New Republic

The last time I saw Murray Waas I was the editor and publisher of The National Leader, a national publication that died an unnatural death. Waas sauntered into The Leader's offices with a powerful manuscript that detailed a massive illegal influence-buying and propaganda scheme in the United States by the South African government. Involved were millions of dollars used to purchase U.S. newspapers to use as covert propaganda organs and to pay for junkets to South Africa for certain members of the media and members of Congress.

In 1987, Gary Hart, whose adultery was incessant, flagrant and, until then, unreported, said that if journalists followed him around, they would be bored. Some did; they weren't. Now we are being dragged back into the unpleasant business of deciding what private behavior is relevant to the assessment of political, especially presidential, candidates. That question answers this one: What is legitimate for journalists to scrutinize and publicize? Most Americans haven't a clue who Bill Clinton is (he is Arkansas' 44-year- old Democratic governor)

When Monday night with slow retreating tread departs and Election Day dawns I shall cast a write-in vote for president. Here is why, and for whom. The primary point of voting is to influence the outcome of competition for power. Another reason for voting, even when (as is often the case) the outcome of an election is not in doubt in one's state or in the nation, is that we register consent to the outcome by participating in the process. A third and not negligible reason for voting is the catharsis of venting an opinion.

Mark Green slugs. He roars. He points his finger. But the harder the 41-year-old, wavy-haired consumer advocate swings, the farther GOP Sen. Alfonse D'Amato seems from his reach. Just 11 days before the general election, the former Ralph Nader aide who stunned New York by upsetting a party-backed millionaire in the Democratic primary still finds himself underfinanced and more than 35 percentage points behind D'Amato - a pro-Reagan incumbent who amassed a $9 million campaign war chest.

When I meet students who aspire to a journalism career because they "love to write," I advise them to try novels. Someone should have offered this advice to Patricia Smith, late of the Boston Globe, and Stephen Glass, formerly of the New Republic. Both writers failed journalism's fundamental test when they fabricated characters and events for their news stories and columns. Neither understood they were reporters first, with a primary responsibility to the truth. With all the recent publicity about the errant ways of these and other journalists, readers must wonder whether and how newsrooms ensure that reporters behave ethically.

I'm sure you saw this in the news. A team of forensic scientists traveled to Kentucky to exhume the body of President Zachary Taylor. These curious scientists wanted to see if they could figure out what killed President Taylor - bad cherries or good arsenic. I'd like to bring this same scientific team to Washington. The political leadership of the entire government is dead. And I want to know - who dunnit? Were they suffocated in a room full of blue smoke and mirrors? Choked on PAC money?

In the latter days of the Carter presidency, it became fashionable to say that the office had become unmanageable and was simply too big for one man. Some suggested a single, six-year presidential term. The president's own White House counsel suggested abolishing the separation of powers and going to a more parliamentary system of unitary executive control. America had become ungovernable. Then came Reagan, and all that chatter disappeared. The tyranny of entitlements? Reagan collaborated with Tip O'Neill, the legendary Democratic House speaker, to establish the commission that kept Social Security solvent for a quarter-century.

Sunday Words and music Singer Jill Sobule ("I Kissed a Girl") and comedian Julia Sweeney ( Saturday Night Live ) combine forces for the Jill And Julia Show , weaving Sobule's songs with Sweeney's funny, poignant tales of dealing with personal issues. They perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Sellersville Theater , 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville. Tickets are $21.50. Call 215-257-5808. Monday Faces out Painter George Shinn studied at the University of the Arts when it was the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts, but went into business after the death of his father.

No such thing as Super Bowl 44. It was, as the world knows, Super Bowl XLIV. That buck in your pocket says Annuit coeptis ("He has approved our endeavors") and Novus ordo seclorum ("New order of the ages"). That buck and all your coins say E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one"). And at the base of that weird Masonic pyramid on the dollar? Not 1776. MDCCLXXVI. How did all this Roman stuff get into American culture? Because our founders were crazy about Rome and all things Roman.

'MY NIGHT ON CRACK' WAS A DANGEROUS ARTICLE Jefferson Morley's article "My (one) night on crack cocaine" (Commentary Page, Oct. 9) was amusing but dangerous. While there is nothing new in Mr. Morley's discovery that crack is pleasurable, he fails to mention that even first time use can result in fatal heart attacks or seizures. Nor does he mention that crack is the most potent natural stimulant and among the most addicting substances known. All crack addicts begin with a single episode of "fun" similar to Mr. Morley's, and none initially envision the possibility of becoming hopelessly addicted.