RUST COMMENTARY: BARRY GOLDWATER WOULD HAVE LIKED PLAIN-SPEAKING BULWORTH

Over the weekend I saw the movie "BULWORTH" which was much better than the St. Louis Post Dispatch review (and rated much higher by other urban newspapers).

I enjoyed it, but be prepared for a lot of foul language ... it's not a movie for children. It might appear cynical or a comedy to the young ... but it is a somewhat fearless movie in depicting some political realities -- realities that are more a criticism of the public and the weaknesses of some politicians who succumb to "the game".

U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, one of the straight-talking politicians of this century, passed away last week. He would have probably liked "Bulworth."

I also read the book "LESSONS From a FATHER to HIS SON" by JOHN ASHCROFT. I liked it. I'm going to buy six copies for each of my children ... four boys and two girls, not only because of the relationship, hard knocks and lessons of a loving family ... but because it will give them a better understanding of the depth of beliefs of John Ashcroft and his priorities ... a man with beliefs and core values.

John's father told him that "I believe that a sincere unaffected life can be a profound life, and a quiet, courageous and faithful obedience can be far more inspiring than a clamorous pursuit of fame."

One of John's favorite poems is by Edgar A. Guest:

"It Couldn't Be Done":

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,

But he with a chuckle replied

That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one

Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.

So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh you'll never do that.

At least no one ever has done it."

But he took off his coat, and he took off his hat,

And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done.

There are thousands to prophesy failure.

There are thousands to point out to you one by one

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin.

Just take off your coat and go to it.

Just start to sing as you tackle the thing

That cannot be done, and you'll do it.

Another lesson in the book is the chapter entitled "The Strong Side of Weakness."

"Nine contestants assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the sound of the gun, they all started out -- not in a dash, exactly, but with relish for the race and its challenge.

This was the Special Olympics in Seattle, and no sooner had the race started than one runner stumbled on the asphalt, rolled a couple of times and began to cry. The rest of the field heard the cry, slowed and looked back. Then every runner turned around and went back to the fallen boy.

One girl with Down's syndrome bent down to give the boy a kiss. "This will make it better," she said. The boy gamely stood up. Then all nine participants linked arms and walked to the finish line together.

The stadium stood and cheered. There had been faster races, certainly, but none more inspiring. These kids, in their weakness, revealed a transcendent compassion.

It is important for a father not only to pass on his strengths, wisdom and insight, but also to model how a son should handle weaknesses, failures and insecurities.

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In an unusually insightful article in the Sunday St. Louis Post Dispatch by JON SAWYER ... "Ashcroft defines and defends his moralistic fervor" to the Claremont Institute (in California), a 20-year-old think tank dedicated to the proposition that by harkening back to first principles it is possible to bridge the gap between economic and social conservatives.

Taking the discussion beyond the realm of academic discourse smack into the practicalities of modern presidential politics was the presence as keynote speaker of Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo.

Larry P. Arnn, Claremont's president, said that if one looks to the Declaration of Independence and other documents of the revolution, "one cannot extract with a laser beam a distinction between what we call today the social and economic issues."

"Of course we like to think of ourselves as America's most Republican county," Fuentes said, describing the sprawling suburbs south of Los Angeles that were Ronald Reagan's home base. "But we still have two GOP parties," he added: "the social party, the activists and volunteers on social issues, and economic conservatives.

"What's unique about John Ashcroft is that he resonates beautifully with both groups."

In his remarks Ashcroft stuck mostly to familiar themes: attacks on President Bill Clinton for failures in character, for example, not just in conjunction with his personal life but also in the alleged mishandling of security relations with China that Ashcroft believes is directly related to the recent decisions by India and Pakistan to set off nuclear tests.

Character and economic success are inextricably linked, Ashcroft continued, suggesting that the current spate of robust economic statistics belie a hollowing out of the country's moral core.

With unemployment at a 28-year low and inflation almost nonexistent, Ashcroft asked, "Can it be, is it possible, that there is any reason for us to have any concerns? Can America be at risk?"

