THE RACE TO replace Congressman Joe Moakley seems trivial in the face of Tuesday’s act of war against America. As it was, the 15-week campaign sprint had already been loaded with relative fluff: accusations and counter-accusations over candidate flip-flops on abortion and the death penalty, empty rhetoric about prescription-drug benefits and gun control, silly union posturing. Matters of foreign policy were rarely raised.

And yet our next representative from the Ninth — either the Democrat, State Senator Stephen Lynch of South Boston, or the Republican, State Senator Jo Ann Sprague of Walpole — will enter a wartime Congress. The political landscape in Washington will be dominated by debate over international affairs and national security.

This was the last thing anyone wanted to discuss during the congressional campaign. In fact, a Lynch-campaign source says that the Phoenix was the only media outlet that used its editorial-board meetings to quiz Lynch on international affairs. State Senators Cheryl Jacques of Needham, Brian Joyce of Milton, and Marc Pacheco of Taunton participated in many debates for Democratic candidates, along with housing activist John Taylor, former prosecutor William Sinnott, and Lyndon LaRouche supporter William Ferguson. But in all those debates, the only foreign-policy question came in late August, during an event sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged in Randolph. The candidates were asked who was to blame for the most recent wave of Middle East violence.

Jacques was blunt: " I have no problem with [Israel’s] strategic strikes [against those planning terrorist attacks], " she said. " If it happened in the US, we’d respond. "

So was Sinnott. " If you learn terrorists are about to attack you, you have a right to take them out, " said the former Marine.

Lynch, who in all likelihood will be the winner of November’s general election, arrived late and missed the question, though in his summation he alluded to a conversation he’d had with an Israeli friend, a security expert, who had briefed him on terrorists earlier that day. Apart from a photo of Sinnott that was later used to illustrate a Globe profile of him, the event garnered little coverage beyond what appeared in a " Political Capital " item in the Boston Globe: a light-hearted quip by Ferguson (that the faith-based initiative he supported was to pray that Congress would listen to Lyndon LaRouche).

The changed political landscape was already in evidence Tuesday night at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) hall in Dorchester, the temporary headquarters for the Lynch campaign. At previous election nights I have covered, reporters mix freely with political supporters. But the Lynch headquarters was locked down. The candidate huddled with supporters inside the hall. After 9:30 p.m., when it was clear he had won the primary, he stood outside the IBEW hall — in front of five carefully placed American flags — and delivered a brief statement. " We will hold close those who bear the scars of this terrible tragedy, " Lynch proclaimed in part. " We will aggressively pursue the evil parties that committed these crimes. "

Then Lynch retreated into the hall. The candidate had learned of the attacks during a car ride from Milton to Needham Tuesday morning. When he heard that two planes had been hijacked out of Boston, he instructed his driver to turn the car back to the IBEW hall. From that vantage point, the Lynch team monitored national and local developments. Nobody knew what the political impact of the day’s unprecedented events would be. Boston office workers had been sent home — many of them to suburban towns in the Ninth. Many were presumably watching television when Governor Jane Swift instructed voters to do their patriotic and civic duty and vote. Indeed, turnout was 32 percent, according to press reports — higher than the 24 percent predicted by Secretary of State William Galvin.

If Lynch wins, he’ll have to school himself quickly. His generalized responses to foreign-affairs questions, as evidenced by what he’s told the Phoenix (see " Voters’ Guide to the Ninth District Race, " News and Features, September 7), will no longer suffice: when asked about what role the United States should play in the Middle East conflict, Lynch said that a " thoughtful and diplomatic approach could be productive in Israel, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East. "

" Thoughtful and diplomatic " might be the politically correct talking point for a congressional candidate to adopt, but it’s woefully inadequate for addressing the real issues raised by the hijacking and deliberate crashing of four domestic airliners — three into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Issues likely to come up in Congress in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks include reform of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, potential curbs on civil liberties, and use-of-force resolutions — which are similar to, but stop just short of, a declaration of war. In fact, Congress may even vote for a declaration of war.

Summer’s over. Get ready for a long, cold winter.

Seth Gitell can be reached at sgitell[a]phx.com

Issue Date: September 13 - 20, 2001