FEINSTEIN FOR U.S. SENATE

It takes a great deal of mental toughness, political savvy and just plain
hard work to effectively represent a state as large and diverse as California.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has shown for the past eight years that
she is more than up to the job.

Feinstein, 67, is running for re-election against Rep. Tom Campbell, R-San
Jose, a 48-year-old Stanford law professor who has established himself over
the past decade as one of the most thoughtful and independent members of
the House.

Californians thus have the luxury of choosing between two very capable and
experienced leaders whose voting records do not always fall along the
predictable paths of their respective parties. They are centrists and
problem solvers.

In this race, the edge goes to Feinstein, the former San Francisco mayor,
because of her strong record in the Senate. She has shown a willingness to
tackle difficult issues. For example, she successfully sponsored a 1994
assault-weapons ban and a desert-protection bill that covered 7 million
acres. She brokered the agreement to preserve the 7,500-acre Headwaters
forest in Humboldt County. She has played a major role in developing
California water policy.

During a recent meeting with The Chronicle Editorial Board, Feinstein said
her next-term goals would include tightening up gun laws -- including a
system of licensing -- and finding a way to ease the effects of electricity
regulation. She said she would insist on fiscal policies that keep the
country on course toward stabilizing Social Security and Medicare -- and
retiring the national debt in 12 years. She also said a new National Cancer
Act was needed to bring fresh and intensified strategies to the fight
against the disease.

We like her priorities and we like her chances of achieving them.

Campbell, refusing to take PAC money, never really had a chance to get out
his message of conservatism on government spending and moderation on social
issues. He brought an especially bold message to one front. He knew he
would endure ``the cheap shots'' when he dared to suggest -- rightly --
that the supply-side-obsessed ``drug war'' has been a failure. He proudly
defended his vote to shift $1.3 billion from military aid to Colombia to
domestic treatment programs. Feinstein, locked in a law-and-order mind-set,
unfairly dismissed Campbell's suggestions for pursuing new treatment
approaches as aggressively as criminal prosecutions.

The soft-spoken Republican deserves credit for taking a head-on approach to
the politically perilous ``drug war'' issue, but that alone is not enough
to overcome the many compelling reasons to re-elect Dianne Feinstein.

California has an outstanding senior U.S. senator, and she is ready to
apply her energy and considerable skills to six more years of service on
issues of utmost importance to this state. Californians should re-elect
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Nov. 7.