CAN HE STAY ON THE PEDESTAL?

By JEFFREY H. BIRNBAUM/WASHINGTON

EVEN WITH ALL THE HOOPLA ABOUT COLIN POWELL LAST WEEK, IT WAS THE silences that were most impressive. Powell told ABC's Barbara Walters he favored gun control, but the National Rifle Association fired no rhetorical shot in reply. Powell said he favored abortion rights and was less than enthusiastic about promoting school prayer. Yet Ralph Reed, executive director of the conservative Christian Coalition, declined invitations to appear on TV to criticize him. Although he disagrees with Powell on those issues, Reed says, "There is a deep reservoir of admiration for Powell based on the integrity and rectitude of his own personal life."

The general has become the nitroglycerin of the 1996 presidential contest. Virtually no one wants to jostle him out of fear that his popularity--and any slighting of his person--could prove explosive. Powell's admirers say his appeal revolves around leadership rather than litmus tests, and polls support that idea. A TIME/CNN survey, taken after Powell proclaimed his moderate-to-liberal social views, indicated that if Powell were to run as an independent, he would win 33% of the vote, against President Clinton's 30% and Senator Bob Dole's 24%.

As a result, Powell has become the man to see. At least six Republican Governors have asked for meetings with him when he comes to their states during his current book tour. Political consultants, media advisers and campaign pollsters have inundated Powell's inner circle of friends with professional entreaties. And G.O.P. presidential hopeful Pete Wilson made a secret pilgrimage to Powell's Virginia mansion on Sept. 6 to have coffee with him, even after Wilson was told Powell had only half an hour to spare and would not answer the central question: Will he run? His deadline for that decision appears to be Thanksgiving, and he is leaning toward running as a Republican. In that scenario, the TIME/CNN poll showed that Powell would trounce Clinton, 46% to 38%.

This is not to say Powell made only friends. A few conservatives are complaining bitterly. Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council says that among his "pro-family" members, Powell is a "disappointment." The antiabortion Christian Defense Coalition plans protests outside Powell book signings around the country.

Still, most Republicans who might have been offended by Powell's opinions remain complimentary. Words of praise came last week from Jack Kemp and William Kristol. Even House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is toying with the idea of entering the race, says that Powell could be a strong contender in the Republican primaries because of his standing as a war hero, an economic conservative and a person with strong family values. Says Gingrich: "I don't think a social moderate will necessarily lose the Republican primaries. [Powell] could put together a very interesting coalition."

Some prominent Democrats, including a key associate of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, are also privately urging Powell to consider running against Clinton in their primaries. Powell, they reason, might give the party a better chance of retaining the White House. The White House reacted by scoffing at some Powell comments. Press secretary Mike McCurry derided Powell's left-leaning Republicanism by asserting, "I don't recall Senator Arlen Specter doing that well."

Powell seems to be doing quite well indeed. In the past two weeks, more than 10 U.S. Senators and Congressmen from both parties have telephoned Powell backers to urge the general to run for President. And, perhaps more important, big Republican benefactors are slowing their giving until Powell makes up his mind. "We're hitting two walls," a Wilson fund raiser confesses. "One is the wall everyone is hitting. The second wall is named Colin Powell."