"TO the old, the news is usually bad news," mused Eric Hoffer, American philosopher. Perilous issues
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DemocratsTo a politician, news is useful to the extent that you can take advantage of it.
For the past week, Hawaii news is a potentially dangerous combination of breaking events from Washington to Hawaii Circuit Court.
On a national level, absolutely no one is saying that President Clinton is good news for Democrats, here or anywhere. With his presidency imperiled by the revelations of his private actions and then his legalistic reaction, Clinton risks damaging all Democratic candidates.
Although Walter Heen, state Democratic Party chairman, says there is no indication of what the fallout will be, it is still clear that Democrats will not be saying "this is the party of Bill Clinton."
Since the days of former Gov. John Waihee, Hawaii has been a golfing vacation spot for Clinton. Many of the state's leading Democrats have played golf with the president.
Although the state hasn't placed a lot of local people in Washington because of Clinton, island Democrats have enjoyed a good relationship with Clinton's Washington.
If Clinton, however, first fails to be a Democratic rallying point and secondly becomes both an embarrassment and political joke, the Democrats will be hurt in the elections.
If the only news about Clinton for the next month and a half is a debate on whether he should resign or be impeached then Hawaii Democrats will suffer.
The last seven days also provided some dangerous local news. The state's year-long investigation into Bishop Estate found plenty of problems caused by lots of Democrats.
Attorney General Margery Bronster, at the behest of Gov. Ben Cayetano, has uncovered and apparently documented serious allegations of misuse of trust money, allegedly illegal campaign contributions and a disregard and disdain for Kamehameha Schools as an educational institution.
Already a grand jury has set to work reviewing the charges. It is likely that other law enforcement agencies will move in.
But, again, the question is, who is going to get hurt?
Early this week I ran into a political master from early successful Democratic campaigns: Nadao Yoshinaga.
I asked him what he thought of the news from Washington and Bishop Estate. He slapped his forehead and then shrugged.
"Democrats, it's nothing but Democrats. What's the voter going to think -- nothing but Democrats," he said.
Indeed, the Bishop Estate scandal is layered with Democrats, ranging from early supporters of Govs. John Burns, George Ariyoshi and John Waihee to political appointees
ALMOST alone on the other side of the equation is Cayetano, who served up the investigation, stood by his attorney general and was not scared off by the investigation's risky potential.
Cayetano does himself proud with this inquiry, but that is no guarantee of votes.
The rest of the campaign questions, however, are just as risky. How is Cayetano's major opponent, Linda Lingle, going to handle Clinton and Bishop Estate?
Clinton may be deplorable, but are the Republicans up to a counter-attack?
Bishop Estate is even more perilous, with options ranging from attacking the estate, praising Cayetano or remaining silent and looking like a fool.
If today's news isn't bad, it certainly is a dangerous commodity.
Richard Borreca reports on Hawaii's politics every Wednesday.
He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@pixi.com