A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

le was as `` Gopher , '' the purser in the television series `` The Love Boat , 

'' a hero to Iowa Republicans . But these days Grandy 's hero status has been se

verely tarnished in the eyes of many Iowa Republicans because of another high-ri

sk venture his primary challenge to three-term Gov. Terry E. Branstad , R , that

 has exposed deep fissures in the state party . During the last two weeks before

 Tuesday 's primary , Grandy has roamed Iowa 's back roads in a recreational veh

icle dubbed `` The Guv Boat , '' assailing Branstad for `` a pattern of abuse an

d mismanagement '' of state government and pressing a Bill Clinton-type theme ch

ange . With the public growing increasingly sour toward politics , and the term-

limits movement gaining momentum , Branstad 's 12-year tenure in office is both 

a major campaign issue and probably his most serious handicap . Part of the GOP 

establishment has rallied to his side , including Schwarm , former Gov. Robert R

ay , who served a record 14 years , and Sen. Charles E. Grassley , R-Iowa , who 

last month suggested Grandy should quit the race . `` He 's got a future in Iowa

 politics if he wants to be patient , '' Grassley said . But the toll of 12 year

s in the executive mansion and a distant relationship with GOP legislative leade

rs have come back to haunt Branstad . Harold Van Maanen , Republican speaker of 

the Iowa House , has endorsed him , but other top GOP legislative leaders are ba

cking Grandy . So is state Auditor Richard Johnson , only Republican besides Bra

nstad to hold statewide elective office . `` He 's been there so long , there 's

 an anti-Branstad mood , '' said state Senate Minority Leader Jack Rife as he an

d Johnson campaigned with Grandy last week . `` There are people who think this 

is his career , this is his life. .. . I personally want new vision . I want cha

nge . '' Less than two years before Iowa Republicans , meeting in precinct caucu

ses , will make the first meaningful judgment of their party 's 1996 presidentia

l contenders , this rare contested primary could provide a glimpse of the GOP mo

od here . Democratic candidates carried the state in the last two presidential e

lections , and Iowa Democrats have built a 100,000-vote advantage in voter regis

tration . Meanwhile. the conservative Christian Coalition has been gaining GOP s

trength and this year seized majority control of the state central committee . T

o preserve its tax-exempt status , the coalition does not endorse candidates , b

ut few here doubt its members and sympathizers will provide strong backing to Br

anstad , which could be decisive in a low-turnout primary . In a voters ' guide 

distributed by the coalition , Grandy differed with Branstad and the coalition o

n several issues , including flag burning , homosexuals in the military and gove

rnment grants for `` obscene arts . '' `` Anyone reading this voters ' guide cou

ld pretty much know '' how coalition members are likely to vote , said Ione Dill

ey , the organization 's president . Grandy does not say so directly , but he is

 clearly running in part to stem the growing influence of conservative religious

 activists in the Iowa GOP . After speaking at a restaurant here , he was told b

y a local official that a woman in the audience who wore a veil was an evangelic

al activist in the home schooling movement and has converted her home into a chu

rch to gain a tax exemption . `` If that is now the Republican Party in Iowa , y

ou have to ask yourself if it 's worth the struggle , '' Grandy said . `` A lot 

of this campaign is to recapture the heart and soul of this party . '' Branstad 

, 47 , has come under fire from state Auditor Johnson for allegedly keeping `` t

wo sets of books '' to conceal a state budget deficit . He also angered politica

l and business leaders in populous river towns such as Davenport by what critics

 charge has been his wavering , indecisive attitude toward the future of riverbo

at gambling in the state . But Branstad is a seasoned , indefatigable campaigner

 who has a clear organizational advantage over an opponent making his first stat

ewide race , who fired his first campaign manager and more recently changed medi

a consultants . Asked in an interview about Grandy , he said , `` What you 've g

ot is an ambitious guy who , I guess , was bored with being in Congress and deci

ded he wanted to try this . '' The Harvard-educated Grandy , 45 , is nothing lik

e the dim-witted character he played in `` The Love Boat . '' He said he never p

lanned to make the House his career and speaks with an edge of disdain about tha

t institution , where Republicans have been in the minority for more than 40 yea

rs . `` It 's either this ( the gubernatorial campaign ) or work myself up to so

me ranking minority membership on some subcommittee , '' he said .

