Wilson, Feinstein ‘Attend’ Banquet Via Video Screen

After years of reliance on 30-second, knock-’em-dead commercials and snappy sound bites fashioned for the evening news, it was bound to come to this--video candidates.

Pete Wilson and Dianne Feinstein, or at least their images, appeared in an otherwise ordinary banquet hall here Monday, where an audience of 200 nonchalantly watched them on an oversized television screen as though the two candidates for governor were right there in the flesh.

Even in California, where almost all politics is impersonally conveyed through television, this was unusual, though perhaps least so to the audience--members of the California Broadcasters Assn.

Feinstein called it “a special day.”

“Through the miracle of modern technology, today is the first time since the general election that Sen. Wilson and I have shared the same platform,” she said.

Only if “platform” is redefined, that is. Via satellite, Feinstein spoke from San Francisco and Wilson from Washington--offering the delegates here a pitch for the governorship.

Wilson, first up on the big screen, virtually ignored Feinstein, save for an opening gibe about her refusal thus far to agree on a date for a face-to-face debate.

Feinstein took the senator on repeatedly as though it really was a debate, frequently criticizing him on such issues as crime and education--certain to be centerpieces of the fall campaign.

She also repeatedly tried out a likely anti-Wilson slogan for the fall: “California can’t afford that kind of leadership.”

Feinstein also attempted to defuse a likely avenue of attack by Wilson--her political association with Democrats who, years after leaving public office, continue to be lightning rods for the electorate.

“This election is not about Rose Bird or Ronald Reagan,” she said, referring to the former California chief justice and the two-term President.

“It’s not about Jerry Brown or even George Deukmejian. It’s about change and progress.”

Leaning into the camera and smiling with ease, Feinstein seemed to draw a slightly more positive response from the delegates. In contrast to her effusive body language, Wilson was more reserved.

Ironically, the senator seemed stiff as he implored the delegates--and through them California voters--to show more warmth for California’s less fortunate.

He repeated his call--first issued last December--to integrate social services with the school system.

Without saying how the programs would be paid for, Wilson advocated merit pay for high-ranking teachers, said parents should be able to choose which schools their children attend, and said students who lack a support system should be linked with “mentors.”

“We must be prepared to make change, to shake things up and to be dissatisfied with an inadequate status quo,” the senator said.

The video format drew mixed reviews, even from the broadcasters, a mix of radio and television executives.

Hal Frank, the president and general manager of two Oxnard radio stations, called the satellite approach “very interesting,” but noted its limitations.

“They didn’t say anything they haven’t said before,” he said. “They weren’t challenged by each other.”