THE IRAN--CONTRA HEARINGS : Winning the Hearts and Minds of Many Countrymen : Consummate Marine: Grit, Grace

Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the Marine officer who destroyed evidence and lied to government officials, is fast winning the hearts and minds of many Americans, as 60 million television viewers marvel at his forthright admissions of deeds he said were done for the good of his country and the safety of his family.

In a series of random interviews by Times reporters around the country Thursday, some people said North should run for President and others said he should win an Oscar for a compelling on-camera performance.

Although there are those who see the central figure in the Iran- contra affair as a phony and a throwback to Watergate operative G. Gordon Liddy, most people seem to regard North as a consummate Marine, with grace and grit under fire, who is taking the heat for higher-ups in government.

Coming on Strong

“I think he’s magnificent. He can either become a movie actor or a President,” said Tom Ruben, a Chicago advertising salesman. “ . . . I think he’s schmaltzed it up a little--mother and apple pie--but, at the same time, I admire the way he has come on so strong.”

“I think he should have the highest honor in the world,” said Angelo Terrinoni, the operator of a Miami supermarket.

North’s presence on TV screens across the country clearly has galvanized public interest. The hearings Tuesday and Wednesday were at least as popular as the soap operas and game shows that usually dominate daytime television, according to network spokesmen.

So far this week, the White House received more than 2,000 phone calls “positive to the testimony” and 83 calls opposed to it, according to spokesman Marlin Fitzwater.

On Capitol Hill, members of Congress who are not taking part in the hearings noted similar reactions from their constituents.

Calls Are ‘Pro-Ollie’

“All the calls are pro-Ollie,” said Republican Robert H. Michel of Illinois, the House minority leader. Michel noted that three Republican colleagues from California, Idaho and Ohio with whom he had lunch said that they were getting the same reaction from their constituents.

“They all said everybody was abuzz about Ollie in their districts, and that he ought to run for something.”

Democrats said they were seeing the same reaction, and some of them sounded dumbfounded by it.

“We got 75 to 100 calls yesterday--that’s a bundle. They feel he’s honest,” Ohio Sen. John Glenn said.

“A lot are saying the guy seems so sincere. Yet, here’s a fellow who says, ‘I lied.’ Explain that (people’s positive reaction) to me?” Sen. Alan J. Dixon (D-Ill.) said.

Reactions to North’s testimony before the Iran-contra congressional committees were sought by The Times in interviews Thursday with people in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston. The unscientific poll found that even many people who disapproved of the operations that North helped direct--the sale of arms to Iran and the diversion of some of the proceeds to the Nicaraguan rebels--seemed impressed by him.

During the hearings this week, North has readily admitted lying to Congress about the Administration’s role in providing covert aid to the contras. He said he did it to save lives, presumably those of Nicaraguan resistance fighters who received the assistance.

North has also admitted destroying documents that might have indicated who, among his superiors, approved plans to divert Iran arms sales proceeds to the contras. Adamantly and eloquently, North defended those actions as necessary to carry out worthy foreign policy goals.

Private Security Fence

North did confess to one breach of his own moral code. He said he regretted trying to cover up the fact that funds from arms sales to Iran were used to pay for a private security fence installed around his home.

North came into the hearings under a cloud of suspicion, and some of those interviewed said they had thought ill of him until they watched him testify.

“As much as I didn’t believe him before watching it, from the newspapers and such, I was surprised by how my thoughts have changed about it. Either he’s a good man or a good actor,” Elizabeth A. Raddatz, a sales representative for a Chicago printing company, said.

Some others remain unconvinced by North’s television performance.

‘He’s So Arrogant’

“I had a bad impression of him before the hearings, and now I’m even more sure he is a fanatic. He’s so arrogant. But I am convinced he is protecting the President,” Marian Harlow of Los Angeles said.

Dorothy Newton, an office manager in Houston, said that North is beguiling but ultimately not convincing.

“We get the impression that he’s very sincere, that he’s so damn sincere that he really thinks he is protecting all of us idiots. Then, we say: ‘Wait a minute, this poor, pitiful guy is lying. He cheats. He’s even profited from all of this,’ ” Newton said.

“It is really scary that someone like that has gotten into the position he has. It’s really scary that polls show that people think he’s innocent and sincere.”

Rebecca Sue Hoffman, a telephone company office manager in Houston, said North’s bravado in the face of hostile questioning reminds her of Liddy, who refused to testify in the Watergate inquiry and who enjoyed showing off his ability to endure pain by holding his finger over a flame.

“I expect him (North) to hold his hand over a burning candle and say he’s doing it for the good of the country,” Hoffman said.

Many people spoke admiringly of North while criticizing the operation he was a part of.

‘Caught in the Middle’

David Fieldstone, president of Executive Group Management Inc., a real estate development company in Miami, said: “ I think he’s terrific.” When asked if he believes North was telling the truth, Fieldstone replied: “Not necessarily. He’s caught in the middle because of security and his superiors.”

“I think Col. North is a very patriotic, exuberant young Marine lieutenant colonel, but I think possibly someone sold him a bill of goods,” said Dennis L. Griewisch, a retired naval officer from Marietta, Ga. Several people portrayed North as an honorable scapegoat.

Charles Clark, a Miami wine salesman, described North as “basically a fall guy who handles it well. . . . He’s saying some things and not saying others because he’s protecting higher-ups.”

Clark said watching the hearings made him change his mind about North’s role. “Once you see him and hear him, you realize he wasn’t functioning by himself.”

Staff writer Robert S. Weiss in Los Angeles and researchers Wendy Leopold in Chicago, Lorna Nones in Miami, Rhona Schwartz in Houston and Edith Stanley in Atlanta contributed to this story.