The Teflon Twins of 1988

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The press has attempted to hold Jackson and Robertson to the same character standards as their more conventional rivals, albeit to little effect. Several profiles have knocked holes in Jackson's heroic posturing, most notably his hotly disputed boast that he cradled Martin Luther King in his arms after the assassination. Robertson has also been shown to have augmented his resume in a less than truthful fashion: his suspect claims range from assertions that he was a "combat" officer in Korea to exaggerated educational and business credentials.

In addition, the funding of Robertson's early political efforts is being investigated by the IRS. Michael McManus, a syndicated columnist specializing in religious issues, has documented $8.4 million that went from Robertson's tax-exempt Christian Broadcasting Network to now defunct "educational" groups like the Freedom Council, which allegedly paid for much of the TV preacher's initial political organizing. The Robertson campaign has not disputed McManus' figures, which were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. But Communications Director Constance Snapp says, "All monies given to the Freedom Council by CBN were perfectly legitimate from both a legal and ethical standpoint."

True, both Jackson and Robertson boast dedicated supporters unlikely to shift their allegiance because of negative press coverage. In fact, such articles may have enhanced the image of candidate as martyr: some blacks may see Jackson as besieged by the "white" media; Evangelicals could view Robertson as crucified by "secular humanist" reporters.

The silence of rival candidates is simply safe politics. As Democratic Analyst Robert Beckel says, "Nobody is going to get their constituencies now anyway. Why attack if you can't get votes out of it?" Both Jackson and Robertson are likely to arrive at their respective conventions with committed blocs of delegates, ready to bargain over the identity of the nominee or the content of the party platform. Come November, the Democrats will need high black turnout and Republicans will want to win over Robertson's Fundamentalist followers, many of whom have tenuous ties to the G.O.P.. As a Bush adviser says about Robertson, "We're going to need his folks next fall. Why alienate them if you don't have to?"

That may make short-term political sense, but the cloak of immunity that currently protects Jackson and Robertson does little to elevate the political debate.