General Defends McFarland On Spencer

A former commandant of the United States Marine Corps is defending remarks made by a senior adviser to Republican Senate candidate, Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland, that called into question the battlefield valor of Ms. McFarland's party primary opponent, a former Yonkers mayor, John Spencer.

Attending Ms. McFarland's first major campaign fund-raiser last night in Manhattan, General P.X. Kelley said Ms. McFarland's adviser, Ed Rollins was not inaccurate when he reportedly said it wasn't difficult for Vietnam War soldiers to earn Bronze Stars or promotions to first lieutenant, as Mr. Spencer did during the war.

Aides to the Spencer campaign have said the remarks by Mr. Rollins, who was an aide to President Reagan, were inappropriate and have called on Ms. McFarland to fire him. She has refused to do so. Locked in a primary race, both Mr. Spencer and Ms. McFarland, who is running out of campaign cash, trail Senator Clinton in the polls.

Asked about Mr. Rollins's remarks to New York Magazine in an article this month, Mr. Kelley said being promoted to first lieutenant from second lieutenant is "usually automatic" and does not involve a "selection process" like it does for a promotion to major. He also said Bronze Stars are given to soldiers in combat, but it's not necessarily conferred for battlefield heroism.

The retired general was a featured speaker at the fund-raiser, along with a former secretary of the Navy to Mr. Reagan, John Lehman, and a national security adviser to Reagan, Robert "Bud" McFarlane, who highlighted Ms. McFarland's experience in national defense matters. She was a Pentagon spokeswoman during the Reagan administration and bills herself a "warrior" of the Cold War.

The $1,000-a-ticket event at the grand ballroom of Cipriani 42nd Street came at a highly awkward time for the campaign, which is trying to lay to rest not only attacks on Mr. Rollins but also a series of unflattering reports about Ms. McFarland's family background. Yesterday, The New York Post quoted Ms. McFarland's brother saying her sister was "evil" for accusing their father of child abuse.

Last night, Ms. McFarland, who wore an elegant sky-blue single-buttoned silk jacket accompanied by navy blue palazzo slacks, said it would be "difficult" to defeat Mrs. Clinton, "but not impossible."

While she did not explicitly address the press reports about her family, others did. Mr. McFarland, speaking to donors, said. "She'd come off this Murdoch nonsense like a Marine ready to take the hill," he said, referring to the publisher of the New York Post, which has been detailing the family drama.

Mr. Rollins said Ms. McFarland could do nothing but ignore her brother's reported remarks. "What was her choice — to go off and beat the crap out of her brother?" he said.

About 300 people showed up, filling about two-thirds of the ballroom. The campaign said it raised between $200,000 and $300,000, not including expenses. A number of the attendees were invited as guests and did not contribute donations.