouse races on the bal
lot, perhaps a pickup of 10 seats.
Some of tne best known governors
seemed likely to win new terms, in
cluding Democrat Mario Cuomo of
New York and Republicans George
Deukmejian of California and James
Thompson of Illinois.
In addition to the top of the ticket,
there are thousands of candidates on
the ballot for positions ranging from
state legislator to local judge.
Forty-three states have referenda
on the ballot, including six where
voters are deciding whether to estab
lish a lottery system. In Oregon, vot
ers will decide whether to permit
cultivation of marijuana for personal
use.
After months of personal cam
paigning and millions spent on neg
ative television advertisements, the
candidates were running right to the
end.