CAMPAIGN '96: COMPASSION IS BACK

TO STAND A CHANCE IN '96, CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS ARE REALIZING THEY NEED TO SHOW A SOFTER SIDE

IT'S A WORD BELOVED BY liberals and traditionally shunned by conservatives. It's cited in neither the Constitution nor the Contract with America. But these days the notion of compassion is at the heart of both the national political debate and the presidential campaign. Concerned that voters see them as heartless technocrats, more and more Republicans want to make sure that the phrase compassionate conservative is not an oxymoron. The derivation of compassion means "to suffer with," and some conservatives, like William Bennett and Arianna Huffington, are worried that come the election next fall, they might suffer for not having shown enough...

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