Portsmouth Herald 
10/27/95 Pg. A3

BUCHANAN SWINGS THROUGH PORTSMOUTH
CAMPAIGN VISIT DRAWS LITTLE ATTENTION

By Lars Trodson, Herald Staff

   PORTSMOUTH - Presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan made a quiet campaign swing
through the city yesterday.
   After speaking to the Portsmouth Rotary Club in the early afternoon,
Buchanan took a brief trip to Market Street, attracting only a handful of
reporters. 
   The former television commentator also visited the Portsmouth Fishermans'
Cooperative and talked briefly with manager Roger Haymon about the fishing
industry. As one boat unloaded its cargo, Buchanan briefly assisted in the
operation and even managed to have his wife Shelly put her hand into the
catch.
   At the pier, the competition between news photographers vying for
position was fierce, but the visit drew little outside attention. One
couple from Kittery, who said they supported some of Buchanan's views,
were the only members of the public tagging along. 
   At Yoken's, where the Rotary luncheon met, young Buchanan staffers
staged an enthusiastic welcome. 
   Inside, Buchanan waited for the Rotary to finish its meeting business,
and was even introduced to a member who wore a pair of fishing waders -
symbolizing how he felt about the content of Buchanan's speech - before he
spoke. 
   Buchanan's speech was brief, outlining the failings of the country's
foreign policy decisions and how they affected domestic issues. 
   Republicans in Congress, he said, have their priorities backward. The
$50 billion loan to Mexico should be canceled, and illegal immigration,
which costs the country another $50 billion, should be stopped. Generous
congressional pensions should also be scaled back before Medicare is
tampered with, Buchanan said. 
   He also positioned himself as the true conservative, a title sought by
Senate majority leader Bob Dole and Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas. One of these
three will be the Republican nominee for president, he said, even if
retired Army Gen. Colin Powell enters the race. 
   ``In New Hampshire right now this is sorting itself out,'' Buchanan
said of this three-way race. ``I've been running second in every national
poll and Gramm has been running fifth, but that doesn't mean he's out of
it.''
   He mentioned that both Dole and Gramm have supported numerous tax
increases passed in the Reagan and Bush years.