5/31/00 3:25 p.m.
Heartbreak Ridge
Understanding the Pennsylvania governor's doveishness.

By National Review's Editors

n our last issue, John J. Miller reported that Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, often mentioned as a possible running mate for Gov. Bush, had a liberal voting record when he served in the House. He voted — sticking just to national-security issues — against missile defense, aid to the contras, and nuclear testing.

The counterattack from Ridge partisans has been energetic, albeit clumsy.

They say anti-abortion fanatics are manufacturing objections to him because he wants to keep abortion legal. Ridge himself says that he cannot possibly be a dove since he served with distinction in Vietnam — unlike, he adds, many of his critics (a swipe unbecoming a governor, let alone a vice president). That was good enough for the New York Times, which did not bother to mention any of Ridge's votes in its coverage of the controversy. But the dovishness of a politician relates to his public-policy views, not necessarily to his personal history. That's why Republicans quite rightly labeled George McGovern weak on defense even though he was a bomber pilot in World War II.

It is also striking that the Ridge party seems to be top-heavy with journalists. They favor Ridge precisely because of his position on abortion — and will no doubt favor him all the more now that they know he is soft on other issues as well.