READERS WRITE I
EVENTUALLY, TIlE violence
following the King verdict will end.
The fires will bum tbemselv out.
The outbursts in other cities will give
in to force and time. Neverthel ,
the hatred, the fears will immer un
derneath. Unemployment will con
tinue, mt education will remain.
The politicians will make promise
which they cannot deliver.
If ever changed, the criminal-j -
nee system will not change those ills
in our society that led to the verdict
tn the Ki beating ease. ., I
Whit peopl� must c-n.l1&e�
America will then overcome its
racism.
HughJack on
Clinton shou/o
ave no fear
'T'o the editor:
As a white person, who has lived
in a predominantly African
American city for over 20 years, I've
been deeply impressed by the
warmth, friendliness, and good will
I received from African American
people.
And I do not believe Governor
Clinton should fear losing many
African American votes, solely be
cause of statements he made criticiz
ing Sister Souljah for remarks she
made, which seemed to indicate sup
port for the killing of white people.
From what I have seen, most
African Americans have a very
strong sense of fairness and have a
strong aversion to violence on the
basis of race or discrimination
against any group. I've been very
impressed and very moved by it. .
Much has been said about Gover
nor Clinton making such remarks on
Rev. Jesse Jackson's "home
grounds." The organization he
spoke at wa not called the Jesse
Jackson Coali lion or even the
African American Coalition, but the
Rainbow coalition.
IT WAS created in the tradition
of Martin Luther King to provide a
unity of all races on the basis of
justice for all. It w certainly an
appropriate place for white people to
express their concerns as well as
minorities.
From wbat I have heard of Gover-
nor Clinton's statements, there was
nothing he said tbat Dr. King had not
aid many times and would not say
again bad he been alive today.
If Sister Souljah's remarks were
misinterpreted by the media, her
rievance should be with The
Washington Post and its reporters.
. If Governor Clinton loses African
erican votes, it will not be be-
use of what he said at the Rainbow
alition, but because hi actions do
not match his words and he is not
ready to provide j uee for all people
nd make the law work for all people
nd alleviate the mass destruction of
poverty.
VIEWS OPINIONS
From e t Germ ny, the
F N FUR T E R
ALLEGEMEINE ZEITUNG, a
conserv tive newspaper: 0 d
h f decade go, the Blac of
America's �iti hoped th t their
prot ts ould Ie d to poli tic 1
change. And in fact civil rights I w
ere enacted under Pre ident
Lyndon B. Johnson, but during the
T elve y of conserv tive rule
under Reag d B h, the blow to
the Great Society progam of
Pre ident John on, and the
bandonment of care for the Blac
popul tion and other ethnic gro
have contributed to a build-up of
bitte , ger and poverty ••. All
that w necessary w par to
RO EGLAND'S
LONDON DAILY MAIL: "God
Help America," the headline
creamed.
President Francoi Mitterand of
France aid "President B h is a
generous man who is coming from
,......---- ../
nom
,r;;;:.'
':::J
At a time when 37 million
Americans lack medical coverage,
Clinton'S initiatives don't go far
enough toward comprehensive
health coverage for all.
By any comparison, Bush is
inferior to Clinton in every possible
way. The man elected by
manipulating racist slogans and
Willie Horton' image, the
"environmental president" who just
refused to slgn a crucial
environmental accord at the Rio
earth summit, Bush has virtually
nothing to offer most Americans.
The only sector of the public
whieb actually will gain from Bush's
possible reelection is the one percent
of all U.S. households, which are
worth more than 90 percent of all
families. Perot benefits from an
American tradition of turning to
mili tary leaders and generals in
times of en is.
A succession of presidents have
been military leaders, beginning
with George Washington, and
including Anc1Iew Jackson, Zachary
Taylor, U.s. Grant, Teddy Roose.vel t
and Dwight Elaenbower. With the
end of the Cold War and the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the political
agenda -shifted from foreign policy
From France, the P ARlS LE
FIGARO, a conserv live
DC paper: "The United Sta
not yet uccceded in economically
integrating 11 i BI c or i
Hispani • That and nOthing e
the problem. And hat is happening
today could explode here
tomorrow."
