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Sen.
Bob Smith of New Hampshire fired up the crowd with his speech. He
recalled election night in 1996, when he had narrowly won.
"You can stand on principle and still win and it feels good," he
declared.
Smith called for a Human Life Amendment that says that life begins at conception. "I would have a litmus test for all federal judges, and they would be pro-life and pro-Constitution," he said. On education, Smith called for "Goal 2000;" "Shut down the Department of Education in the year 2000," he said. Smith said the United States needs a national missile defense. He drew cheers when he noted, "I have a hold on [Clinton's nomination of] James Hormel [to be ambassador to Luxembourg]."
Smith's presidential ambitions are seen by most observers as quixotic; he has limited name identification and money. He closed his speech with a touching story he often tells that epitomizes his approach to politics: Two people walking on a beach. On the beach are thousands of starfish. One of the people picks up a starfish and throws it back in; he picks up another and another. The second person says, "What are you doing. That won't make any difference." "It made a difference to that one," the first person says as he picks up another one and throws it back in.
Sen.
Smith spoke to reporters after his speech. Smith did not have a
booth
or literature at the conference.