Angry Bush Fields Barbs Over Iran in GOP Debate

Rebuking a newspaper editor and sloughing off barbs from his opponents during a highly anticipated televised debate Friday night, Vice President George Bush said he long ago came clean on the Iran-Contra affair--and nobody is going to ride to the White House by contending otherwise.

The two-hour Republican debate sponsored by the influential Des Moines Register marked the start of the last lap of the marathon primary campaign for President here, where nominating caucuses are a month away. The newspaper traditionally sponsors the forum as a public service for Iowans. A companion forum for the Democrats will be next week.

Barely was the event under way Friday when the Register itself, and by implication other news outlets, was at the receiving end of Bush’s anger. The vice president complained about recent stories suggesting he was downplaying his role in the Administration’s biggest scandal.

The debate was moderated by Register Editor James P. Gannon, whose first question to Bush concerned the matter.

“You seem to be telling the American people, in effect, trust me, I did the right thing, but I can’t tell you what I did,” Gannon began. “How can you expect their trust if you won’t tell them plainly what you thought? What you did? . . . “

Bush said that to the contrary, he had answered every question save one--the nature of his private advice to President Reagan. He noted that other candidates on the Civic Center stage here who held high positions during the Watergate scandal of the 1970s did not speak publicly about their advice at the time to then-President Richard M. Nixon.

” . . . And I’ll tell you, Jim, what I’d like to do tonight, since your paper had a full page on this suggesting that I didn’t answer questions about the diversion (of money in the Iran-Contra dealings) is to ask you now to have each one of these (rivals) who have been shooting at me ask a question and let me answer it, save the one.

‘Ask the Question’

“You ask about diversion. I didn’t know about diversion of funds to the Contras. The Congress had a $10-million hearing and never suggested I did. The Tower report said I didn’t. And you, your paper today, had that question raised as if I hadn’t answered it. And I resent it frankly, and I think you owe me now to ask the question you say I haven’t answered. You owe me in fairness.”

The question Gannon came up with was: why didn’t Bush follow other Administration officials in testifying before Congress as to how it was wrong to sell arms to the Iranians in an effort to free U.S. hostages.

Because, Bush said, “I strongly supported the policy.”

The renewed controversy over Bush’s role in the formation of the ill-fated arms-for-hostages policy flared again in an exchange with former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr.

Haig suggested that if Bush could not disclose details of his role among GOP friends “what in heaven’s name is going to happen next November if you are our standard-bearer, and these Democrats get after you?”

‘President Explained It’

A tight-jawed and seemingly well-prepared Bush replied: “I don’t think anyone’s going to ride to the White House . . . knocking me or knocking the President on Iran. . . . The President explained it; he lived through it.”

In addition to the six Republicans and lone newspaper editor, the debate featured a well-known Democrat who almost ran for President herself, Rep. Patricia Schroeder of Colorado. Her performance as a questioner had been a subject of pre-debate speculation, particularly because of a crying spell when she took herself out of presidential contention. Would she be tough? Would she show off her knowledge as the senior woman in Congress?

She acknowledged the speculators with wit. “They kind of bring me in as the Democratic pit bull. I am not the Democratic pit bull. Pit bulls don’t cry.”

Instead, she kept the debate relaxed and flowing through the national agenda of issues much as it might if the candidates were sitting around the kitchen in an Iowa farmhouse--the deficit, ethics in government and campaign reform.

New Issue Surfaces

Perhaps surprisingly, given the numerous--some might say, endless--debates in this campaign, one candidate managed to manufacture a new issue. Bush said it was high time that his five rivals join him in the name of clean government in releasing their tax returns for the last 10 years.

“I don’t like it, it’s an invasion of privacy. But we’re at a different level now,” Bush said.

Dole campaign chairman William E. Brock III said after the debate that the vice president was seeking to distract voters from his Iran-Contra troubles. “I think if I was them, I would try to change the subject of the conversation.”

The call for income tax disclosure may have another purpose: To call attention to Dole’s wealth and give voters a reason to question one of the senator’s chief campaign themes, that he is “one of us,” an ordinary small-town Midwesterner.

Dole has not released his returns, and did not immediately agree to. Likewise, none of the others responded on stage. Bush, as vice president, is required by law to disclose his.

Robertson on Defensive

Pat Robertson, the former minister, found himself on the defensive when Schroeder repeatedly reached into his evangelical past to fish out comments that Robertson has tried to distance himself from in this campaign. At one point, she asked if Robertson still believed as President he could ignore the Supreme Court as he suggested in 1986.

Robertson replied that high court rulings carried “enormous credibility” and deserved “respect.” But he stopped short of saying he would obey the court as President.

Each candidate was given a standard two minutes to close, a valuable chance to reach key voters. If the summaries were condensed to a quick thought or slogan, they would read like this:

Dole: “I have a record. I have honesty, and integrity and credibility. I have made a difference.”

Bush: “I want to be the President who is not afraid to reach out for peace.”

Rep. Jack Kemp of New York: “My candidacy gives us the best chance in our lifetime of broadening the base of our party and moving forward.”

Robertson: “With all due deference to all of my distinguished colleagues, I think the Congress and the government leaders have made pretty much a mess of things over the last 20 years.”

Knocks Bush, Dole

Former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. (Pete) du Pont IV: “If you want a Washington insider, you might choose George Bush. He’s held practically every job there. If you want a congressional negotiator, you might pick Bob Dole. (If) you want somebody to lead . . . I’d like your consideration.”

Haig: “Any one of us here is qualified to lead in ordinary times. But let me suggest these are not ordinary times.”

Staff writers Cathleen Decker and Michael Wines contributed to this story.