On the Record

■ The Left is nearly as devastated as Saddam Hussein by stunning conclusion of Gulf War. Berkeley radical Congressman Ron Dellums told an Abraham Lincoln Brigade dinner that he has “a heavy heart.” He feels it will take “a lifetime” for the United States to atone for its “inestimable tragedy” in Gulf. . . . Left-wing commentator Alexander Cockburn lamented not only that fighting would be done to a “disproportionate degree by people pressed into the military by economic hardship,” but also that they would be condemned to use “weapons badly made by manufacturers colluding with the Defense Department in the padded invoice and the faked test.” . . . Angela Sanbrano, co-chairman of SANE/Freeze, finds it grossly unfair that the “speed with which the Administration was able to conduct the war made it impossible for the movement to halt it.” . . . Both National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East and far-out National Coalition against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East had called for massive antiwar demonstrations April 6. The Campaign may call off its effort, but Coalition staffer Gavrielle Gemma says the Coalition and other international peace groups will now organize a war-crimes tribunal to bring, not Saddam Hussein and his torturers, but George Bush and his Administration to bar of international justice. . . . Black activist minister Lucius Walker had it all figured out a month ago. “If the war fails, the responsibility will fall on Powell [Colin Powell, the black chairman of the Joint Chiefs]. If the war succeeds, the credit will go to Defense Secretary Dick Cheney.” . . . Why were dire predictions of what would happen in the Persian Gulf so far off mark? One Pentagon general, who asked not to be identified, thinks he knows: “If you had been reading press accounts of the American military for the past ten years, you would come away with the impression that we’re the gang that couldn’t shoot straight with weapons that don’t work.”

■ Political fallout from Gulf War: No Democrat looks good for 1992, not those in Congress who opposed Bush (Nunn, Bradley, Gephardt); not Gov. Cuomo, with New York’s economy in a shambles; not even Al Gore, who was mealy-mouthed in his support of Bush. Tony Coelho, former House Majority Whip and a canny politician (who resigned from Congress just ahead of the sheriff), put his finger on it. Democratic leaders, he said, “are looking for somebody who can run a credible race in 1992, take advantage of a negative if it exists, but can run again in ’96” against someone other than Bush. . . . Result: George McGovern, out of politics for nearly twenty years, is making presidential noises, as is former Sen. Paul Tson- gas of Massachusetts, who resigned from Senate seven years ago. Comments one GOP political analyst: “What the Democrats need is another Greek-American presidential candidate from Massachusetts.” . . . Could be important: Massachusetts congressional by-election in the 1st CD to replace the late Silvio Conte, the only Republican in Massachusetts’s congressional delegation. Working against probable Republican candidate Steven Pierce is Republican registration of only 13 per cent in 1st CD. In his favor, Bush’s popularity, and surprising popularity of Gov. William Weld, first Bay State Republican governor in nearly twenty years. Weld’s approval rating is 67 per cent. By-election is June 4. . . . Also of interest, upcoming Texas by-election to replace Republican Rep. Steve Bartlett, who has resigned from Congress to run for mayor of Dallas. Among the contenders: former Reagan Action director Tom Pauken, a staunch conservative. … In Louisiana it’s official: Gov. Buddy Roemer will switch parties and run for re-election as a Republican against former Democratic Gov. Edwin Edwards and State Rep. David Duke. Early matchups show Roemer slightly ahead of Edwards, and both well ahead of Duke.

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Presidential Election

■ The Left is nearly as devastated as Saddam Hussein by stunning conclusion of Gulf War. Berkeley radical Congressman Ron Dellums told an Abraham Lincoln Brigade dinner that he has “a heavy heart.” He feels it will take “a lifetime” for the United States to atone for its “inestimable tragedy” in Gulf. . . . Left-wing commentator Alexander Cockburn lamented not only that fighting would be done to a “disproportionate degree by people pressed into the military by economic hardship,” but also that they would be condemned to use “weapons badly made by manufacturers colluding with the Defense Department in the padded invoice and the faked test.” . . . Angela Sanbrano, co-chairman of SANE/Freeze, finds it grossly unfair that the “speed with which the Administration was able to conduct the war made it impossible for the movement to halt it.” . . . Both National Campaign for Peace in the Middle East and far-out National Coalition against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East had called for massive antiwar demonstrations April 6. The Campaign may call off its effort, but Coalition staffer Gavrielle Gemma says the Coalition and other international peace groups will now organize a war-crimes tribunal to bring, not Saddam Hussein and his torturers, but George Bush and his Administration to bar of international justice. . . . Black activist minister Lucius Walker had it all figured out a month ago. “If the war fails, the responsibility will fall on Powell [Colin Powell, the black chairman of the Joint Chiefs]. If the war succeeds, the credit will go to Defense Secretary Dick Cheney.” . . . Why were dire predictions of what would happen in the Persian Gulf so far off mark? One Pentagon general, who asked not to be identified, thinks he knows: “If you had been reading press accounts of the American military for the past ten years, you would come away with the impression that we’re the gang that couldn’t shoot straight with weapons that don’t work.”

■ Political fallout from Gulf War: No Democrat looks good for 1992, not those in Congress who opposed Bush (Nunn, Bradley, Gephardt); not Gov. Cuomo, with New York’s economy in a shambles; not even Al Gore, who was mealy-mouthed in his support of Bush. Tony Coelho, former House Majority Whip and a canny politician (who resigned from Congress just ahead of the sheriff), put his finger on it. Democratic leaders, he said, “are looking for somebody who can run a credible race in 1992, take advantage of a negative if it exists, but can run again in ’96” against someone other than Bush. . . . Result: George McGovern, out of politics for nearly twenty years, is making presidential noises, as is former Sen. Paul Tson- gas of Massachusetts, who resigned from Senate seven years ago. Comments one GOP political analyst: “What the Democrats need is another Greek-American presidential candidate from Massachusetts.” . . . Could be important: Massachusetts congressional by-election in the 1st CD to replace the late Silvio Conte, the only Republican in Massachusetts’s congressional delegation. Working against probable Republican candidate Steven Pierce is Republican registration of only 13 per cent in 1st CD. In his favor, Bush’s popularity, and surprising popularity of Gov. William Weld, first Bay State Republican governor in nearly twenty years. Weld’s approval rating is 67 per cent. By-election is June 4. . . . Also of interest, upcoming Texas by-election to replace Republican Rep. Steve Bartlett, who has resigned from Congress to run for mayor of Dallas. Among the contenders: former Reagan Action director Tom Pauken, a staunch conservative. … In Louisiana it’s official: Gov. Buddy Roemer will switch parties and run for re-election as a Republican against former Democratic Gov. Edwin Edwards and State Rep. David Duke. Early matchups show Roemer slightly ahead of Edwards, and both well ahead of Duke.