 OMAHA First came the delegation from the American Association of Retired Person

s ( AARP ) , seeking assurance the long-term care and prescription benefits prom

ised by President Clinton will be in the health bill passed by Congress . Next R

ep. Peter Hoagland , D-Neb. , sat down with executives of 10 major insurance fir

ms , among them several of the city 's largest employers . They wanted to be sur

e the legislation will keep them in business , impose no price controls on their

 policies and rid them of the increasing threat of restrictive state regulation 

. Immediately afterward , Hoagland returned to his office to find 10 labor leade

rs , led by the state AFL-CIO president , waiting to tell him to support a requi

rement that all employers buy health insurance for their workers and to fight ta

xation of health benefits . Hoagland 's situation is typical of the cross-pressu

res nervous incumbents of both parties faced at home last week on their last bre

ak before House and Senate committees must make critical decisions on health car

e legislation . The 52-year-old third-term congressman , an uncommitted swing vo

te on the Ways and Means Committee and a politician who carried his district wit

h just 51 percent of the vote in 1992 , took it all in stride until he was most 

of the way through the meeting with labor . He had tried to give each group some

 comfort , while making it clear Congress could not satisfy all their demands . 

Suddenly he found himself talking about his own quandary . `` This Congress , we

 've already made so many tough decisions , '' he said . `` Assault weapons . Th

e Brady bill . The budget . Tax hikes . The stimulus package . What else ? '' ``

 NAFTA , '' prompted one of the unionists , a reminder of Hoagland 's vote for t

he trade pact bitterly opposed by most of the people in the room . `` Right , ''

 Hoagland said ruefully . `` You know , I used to think the fault lines in polit

ics ran between the Republicans and the Democrats or the liberals and the conser

vatives . Now , '' he said , drawing an imaginary line from his navel to the top

 of his nose , `` the fault lines runs right through yours truly . '' In Massach

usetts , freshman Rep. Peter I . Blute , R , was trying to balance conflicting c

onstituent demands while looking out for his political survival in a district th

at tilts decidedly toward the Democrats . `` I predict we will see some type of 

reform bill in October , '' Blute told senior citizens eating lunch in a Plainvi

lle , Mass. , church basement . `` I think it will be a much more modest plan th

an originally envisioned . '' But his potential Democratic opponents are prepare

d to make an issue of health care if Blute supports something they see as too mo

dest . He is under pressure from major health maintenance organizations in his d

istrict to support something more significant than many conservative Republicans

 in Congress may like . Hoagland is one of four Ways and Means Democrats who hav

e withheld the votes needed to clear a variant on the Clinton health plan , and 

his position has made him a special target for pressure . While meeting with ret

irees , insurers and labor , his office phones periodically were ringing off the

 hook . Opposing lobbies the pro-Clinton Health Care Reform Project and the anti

-Clinton Citizens for a Sound Economy were running radio and TV spots that inclu

ded his Omaha office phone number . `` You can tell when one of them goes on , '

' said a harried aide . `` All the phone lines light up . '' Hoagland said he fi

nds the public 's response to advertising simplicities `` distressing . '' But t

he sophisticated people in the three delegations that came to plead their cases 

were having problems figuring out just what they want done . `` We met before we

 went in to see him , and we don't all agree among ourselves , '' said AARP memb

er Jerry Austin . `` I hope they ( members of Congress ) just use their common s

ense . '' Frank Barrett , a lawyer who put together the consortium of insurance 

executives , said , `` It took us two years to get where we are-and there are st

ill differences among our members . '' But the public 's ambivalence and interes

t groups ' conflicting agendas make Hoagland 's job tougher , not easier . What 

he is saying , with different emphasis for each group , is that he cannot suppor

t the Democratic bill the Ways and Means health subcommittee put before the full

 panel , the bill acting Chairman Sam Gibbons , D-Fla. , said he wants to use as

 his starting point when Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess . That bi

