Democrats: Cut Out the Rough Stuff

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Ronald Reagan had an Eleventh Commandment for primary campaigns: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. Democratic National Chairman Paul Kirk is trying to go Reagan one better. Bewailing the "self-inflicted wounds" of the party's 1980 and '84 campaigns, Kirk last week appointed a task force of six Democratic seniors to monitor what the '88 hopefuls say about one another. Every month Kirk will meet with representatives of each candidate and try to persuade them to cut out the rough stuff. The party elders, said Kirk, will "publicly bring political pressure to bear" on any candidate who refuses to be civil.

Most potential candidates have pledged support. But Gary Hart and Richard Gephardt did so only after trading some hard shots in Iowa. Gephardt went so far as to imply that Hart has no backbone.