Wilson the Campaigner Finds His Voice

As he campaigned in New England this extended holiday weekend, nearly three months after throat surgery that has hindered his presidential candidacy, California Gov. Pete Wilson seemed to be finding his voice, both literally and figuratively. That is important, of course, but not an unmixed blessing.

As he struggles to make himself heard in the crowded Republican field, an obviously frustrated and sometimes petulant Wilson complained that he has been a victim of “character assassination.” He implied that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had timed the announcement of a probe into his former wife’s hiring of an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper so as to distract attention from his recent appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” And he accused unnamed detractors of engaging in “wishful thinking” that he had throat cancer.

Still, this hastily organized trip had its positive aspects for Wilson. Striving to make his presence and beliefs more familiar in a politically crucial region, Wilson managed to cram into his schedule eight public appearances in three New England states--Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts--before heading out to Iowa for appearances at Fourth of July parades Monday night and today.

Perhaps most notable was the willingness of Wilson, whose career from San Diego mayor to U.S. senator to governor was forged in the mass media campaigning of the Golden State, to submit himself to the rigors of person-to-person politicking. Mastery of this “retail” campaign style generally is critical to success in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

His Sunday schedule found Wilson, wearing tan slacks and a striped sport shirt, gamely going through the paces of two “meet-and-greet” gatherings, the standbys of hustling for votes in the Granite State. On Sunday, in the shade of a maple tree on the front lawn of a home in Claremont, N. H., and later in a back yard in Concord, Wilson patiently if not effusively chatted with residents.

He issued a brief warning about his voice--”At any given moment I might go from sounding like the Godfather to sounding like I’m on the edge of puberty.” And after the handshakes and small talk, after the coffee and muffins and fruit punch and pretzel sticks, Wilson had enough vocal stamina to hold forth for more than 30 minutes at each occasion, outlining the themes of his candidacy and then answering questions.

It was a far cry from the California political scene; no television cameras in sight and audiences that numbered no more than 50. But the crowds seemed to make up in attentiveness what they lacked in size.

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Wilson was especially skillful at using audience questions to make the case for his candidacy. Asked at the Claremont session why he would be a better GOP nominee than the front-runner, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, Wilson appeared to relish the question. “If you couldn’t hear that, I will be happy to repeat it,” he told his listeners. “I repeat the questions I like and I like this one.”

He then ticked off several examples of how he and Dole differ.

“One of the critical differences is that [Dole] is pro-life and I am pro-choice,” Wilson said, without mentioning a recent flap that occurred when his campaign chairman, Craig Fuller, recently indicated that the governor has backed away from his previous promise to fight to remove the GOP’s anti-abortion plank from its 1996 policy manifesto.

Asked in an interview later whether he would commit himself to a battle to remove or change the anti-abortion plank of the GOP platform, Wilson answered equivocally, saying: “Yeah, although I think a lot of people in both camps recognize the wisdom of not having a big public fight that benefits the Democrats.”

Wilson also told his Claremont audience that he favors banning assault-style weapons, while Dole supports repealing the federal prohibition on such weapons. And he mentioned that when both men were in the Senate, Dole supported the tax increase passed in 1990 while Wilson opposed it.

Apart from these differences on issues, Wilson noted a difference in background. “Bob has been in Washington [as a legislator] for 30 years. He has never been an executive.”

That response won Wilson points.

“I liked the fact that he is not only talking about things that he would like to do but that he has already done them,” said Robert Easter, a retired manufacturer. “It’s a lot different being an executive than a congressman.”

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Even as he honed his skills at “retail” campaigning the past three days, Wilson occasionally showed a sharp-tongued side.

Asked in an interview on Saturday with the Valley News in West LebanonH., about charges that he has a tendency to “waffle” on such issues as abortion rights and tax hikes, Wilson said this was part of “a rush to character assassination” by people who “are trying to define me falsely.”

Charges of inconsistency on issues are common to political discourse; “character assassination” is a term reserved for attempts to impugn a candidate’s personal behavior or background.

On Sunday, at the event in Concord, Wilson noted that he has been described as “the Republican who the White House fears the most,” and added that he thought it “a curious coincidence” that the INS investigation into the illegal immigrant case was announced only hours before his June 22 interview with broadcaster Larry King.

Wilson did not note that although the investigation was announced that day, the initial news stories on the hiring 16 years ago surfaced in early May.

Also in Concord, Wilson said: “There are some people who have suggested that this uncertain quality [in his voice] suggests throat cancer. That is not the case. It is wishful thinking from some people who do not want me in the race. I have news for them. I am in the race. And I intend to win it.”

Asked later if he really believed his opponents had wished for him to have cancer, Wilson said: “I don’t think they wish I had cancer. I think they wish I was not going to be in the race. I hope no one is quite that mean-spirited.”

Wilson was accompanied on part of his New England tour by his most prominent national supporter, Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld. On Monday, the two held a news conference at which Weld unveiled a bevy of about 20 local GOP leaders whom he had persuaded to back Wilson.

“The support you see today,” Weld declared, “is going to make this state Pete Wilson country.”

Weld has been so active in Wilson’s behalf that he has come under some criticism in Massachusetts for neglecting his own duties. Still, Wilson is counting on Weld to play a key role for him in a region that has assumed new strategic importance in the 1996 campaign. In addition to the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 20, the five other New England states have banded together to schedule a so-called Yankee Primary on March 5.

At most of his stops, Wilson offered himself as a politician with a proven track record, one who can restore “lost confidence in the federal government.

Americans, he said, “resent the fact that their tax dollars are used for policies that violate common sense and fairness.” As examples, he cited affirmative action programs based on race or gender, a welfare system that “discourages marriage and penalizes work” and immigration regulations that allow the use of tax dollars “to reward people for violating our borders and violating our law.”

He had been urged to run, Wilson claimed, by unnamed admirers who told him that not only had he been the first political leader to address these vexing problems, but also that: “You are the only one to do anything about them.”

Striving to leaven this self-praise, Wilson added wryly: “As my father would say, ‘All that, and modesty too.’ ”