Thursday, February 20, 1997; Page A22

From a press stakeout in Boston yesterday for White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry on the possible retirement of Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio):

Q: Mike, you've worked with John Glenn . . . in the '84 presidential campaign. What did you do for him?

Mr. McCurry: I worked as one of his press officers . . . . We had a great time and a lot of fun. We didn't get many votes, but it was an occasion for him to really celebrate all around this country the people that will always consider him an American hero.

Q: . . . A lot of people know him just because he's an astronaut, obviously he's a politician. . . . Which one do you think he'll be more remembered as?

A: I think if you look back over his service as a test pilot, as a Marine decorated war hero, his work in the Mercury program and his work in the Senate, it all fits together. It's someone who has had uncommon commitment to this country; a true patriot, a real hero. . . .

Q: Why do you think all that didn't translate into more . . . popularity . . . when he was running for president?

A: Well . . . He ran for president in a year in which the institutional Democratic Party really rallied behind one candidate, Fritz Mondale, and it was hard to break down against that. And he probably would be the first to say he didn't run necessarily the most adroit campaign. I mean, look who he had doing press for him. So, yeah, I think on balance it was an experience that was an interesting one for him, but one that shouldn't take anything away from the years of service he gave this country.

Q: Are we seeing the end of the old-line liberal Democratic senators? . . .

A: John Glenn really always has sufficiently kept his own philosophy and intellectual energy stimulated. I wouldn't call him an old-time liberal by any stretch of the imagination.