Hart Launches ’88 Drive, Vows to Fight ‘Greed’

Former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination Monday, vowing to combat greed, corruption and mismanagement in order to pursue his vision of “the national interest.”

Standing on a slab of sandstone in suburban Red Rocks Park, with the craggy foothills of the Rocky Mountains providing a telegenic background, Hart said he is seeking the presidency simply because “I love my country.”

The 50-year-old candidate wore only a suit against the 40-degree chill of the April morning as he stood alongside his wife, Lee, and his daughter, Andrea. He talked for seven minutes, without using notes, his hands clasped in front of him except when he occasionally gestured.

Hart, whose 1984 candidacy was a long shot when he challenged Walter F. Mondale for the Democratic nomination, this time is the acknowledged Democratic front-runner. He earned this position by his surprisingly strong showing in 1984 and consolidated it by issuing numerous statments on domestic and international issues over the last two years.

Hart is the third candidate to formally enter the Democratic presidential competition, joining former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri.

Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Sens. Paul Simon of Illinois, Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee and Joseph R. Biden of Delaware and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson will formally enter the race later this spring. Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton is also considering becoming a candidate. The expansive field of candidates reflects a belief within the party that Hart’s hold on the lead spot is shaky.

Diverse Elements

Politically, Hart faces the task of uniting behind him the diverse elements of the traditional Democratic coalition, some of whom, notably organized labor, bitterly opposed his candidacy in 1984.

And he still must explain himself to those Democratic primary voters who regarded him in 1984 as a remote and enigmatic figure, in part because he dissembled about his age and his family name, which was changed to Hart from Hartpence.

Hart is billing himself now, as he did in 1984, as the candidate of ideas. His Democratic successor in the Senate, Timothy E. Wirth, introduced Hart to a flag-waving crowd at a downtown outdoor rally that followed the announcement, crediting Hart with demonstrating that “substance and issues can once again underly American government.”

Raps Reagan Officials

Hart blamed the Reagan Administration for “public officials who represent the ethics of Donovan, Deaver and Boesky.”

He was referring to former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan, on trial for fraud; former White House aide Michael K. Deaver, recently indicted for perjury, and stock market trader Ivan A. Boesky, who has become a symbol of an insider-trading scandal sweeping Wall Street.

“In recent years, we’ve fallen far short of the ideal of America,” he said. “We’ve let personal greed replace a sense of social justice and equity and the national good.”

He also denounced the management of the Reagan Administration, including overspending on weapons systems and farm programs. On foreign policy, he criticized President Reagan’s conduct of “secret wars” in Central America and allowing Marines “to die unnecessarily in Beirut.”

Symbolism and Imagery

Hart’s long-planned entrance into the race was marked by considerable emphasis on symbolism and imagery.

“This election in 1988 is not a question of whether our country should move left or right,” Hart said. “It’s an issue of recapturing our basic principles, beliefs and values.

“I believe our leaders in the future must match reason with rhetoric and policy with passion, and foresight with hindsight,” he said.

Paul Tully, political director of Hart’s campaign, said Hart “wanted to speak as directly as possible (about his beliefs) before we got into the trappings of the full-scale campaign.”

‘Closer to the Core’

Noting that Hart had issued numerous position papers in recent months detailing his views on policy questions, Tully said the candidate’s announcement statement “was a lot closer to the core of his beliefs.”

To Hart and his advisers, what he said Monday appeared to be rivaled in importance by where he said it. Although Denver had a surprise snowfall Sunday and the weather Monday was unseasonably cold and threatening, they stuck to their initial plan to have the announcement outdoors at Red Rocks Park, 16 miles from downtown.

Apart from providing an attractive vista for the television cameras, the choice of the park site helped in the continuing effort by Hart and his supporters to establish him in the public mind as an authentic flesh-and-blood Westerner, rather than the view of him held by some critics as an overly cerebral, somewhat quirky politician.

Yard Too Small

Hart said at the begining of his statement that he wanted to make the announcement outside his own house, just a few miles from the park at a place called, picturesquely enough, Troublesome Gulch. But he decided that his front yard was not large enough for the press contingent.

Hart used the park’s history to reassure some Democrats about his commitment to government playing an active problem-solving role in society. Hart noted that two New Deal agencies, the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, had both helped develop the park site back in the 1930s.

“It is the symbol of what a benevolent government can do,” he said.

‘National Interest’

Symbolism aside, perhaps the most significant element in Hart’s announcement was the emergence of “the national interest” as an apparent major campaign theme.

Although Hart offered no single description of the term, he did define it in bits and pieces during his speech to the outdoor rally that followed his announcement.

“The stakes in 1988 could not be higher and the choices could not be clearer,” he said. Then he reeled off a series of choices: between big-spending defense policies and Pentagon reform; between agricultural policy favoring big corporations on one hand and family farmers on the other, and between the conduct of Donovan and Deaver and “a higher standard” for elected officials.

After each example, Hart declared: “One choice is in the national interest, and that choice is clear.”

Hart will hold a press conference here today and then travel by chartered plane to campaign stops in Amarillo, Tex., Des Moines and Pittsburgh, Pa. He is scheduled to campaign in San Francisco and Los Angeles later in the week.

GARY WARREN HART

Born: Nov. 28, 1936, Ottawa, Kan.

Parents: The late Carl Hartpence, a farm equipment salesman, and the late Nina Pritchard Hartpence.

Education: BA, philosophy, Bethany Nazarene College, 1958. Bachelor of Divinity, Yale University, 1961; Bachelor of Legal Letters, 1964.

Military Career: U.S. Naval Reserve, 1980-present.

Professional Career: Attorney, U.S. Justice Department, 1964-65. Special assistant to U.S. secretary of the Interior, 1965-67. Practicing attorney, Denver, 1967-74. Director, George S. McGovern presidential campaign, 1972. U.S. senator, 1975-87. Candidate for President, 1984.

Family: Wife, Oletha (Lee) Ludwig; daughter, son.

Religion: Protestant.

Accomplishments: Founder and co-chairman, Congressional Military Reform Caucus, 1981-82. Chairman, National Commission on Air Quality, 1978-81. Author, “Right From the Start,” “A New Democracy,” “The Double Man” (fiction), “America Can Win,” “The Strategies of Zeus” (fiction).

Positions: For three-year, $12-billion education program including curriculum enrichment, increased student aid, tax-deferred worker training accounts, competency testing for teachers, a “literacy corps” of volunteer tutors. Against trade protectionism; for legislation to help upgrade U.S. exports. For oil import fee to pay for expanded education, welfare, energy research programs. For farm subsidy cuts, tighter acreage controls. For curbing “Star Wars” missile shield tests if Soviets sharply cut large nuclear missiles. Against aid to Nicaraguan rebels. For freedom of choice on abortion.

Strengths: Front-runner status in polls. Experience from 1984 campaign. Skillful grass-roots organizer, strategist. New-ideas image. Military reform expertise. Thoughtful. Serious. Wry sense of humor.

Vulnerabilities: As front-runner, target of rivals’ attacks, press scrutiny. Large campaign debt. Voter unease over enigmatic personality, change of name and official birth date.