Tom Campbell

IT ALL STARTED WITH RICHARD NIXON. "IT WAS AT HIS HOME IN 1961, AND there was a meeting to encourage him to run for governor of California." Ron Smith relishes this story. "I forget what key job I had; holding the door or something. I remember seeing Nixon up close for the first time. I got cold chills and almost fainted." Imagine the impression on an 18-year-old college student. Richard Nixon was a star, an avatar, the political equivalent of Elvis. He was irresistible.

The major Republican candidates in the California race for U.S. Senate appeared on the well-watched, conservative "Hannity" show Tuesday. Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore were seated next to the host, Sean Hannity, in the shadow of the former Air Force One at the Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley. Tom Campbell bought his way on, in the form of a fleeting ad. Campbell's commercial, a 30-second spot, was the first television advertisement in the campaign for the seat held by Democrat Barbara Boxer.

It is the day after the Grammys, but Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby is sitting in his Manhattan hotel room concerned about a politician he's never met. Crosby can't remember her first name. He knows her last name is "Sanchez." But he wants to help the freshman Democratic congresswoman from Orange County who is still fighting an election challenge by the man she defeated last fall, former Republican Rep. Robert K. Dornan.

Ronald Reagan recently set these principles for the Republican Party: "We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only 'litmus test' of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense and maximum individual liberty. . . .

So let me get this straight: Some guy is deemed too dangerous to be allowed aboard an airplane, but he can leave the terminal and buy an AK-47? After all, he hasn't actually committed an act of terrorism. We wouldn't want to "infringe" on anyone's 2nd Amendment rights. The National Rifle Assn. might get upset and retaliate against any politician who allowed that. But like most policy issues, this is not all black and white. There is a reasonable argument for letting the fellow arm himself.

Fellow seniors don't be fooled. Tom Campbell, a liberal congressman running for the Republican nomination for Alan Cranston's Senate seat, has the most misleading advertisements I have ever seen. This congressman has filled the airwaves with half-truths and lies. He is deceiving us, just as he did in the House of Representatives. We've been around long enough to know a shyster when we see one. Fortunately, we have a better choice. We can cast our valuable votes for Bruce Herschensohn.

What a great hatchet job Waldman did on candidate Bruce Herschenson. "The Handler," indeed! The article wasn't about Ron Smith; it was a puff piece on Tom Campbell: "Brilliant, handsome and articulate . . . ." Waldman quotes Campbell as wanting to "take back the Republican Party." Campbell should save his time and money. The kind of party Campbell wants was "taken back" a long time ago by a group of people who think exactly like he does. They're called Democrats. JOHN SHARPE Cerritos