A Mellower Mailer Still Doesn’t Pull Any Punches

It was an older, mellower Norman Mailer who came to Congregation Beth El in La Jolla to deliver a lecture Wednesday night.

He was, for example, only drinking water at the podium. And he corrected the program chairwoman’s introduction by noting that his days as a free-lance pugilist are over.

But the 65-year-old novelist-journalist proved that he hasn’t totally lost the knack of poking his host in the eye--a skill honed by years on the lecture circuit inciting feminists, militarists and the politically comfortable.

Mailer’s announced topic, as part of a tour sponsored by the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, was “The Craft of Writing in Relation to Judaism.” For openers, he announced that he does not follow the religious tenets of Judaism, does not consider himself a “Jewish novelist” and has no plans to write a “Jewish novel.”

While the 1,000-plus persons in the audience were digesting those thoughts, he opined that Jews have been politically myopic toward Jesse Jackson and insensitive to blacks, and that continued discussion of the Holocaust has “diminished the Jews as a moral force in the world.” Enter some restlessness and scattered hissing.

“I think it’s a misconception that the moral tone of the world is going to be raised by having us fixed on the Holocaust,” he said. A woman in the audience disagreed sharply.

He answered questions--in his own fashion. Since you’re writing a book about the CIA, what do you think about Oliver North’s trial? He brushed off such a lowbrow inquiry.

“I want to keep the conversation above the level of something you can hear on television,” he said. He used a sing-song voice to mock a questioner about relations between blacks and Jews.

At the end, applause was genuinely moderate. Senior Rabbi Martin Levin explained that Mailer had been provocative but not as abusive as expected. Among other things, he did not announce a “Jackson in ‘92” committee.

“The enfant terrible has grown up,” Levin said.

Live Wire of SCE

Southern California Edison boss Howard Allen, known widely as the Dark Prince of the Utility Business, made his first public speech in San Diego on Thursday. The occasion: a luncheon given by the City Club of San Diego.

Sparks did not fly from his fingertips. Milk did not curdle. No one tried to harm him physically, although the police had assigned a plainclothes bodyguard just in case.

His delivery was smooth and effective. A dash of humor, a bundle of facts and figures about lower utility rates and better service, an earnest pledge to remain a good corporate citizen once Edison swallows San Diego Gas & Electric.

That was the prepared face. The spontaneous face was more animated. Reporters and others gathered around as Allen and his entourage sought to leave. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set.

“The public is not going to get a lot of 20-second news clips,” he told a television reporter. “You should consider the source” before quoting anyone in opposition to Edison, he told another.

Chula Vista Councilman David Malcolm suggested that he put his commitment about charitable giving, etc., in writing.

“I can’t believe you think we’re such a sly, dishonest bunch of sons of bitches that we won’t perform,” Allen said. He then departed to talk to newspaper editorial writers in Mission Valley.

No Beep, No Bleep

Former presidential son Michael Reagan, after admitting that he left a dirty-worded message on a photographer’s answering machine, could have skipped his scheduled speech Thursday to the San Diego Press Club.

But, with his maturity already in question, Reagan opted to win points for pluck. He arrived at the luncheon in giddy spirits, fresh from his KSDO talk show.

“I said, well, I could go to the lunch or I could just leave a message on their answering machine,” he said. “But, as you know, I’m not very good at those things.”