Democrats Keep Cool During Iran Scam

WASHINGTON--Despite the storm over the Iran-Contra dealings and the drop in President Reagan's standing in the polls, Democrats are shying away from a frontal political attack on the president.

As the early front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado has the most to gain politically from the affair as well as the most to lose from a miscalculation by his party.

"If people in my party attack the President for partisan advantage, I say shame on us," Hart told an audience in Iowa.

"Is it a Watergate?" mused House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. (D-Mass.). "Unless there are a lot of things we don't know about, it isn't."

No prominent Democrats seem to disagree with the cautious positions taken by Hart and O'Neill. In fact, there has been remarkably little comment from the opposition party.

Democrats are treading carefully. A reminder of Watergate here, a question there, but so far, an avoidance of an impression they are eager to attack the President the moment they sense he is trouble.

The reasons are several. They can be found in the details of the polls, as well as in how the affair has played out so far.

Two nationwide surveys conducted since the dealings were disclosed said the President's approval rating had dropped sharply and most Americans felt he was not telling the full truth about the affair.

But the same surveys also said people still trust the President, consider him honest and a strong leader.

Reagan has demonstrated time and again during the past six years that he is a formidable politician with a remarkable hold on the American people.

So, the Democrats know they can wait. They can sit back as new details are disclosed and let nervous Republicans -- and there are plenty of them -- take the lead in calling for resignations and demanding more information.

They can do that now. But the picture may change in January when the Democrats reap the results of the 1986 election and take control of the Senate, and with it, the leadership of the Iran-Contra investigation.

One of the most aggressive voices among Democrats has been Sen. Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, who emerged from a Senate Intelligence Committee closed hearing to demand that Reagan "come clean with the American people."

Hollings said he was positive the President had authorized the secret arms sales to Iran and the aid to the Contras and that Vice President George Bush, Secretary of State George Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger '38 knew about it as well.

But when pressed, Hollings tempered his criticism.

"I don't want to follow the trail to the President," said Hollings. "I don't think that's in the good interests of the country."

The calls for a housecleaning at the White House are coming from Republicans. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana and House GOP leader Bob Michel of Illinois have taken the lead in urging Reagan to replace White House chief of staff Donald T. Regan.