The University of Richmond Collegian 09/15/94
Staff Editorial
by Jeffrey Carl, Opinion Editor
What We Think
an Opinion from the
Collegian Staff
“Race Riot”
Many people speak of the Virginia senatorial race as a “horse race.”
It seems to us that it’s more like a race between several three-legged camels.
The simple fact is that Virginians are being asked to choose a United States Senator – 1/100 of the most powerful legislative body in the world – from four men who often seem more suitable to be elected dogcatcher. Some expect Nigel Tufnel to pop out from behind a tree and announce that the whole silly thing has been a “Spinal Tap”-like parody of an actual senate race, which would have been supplied with at least one likable, viable candidate.
The players in this farce are:
L. Douglas Wilder, former governor, who as this is being written is reportedly considering withdrawing from the race. In the last five years Wilder has raised indecisiveness to an art form, dropping in and out of the presidential election and the senatorial campaign like a yo-yo in fifth gear.
Marshall Coleman, former state attorney general, whose campaign is now receiving about as much notice as a stealth bomber. Coleman has been painted into a corner as the “moderate” Republican (although he is running as an Independent) and currently looks to receive all the default votes of people who hate the other candidates and don’t know Coleman well enough to dislike him.
Charles “Chuck” Robb: former governor and incumbent senator, Robb’s lapses of discretion in his private life are well-known. As a senator, Robb has had a solid career, but integrity and personal issues are likely to cost him the Boy Scout endorsement.
Oliver North: I think we all know Ollie. ‘Nuff said.
The point of this being that the lesser of four evils is still, nonetheless, an evil. Something has gone wrong with the political process in this state. Virginia has another shot at a senate race in 1996, and another chance of producing a field of good choices for a seat on Capitol Hill. But we probably shouldn’t hold our breath./94
Staff Editorial
by Jeffrey Carl, Op-Ed Editor
What We Think
an Opinion from the Collegian Staff
Race riot