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Show Bennett Runs For Senate. . .And Dines With Caesar On The Way Julius raises a brow as conversation swings away from business to a family history of politics. This, Julius can defi- Assistant Fred Fielding. Later, Nixon wrote a letter to Bennett saying that he no longer thought Bennett was the source of the press nitely relate to .... The son of Wallace F. Bennett, he managed two of his fathers successful senatorial campaigns, served as press secretary 1963-6for Rep. Sherman P. Lloyd and served as head of the Congressional Liaison at the Department of Trans-- , porta tion during the Nixon administration. As head of Congress relations for the department, he was responsible for pushing through legislation under Nixon that he says had failed under Johnson; virtually everything passed. Bennett attributed his success to knowing where the levers of power are. This in itself has been one of his areas of interest: seeing how politics ticks. He said, I have always been interested in politics as a discipline my degree is in and for many years I political science was able to pursue that interest as a participant in the political arena, both in campaigns and in the process of governing. Yet he said one of his greatest political influences was his father. All of us have mentors in our lives my father was the single most influential mentor Ive had. His father used common sense politics: leak. (R-Uta- by Bill Kilpack Forum editor Julius Caesar warned, Beware of Cassius for he bears a lean and hungry look. So what would he think if he was here today, seated across from Bob Bennett in a half-fu- ll restaurant ...? Lean, indeed, he says to himself. Bennett wears a conservative three-piec- e suit with a plain tie. Tis Spartan, even spare, Julius continues speculatively. A worker of dry land, but a bringer of fruit The waitress arrives and Julius orders soup and salad. Bennett, without even looking at the menu, orders the halibut. Julius sits back and decides to start his evaluation again .... Bennett, 58, served as CEO of Franklin International Institute, Inc. from 1984 to 1991, orchestrating a growth in company e staffers to employment from four oyer 700. As a result, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain region by Inc. magazine in 1989 and 1991. Prior to working at Franklin, he was president of the Microsonics Corporation, helping take it from a $3 million loss to profitability in 18 months. For these reasons, he claims that small business is the backbone of the American economy and government regulation of it should be a last resort He. has worked also in Washington, D.C., and New York City as a business consultant for the likes of General Foods, Rotary International and Amtrak, as well as heading the Washington office of J.C. Penney Co. for five years. At J.C. Penney, he was the head of federal affairs, where he explained to company executives how government actions would affect business trends. However, he said head of federal affairs is also kind of full-tim- a fancy term for lobbyist. Ive seen enormous changes since 1974, when he left Washington, D.C., after working there for 12 years. But Bennett said people in government havent changed. For them, business means Gen- eral Motors. To me, business means WordPerfect and Franklin. These are the big businesses of the future. He said the U.S. is changing from an industrial to an information-base- d economy, and the communication and high-tec- h companies are the wave of the future. Page uesday, April 21,1992 and lookthorough, rarely ing beyond the simple stance of a particular party. Dad never took politics as seriously as his contemporaries, Bennett said. He, saw it as a citizen service, not divine right. Young Bennett acquired political notoriety during the Watergate era when he purchased the Robert R. Mullen public relations firm. As a favor to a CIA friend, he hired former CIA operative E. Howard Hunt for a writing position. Hunt and three others later plead guilty for the Watergate half-inform- Bennett said he thinks Deep Throat White House staffer whose name wouldn t even be recognized if it was released. Forone thing, he said. Woodward has described his contact as an old friend; since Woodward was in his early 20s, he would probably have an old friend who was of similar age, just starting the White House, like Woodward was in his first six months at the Washington Post. A feature article in the latest issue of Atlantic Monthly makes a strong case that Deep Throat was an FBI official. My connection with Watergate was I was purely circumstantial, he isaid. never a target of investigation. I went through trial by newspaper more than anything else. Bennett was prepared to testify before the House and Senate when Hunt was charged with the burglary , but Hunts guilty was a low-lev- 5) h, el Educacessor to the Legislature-appointe- d tion Strategic Planning Committee, where he was also a member. He received the Light of Learning Award in 1989 for his educational work in Utah and is a former member of the U of U Alumni Board. So why at this time of his life does Bennett want to run for U.S. Senate? Julius asks under his breath. He has many live the good he could retire laurels life so many people dream about .... As of March 2 1 , he is running for office to replace the retiring Sen. Jake Gam. He said, I am seeking public office at this time because there is much that needs to be done and ... the people who work to do it should have a wider view than many career office holders now possess. Politics as a e and sole profession often gives one a distorted view of reality. Coincidentally, the seat Gam vacates is the same Bennetts father held from plea made testimony unnecessary. However, he did testify before the Rockefeller Commission regarding the government cover-u- p. Bennett believes the Democratic Party was doing a good job of destroying itself during the Watergate period. Historically, the Democrats were the party of ideas, while the Republicans were the party of the status quo. Then George McGovern de- ed burglary. As a result, there have been many speculations connecting Bennett to Watergate, including accusations that he himself was Deep Throat, Bob Woodwards anonymous source in the Washington Post investigations. I wish I had made a recording of this, Bennett said, but one day White House Counsel Chuck Colson called me and asked if it would be all right for Hunt to handle some projects for him, but on his own time after work. The resulting rumor that I was Deep Throat was started by that pillar of journalism excellence, Rolling Stone. Nixon himself once supported the allegation, although there were never any formal charges of improper activity. TheRolling Stonearticle was the worst piece of journalistic garbage Ive ever encountered, Bennett said. I was the one who should have been most concerned with its content, but the article was so poor I never actually made it through to the elected or not, Bennett said. Its like saying 50 percent of the presidents should be women, he said. Well, lets find a woman who could win that election. Under Reagan, Bennett said, the Republican Party shifted and has become the party of ideas, while the Democrats argue about rules and regulations. The news media never did understand he the phenomena that was Reagan, said, and they still dont Beyond politics, Bennett has also been involved in public education, serving as chairman of the Utah Board of Education Strategic Planning Commission, the prede- , full-tim- stroyed the DemocraticParty in 1972, leaving it intellectually bankrupt He said, McGovern savaged any vestige of common sense from the party. No one else could understand him. McGovern was the forerunner of the political correctness movement, Bennett said. He created so many categories and quotas that they lost sight of the basic underpinnings of the democratic process letting the people decide. For example, McGovern said that if an elected body is to truly represent a constitu- 1951-197- 5. Im the same age Dad was when he won his second term, Bennett said. He served four terms, so perhaps I should promise to run for just three. He said he wants to be more of an activist and create some initiative. There is a lot of anger in the U.S. right now, but whether or not it will legitimately translate into community action still needs to be determined. We dont have the catalyst of the ency of 54.1 percent women and minorities, then its electoral representatives should be 54.1 percent women and minorities Viet-Continued- on Page 15 Mhi SUPPER Bagel Sandwich Choice of Salad Fountain Drink end. He said he was one of Woodwards sources, but he went on the record and allowed his name to be used. The speculation that Bennett was indeed Deep Throat has since died down. Former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman said that Deep Throat was not Bennett, but actually White House Staff f f t ' r , Your choice of fresh-bake- d bagel sandwich (excluding nova cream cheese), choice of salad and small fountain drink. Offer good April 30, 1992 after 3 pm. DDA0IEU1UI DDOS. 859 East 900 South & 1520 South 1500 East & DAM 4764 Highland Drive DM1EDY 7-- 7 Mon.-Sa- t. 7-- 3 Sun. |