"I'll submit that there are other things that matter -- other things important to our culture, about which we ought to be concerned," he said.

He then cited international comparisons among industrialized countries that he said showed America as No. 1 in a host of failings: first in abortion, first in AIDS, first in murder and crime and infant mortality.

"A country cannot long sustain itself morally bankrupt," he warned, "and be economically prosperous."

Ashcroft's most intriguing comments dwelt on the issue that will likely loom large in any presidential campaign-the linkage between his deeply held religious views, as the son and grandson of Pentecostal preachers, and his call for higher standards of national character.

"I have to tell you that it's against my religion to impose my religion," he said in answer to a question. "I don't think America is designed to have God or religion imposed on people through government. I want to get that straight, because I believe that God created us to be free.

"He respects freedom so much that He even allows us to choose against Him-not without consequence, of course, but we are allowed to choose against God.

"Who would I be to impose God upon people if God himself says that you're free to choose."

What he does favor, Ashcroft said, is that "we respect the godly principles in our country" and acknowledge, moreover, that the rights the Founders wrote into the Declaration of Independence were derived not from government but from God.

"The whole point of the Declaration is that the rights are not created by the Declaration but that the rights exist outside of government and that they are endowed by the Creator," Ashcroft said, "so that government becomes the guarantor -- not the grantor -- of rights."

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He who never walks except where he sees other men's tracks will make no discoveries.

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Of all the people who have lived to 65 in the history of the world, more than half are alive today. -- Executive Newsletter

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Honoring REGGIE WHITE: I am still steaming about the treatment of pro football star Reggie White after his outstanding speech to the Wisconsin Legislature. He was courageous enough to call abortion and homosexuality sins, and for that CBS canceled plans to hire him as a sports commentator. The poor guy was left dangling in the wind with virtually no support from anyone -- including our "elected leadership." On May 18, we brought Reggie and his wife to Washington to honor their integrity and their work in inner cities across our country. Pastors, pro-family leaders and members of Congress joined us as we presented Reggie and Sara with FRC's Family, Faith and Freedom award. -- Gary Bauer in Washington Update.

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Some months ago, Saddam Hussein and a group of sympathetic U.N. Security Council members invited an independent team of technical experts from 13 nations to evaluate the inspections performed by the official U.N. arms inspectors (the so-called UNSCOM). The goal, clearly, was to cast doubt on the impartiality of UNSCOM, which for seven years has had the nasty habit of catching Iraq in violation after violation of its disarmament obligations. Lo and behold, the independent "technical evaluation" team reported on April 9 that Iraq is still concealing biological weapons technology, that it has never given a full accounting of missiles that could be used for BW attacks, that it lied about its biological research programs, that it did not cooperate in good faith with inspectors etc.. These technical experts, and UNSCOM, should get the Nobel Peace Prize for their courage in resisting the growing political pressures to let Saddam off the hook. Let us now praise honest men -- and stand up to a dishonest one. -- National Review

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On a Roll: After months of complaining that Judge Kenneth Starr is taking too long to conclude his investigations, the White House has plenty of reasons to be miserable that his work is accelerating. On issue after issue, Starr is winning victory after victory over the president's array of government-paid and privately funded lawyers. Starr already has one Supreme Court appearance scheduled for June (to deal with the issue of attorney-client privilege regarding the late Vince Foster's conversations with his lawyer). He is now asking the high court to consider a rare, expedited appeal by the White House of Judge Norma Holloway Johnson's ruling compelling White House aides Bruce Lindsey and Sid Blumenthal to testify about their conversations with the president in the Lewinsky-perjury affair.

All in all, Starr is 13-for-13 on major legal rulings he has battled for with this administration. If this man is "out-of-control," "dangerous" or "repressed," as commentators from James Carville to Lewinsky attorney William Ginsburg have portrayed him, he is taking a wide swath of the federal judiciary with him. -- Washington Update.

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.