From South Afric' THE
CITIZEN, a con erv live,
bite-oriented ne paper: "Our
dvice to the United Slat : 'sort
out your own racial problems and
NOW REMEMBER, WHEN APPREHENDING BLACKS. F1RE A WARNING SHOT RIGHT HERE.
h
erotPh
In the past two months, the
American media has found a new
political "poster boy," Ross Perot,
the eccentric Texas billionaire. By
any measure, he is a mass of
contradictions and garbled homilies.
Perot never tires denouncing
federal deficits and big
bureaucracies, yet he made his
billions largely through massive
federal ubsidies.
Back in 1987, he argued that tax
hikes were necessary to balance the
budget, but today he declares any
talk of tax inaeases is out of the
question.
Perot places himself on both sides
of the abortion debate, declaring that
be favors· woman's right to choose,
yet be rejects the label of being
"pro-abortion. "
and the lack of a coherent public
policy program, Peret is currently
ahead of both B�h and Democratic
presidential candidate Bill Clinton.
Reagan's 1984 presidential
campaign manager has just joined
Perot's ranks, along with Hamilton
Jordan, the architect of Jimmy
Carter's presidential victory in 1976.
The leading vice presidential
candidate rumored with Perot is
none other than Reagan' "Darth
Vader" at the United Nations, former
ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
Yet the quixotic appeal of Perot
extends to elements of the left. Jesse
Jackson has told advisers that he
feels a greater affini ty for Perot than
toward Clinton. What does the Perot
phenomenon mean? Part of the
reason that the Texas billionaire is
riding high in public opinion polls .
because neither Clinton nor Bush
have captured the imagination or
upport of the Americcan people.
PEROT ClAIMS to favor the
ci� righ of all minorities, yet be
would refuse to appoint
homosexuals to certain government
positions and would dismi them
from the military.
He's.an antiCommuni t "patriot"
who ncverthel opposed the B h
administration's murderous
adventure in Iraq. Despite these
major inconsistencies in ideology
MANY LIBERALS and
progressive question Cinton's lax
attitude toward the environment
during his tenure as Arkan as
Govenor, his support for the death
penalty, and his gene raIl y
conservative economic positions.
non
issues to dome tic economic
matters.
. WITH UNEMPLOYMENT
statistics still climbing despite a
so-called recovery, with over one
million bankruptcies this year alone,
the middle class feels trapped and
abandoned by those In po- .... er.
Economically, American
�ultinational cdrporations and huge
banks feel no allegiance towards
U.S. workers and communities, and
.are rapidl y transferri.ng billions of
dollars from thi country abroad.
Smaller "national capital" firms,
medium-sized corporations hieb
operate solely inside the U.s., are
harply frustrated ith both the
Republicans and Democrats. Their
leaders want a package of federal
and private initiativC4 which revive
domestic competitiveness, improve
public education, and invest in the
national infiutructure by building
roads, ewage, public transportation,
and other resources.
They lie hostile towards unio ,
but favor a more liberal social pollcy
than that championed by Bmh and
Quayle. So from out of the west
ride an "economic general," a
"centri t" favoring entrepreneurial
ALONGntE
COLOR
U E
capitalism and social liberalism on
many issues. The times seem to cry
out for an "anti POlitical politician,"
and Perot seems to fill this vacuum.
But as dangerous and. uqJredictable
as a Perot presidency might be, he
also represent one positive
factor-the long overdue breakdown .
and realignment of America'
political system. Perot may become
the wedge which plits the two party
gridlock in electoral politic ,
inspiring other insurgent initiatives
from local and state levels. A
presidential election wi tbout clear
winner might radically change our
system of politics.
Dr. Manning Marabl� is
Professor of Political Scienu and
History, Universlty 01 Colorado,
Boulder. "Along the Color LiM"
appears ill over 250 publications
�17IIllionolly, and Q radio venioft
is broadcast by more titan fifty
StlJliolU across NorthAmeriaJ.