COUNTYWIDE : Haig Urges Crowd to ‘Use Your Noggin’

Alexander M. Haig, former White House chief of staff and secretary of state, pulled no punches Wednesday.

“The Republicans could lose very, very decisively,” to President Clinton, Haig said, whom he described as the “Svengali of modern American politics.”

“This man could sell ice cream to the Eskimos,” said Haig, who addressed about 250 people at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda as part of the museum’s lecture series on the issues and personalities of the 1996 presidential election.

Speaking about the future of American politics, Haig at first declined to tell the audience whom he would prefer to see in the White House, urging his listeners instead to “use your noggin” and “listen to the campaign firsthand, and not the press.”

But he ended up telling them anyway. “I would have to support the man who I think has earned it,” he said. “Bob Dole, unless another candidate comes along who can capture the support and enthusiasm of the American people and beat Clinton.”

Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell appears to lack the leadership experience for the job, Haig said, but he reserved final judgment until Powell announces his vision and plans for the country. “Everything I have seen of Colin Powell is truly outstanding,” Haig said.

Future presidents should not govern by “asking what will make me popular with the American people today,” Haig said, but should be guided by their convictions.

While singling out Clinton for pandering to his audience, Haig said, “both parties are producing this kind of individual. . . . We can no longer tolerate a politician who is concerned only about his polls.”

The ideal President, he said, would manage domestic and foreign affairs with equal skill and would position the United States to take an active role in the global environment.

The 70-year-old Haig, now an international business consultant and venture capitalist, drew an enthusiastic response from his audience.

“He’s a very fiery speaker,” said Larry Hubacek, 70, of Palos Heights, Ill., who was in the area to visit relatives when he learned that Haig would be speaking. “I really enjoyed it.”

Larry Reid, 56, who traveled from Ventura to hear Haig’s lecture, described it as “enlightening and uplifting. He had a message to stand up for your ideals and don’t be swayed.”