ELECTIONS 25TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : North Thrills Crowd at Event to Help Wyman Candidacy

After the two hours of admiration Oliver North received in the Antelope Valley on Wednesday--drawing rousing applause during a luncheon speech, selling and signing his autobiography, and posing for countless photos--some might have thought he was running for public office.

In fact, though, the former Marine lieutenant colonel and Ronald Reagan aide, who gained fame and notoriety as the key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal, was in Lancaster to endorse the congressional bid of conservative Assemblyman Phil Wyman (R-Bakersfield).

Speaking to a crowd of sympathetic Republicans, North railed against a Democrat-controlled Congress, bemoaned the supposed loss of American values and threw in plugs for Wyman during a 15-minute speech.

It was a case of mutual admiration. Wyman, a candidate in the June 2 primary, called North “one of America’s few great heroes of the last 50 years.” And North told the crowd of about 225 people, “the problems of Washington are such that we desperately need Phil Wyman back there.”

After the speech, North, 48, spent nearly an hour selling and autographing his book, “Under Fire” and, by one count, penned his name on about 120 copies that sell for $24 apiece.

Wyman aides said the event was supposed to raise nearly $10,000 for Wyman’s campaign, figuring the $25-a-plate luncheon and the two dozen or so people who paid an extra $125 to have their pictures taken with Wyman and North.

Wyman aides said the two men have talked in the past and that North made the appearance at Wyman’s request. But they insisted Wyman’s campaign did not lure North by paying his customary speaking fee of up to $25,000. They said Wyman was only paying part of North’s travel costs.

North was due in the San Fernando Valley today for a different political endorsement.

After the Lancaster speech, during which he waved a Bible from the dais, North told reportersthat he and Wyman share common beliefs in conservative social and fiscal policies, the need for a strong national defense and the “traditional values” found in the Bible.