TRY YOUR LUCK ON "SEE YOU IN '92" QUIZ ON GULF WAR

Lifelong Democrat Edward Koch is that rare public figure who, throughout his public life, could almost always be counted on to speak his mind bluntly. This blunt-spoken manner tends to get those who adopt it into occasional trouble, and they suffer retirement rather earlier than they would like. Koch was no exception. The result is that we get that homogenized blandness that we seem to demand from our public figures. Without the Ed Koches, our public life risks expiring from terminal milquetoast-ism.

Koch served seven terms in Congress before his two terms as mayor of New York. The former mayor of the Big Apple has some harsh things to say about his party's recent performance and votes on whether to authorize President Bush to use force in the Persian Gulf. Citing the "isolationist views of Ted Kennedy, Sam Nunn and Pat Moynihan," Koch wrote in his New York Post column: "The Democratic Pary has now become the party of appeasement. Let us now weep for our party."

A couple of weeks ago I referred to the "See You in '92" quiz the editors of The Wall Street Journal had conducted on their editorial page. In a previous column I supplied pre-war pronouncements offered during senate debate on the war, circa January 11, from various unnamed senators who were certain President Bush was leading us into catastrophe in the Gulf.

The senators listed below are 16 of the 45 Senate Democrats who, along with two Republicans, voted against Operation Desert Storm. (Three senators are quoted twice). For bonus points, there's a congressman, a governor and a former candidate for vice president, each of whom opposed the use of force in the Gulf.

Herewith, by popular demand, the complete "See You in '92" quiz:

SEE MISSOURIAN CLIP FILES (1991) FOR QUIZ.sks