Senate Seeks to Avoid Election-Year Showdown Over Contra Aid
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Monday, August 18, 2008; 9:08 AM
In jockeying for position in the election-year conflict over military aid to the Nicaraguan contras, the Senate may have found the best vantage point: a safe foxhole.
Just as Vice President Bush is moving to highlight differences on the issue between himself and Democratic presidential nominee Michael S.
Dukakis, Senate Republicans and Democrats are trying to agree on a plan that would allow an orderly, peaceable resolution of their contra-aid dispute this fall.
On the surface, the task appears difficult because of the long political shadows cast by the presidential campaign in which Bush, who supports military aid, is seeking to portray Dukakis' opposition to it as an indication of Democratic weakness on foreign policy. Conversely, Dukakis has attacked the policy as illegal, if not immoral. Their main cheerleaders in Congress have staked out similar positions.
