Democratic Candidates Back Missile Pact : Only Bush Among GOP Participants in TV Debate Supports Treaty

All six Democratic presidential candidates, seeking to dramatize their own unity and GOP divisions during a nationally televised debate Tuesday night, unanimously endorsed the proposed intermediate nuclear arms treaty and expressed dismay that only Vice President George Bush among the Republicans supports it.

“It is nothing short of appalling,” declared Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.), that five of the six Republican candidates have expressed reservations--or outright opposition--to the treaty eliminating all U.S. and Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles. President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev are expected to sign the treaty at a summit meeting here next week.

But the Democrats’ unity on arms control and on most other foreign policy issues quickly evaporated on domestic issues during the NBC debate, which featured all 12 major candidates from both parties.

‘Promise-as-You-Go Democrat’

Castigating Illinois Sen. Paul Simon for vowing to cut the deficit while increasing spending, for example, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri declared: “Paul, you’re not a pay-as-you-go Democrat. You’re a promise-as-you-go Democrat.”

“Simonomics is really Reaganomics with a bow tie,” Gephardt jeered, referring to the bow tie that has become a Simon trademark.

With the missile treaty overshadowing most other issues during the debate, Bush’s conspicuous support of the agreement before the largest television audience thus far of the campaign could give him a boost with the general public, which polls show tends to favor arms control. Among hard-line conservatives who often dominate GOP caucuses and primaries, however, there is considerable skepticism of treaties with the Soviets.

Moreover, the vice president, who chided his GOP opponents for what he called their “glancing, side-pocket shots” at the pact, said he believes there is “a good chance” Reagan and Gorbachev eventually will agree on another treaty to reduce strategic or long-range missiles by 50%.

Divided Into Two Segments

The two-hour debate held at the Kennedy Center was divided into segments so that the two groups of candidates did not appear on stage simultaneously.

With their sharp exchanges on the economy, the Democrats focused on an issue that has dominated the early months of their intra-party contest for the nomination--and the one that many of them believe offers their ultimate standard-bearer the best line of attack against the GOP.

When confronted by Gephardt, Simon stood his ground, maintaining that his proposals could all be carried out. “We have the potential to do so much,” he argued.

But former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, whom many regard as trailing the first tier of Democratic candidates, accused both Gephardt and Simon of “flimflam” for suggesting that the budget deficit could be reduced without making spending cuts and raising taxes.

Rising from his seat on the stage, Babbitt declared: “I’m going to stand up to say it’s time to speak the truth about the budget deficit.”

Babbitt also pressed Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis sharply on his plans to balance the budget. When Dukakis answered that he had balanced nine state budgets during his years as governor, Babbitt demanded--without solid results--that Dukakis be more specific.

The hottest argument developed when Gore challenged Gephardt to explain his vote for the 1981 tax cut that was the heart of Reagan’s economic program.

“How can you ask to lead the Democratic charge when you voted for the centerpiece of Reaganomics?” Gore asked.

Gephardt responded that he had first tried to pass a Democratic alternative, which failed to get enough votes. Then he challenged Gore to say whether he would now vote to repeal the tax cut, a question Gore never directly answered.

In the foreign policy section of the Democratic debate, Gore contended that “I am the only candidate for keeping the sea lanes open (in the Persian Gulf) and for standing up to the Ayatollah Khomeini.”

But the Rev. Jesse Jackson immediately accused Gore of “misrepresenting the truth.” Jackson contended that “all of us” favored keeping the Persian Gulf open to shipping, but preferred that the United States share the responsibility with its allies.

Democrats in Agreement

Otherwise, the Democratic discussion on foreign policy was marked by general agreement on such areas as Central American policy, where most oppose further military aid to the Contras, and on the proposed intermediate-range missile treaty.

At one point, the moderator, NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw, said: “I had the impression you gentlemen were running against each other. It’s a pretty cozy little group we have here.”

Jackson earned probably the biggest laugh of the evening in answering a question about his qualifications to negotiate with Gorbachev. “I’ve met more foreign leaders alive than anyone here,” Jackson claimed. “If you count the dead ones, George Bush has met more,” he added, referring to Bush’s frequent attendance at funerals of foreign rulers.

Amid the Republicans’ sparring over the INF treaty, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who has been running second to Bush in the GOP national polls, left little doubt that he eventually will support the pact.

Although he wants to study the agreement, he said he has “never let the President down” and wants to be constructive and “improve the treaty for the President.”

The senator, who was criticized for being too restrained in the first debate among the GOP contenders in Houston on Oct. 28, had been expected to be more aggressive in the encounter here and perhaps attack Bush, but once again he held his fire.

In fact, in the closing words of the debate, Dole acted more like a bipartisan conciliator than a candidate, declaring that Reagan faces a “tough job” next week and that on behalf of all the candidates he wanted to wish him “every success in his negotiations” with Gorbachev.

With so many candidates involved in the debate and so little time for them to address the issues, it was difficult at times to follow the discussion. Each candidate had only a minute to answer a question. Moderator Brokaw and the three commercial sponsors of the program all received far more television exposure than any single candidate.

Overall, except for the differences over the INF treaty, the debate generated few sparks among the GOP candidates. It was not nearly as heated as the first Republican debate in Houston, in which former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. and former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. (Pete) du Pont IV vehemently attacked Bush over the INF treaty, and the vice president assailed Du Pont for “a nutty idea” of advocating the establishment of a private sector alternative for Social Security.

But the candidates did differ sharply over whether Reagan should pardon Rear Adm. John M. Poindexter and Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, who are expected to be indicted for their roles in the Iran-Contra scandal. The President has left open the possibility he may pardon the two men.

Former television evangelist Pat Robertson and Bush both defended North and Poindexter as patriots who were only trying to do their duty, while New York Rep. Jack Kemp said flatly that if he were President: “I’d pardon them.”

Haig and Dole both said that pardons should not be granted now and that the independent counsel should be permitted to continue his investigation into the scandal.