ll would expand Medicare to bring in what Hoagland said could be as many as 100 

million more people . `` I think we should give managed competition and the mark

etplace much more of a chance before we expand the government , '' Hoagland said

 in all his meetings . Hoagland will vote for employer mandates , with big escap

e hatches for small business and retail firms . That makes labor , AARP and the 

insurance executives happy , but not the small merchants he met with the previou

s day . But he also said he does not see the votes to pass mandates this year , 

something none of the other three delegations wanted to hear . He said he thinks

 Sen. John H. Chafee , R-R.I. , is right in saying that insurance reforms and ma

naged competition should be required to produce projected savings before Clinton

 's promise of universal coverage is implemented , `` even though that means a r

eal delay in reaching an important objective . '' But he does not support Chafee

 's requirement that every individual buy health insurance . `` We should take t

he first step this year , '' he said , `` and realize we 'll have to come back t

o this issue in every Congress to come . '' That is not a position that fully sa

tisfied anyone , especially not seniors and unionists who are at the heart of hi

s constituency . `` It 's going to be very hard to do something that makes sense

 to everyone . '' Blute , like Hoagland , favors a go-slow approach this year an

d feels pressure for significant reform has waned . `` It 's somewhat faded as a

 major issue , '' he said . `` Crime has overtaken it . '' That was evident in P

lainville , when he talked to senior citizens . After outlining his views of hea

lth care and talking about other issues , he asked for questions . No one asked 

about health care . `` The seniors don't know where it 's going or what it 's go

ing to cost them or whether they 'll be covered , '' said Pauline Kirby , who he

ads the Plainville Council on Aging . `` They 're more worried than enthusiastic

 . '' -- Broder reported from Nebraska , Balz from Massachusetts .

 POMONA , Calif. . One day last summer , the Latino mayor of this inland valley 

town more than 100 miles from the Mexican border was stopped by Border Patrol ag

ents and ordered to produce his papers , documents to prove that he is a legal r

esident . Eddie Cortez , dressed in jeans and sitting at the wheel of his pickup

 , argued and then , facing the threat of being detained , pulled out his mayor 

's badge . The patrol officers , he recalled recently , `` stumbled over themsel

ves to make excuses '' before they let him go . `` If they can treat a mayor lik

e this , who knows how they treat a normal , Hispanic person just going about hi

s business . The whole immigrant population is at risk , '' said Cortez , who wa

s elected 1 years ago on a law-and-order platform . Cortez 's story is being sha

red by many California Latinos who use it to illustrate how embattled they feel 

by increasing attacks on immigration . This year , about two dozen new or rejuve

nated `` anti-immigrant '' bills are winding through the state legislature , and

 voters will decide this fall on an initiative that would dramatically cut servi

ces to undocumented immigrants . Immigration is the election-year issue that is 

testing and dividing the state where nearly one-third of the 32 million resident

s identify themselves as Hispanic and where as many as 1.3 million people are es

timated to reside illegally . A soon-to-be released poll by the Field Institute 

, a public opinion survey group here , has found that proposals to limit service

s to illegal immigrants have polarized Californians . There is broad agreement a

mong all ethnic groups that border restrictions should be enforced or enhanced .

 But the differences come in what services should be provided . Non-Hispanic whi

tes generally agree on restrictions of services while Latinos are increasingly r

ejecting proposals to deny them , according to Mark DiCamillo , the institute 's

 vice president . It is clear to politicians which side offers the biggest advan

tage : Although Latinos account for 28 percent of all Californians , they are ab

out 10 percent of the actual voters . `` It 's an interesting but troubling deve

lopment , '' DiCamillo said . `` It 's an issue that has long been lurking in Ca

lifornia : You may have an electorate that votes in a way that may not be repres

entative of the state 's population . '' Since February , dozens of community-ba

sed Latino groups have attempted to build alliances and political muscle by join

ing a newly created California Latino Civil Rights Network . Last month , the co

alition kicked off a drive to register voters and encourage citizenship and rall

ied tens of thousands of Hispanics . They marched across the lawn of the Los Ang

eles City Hall to protest what political organizers Mario Salgado call a `` sea 

change toward immigration . '' Money is at the heart of the turmoil as it has be

en throughout California 's history . Chinese workers were singled out during a 

19th century economic downturn . In the 1920s and again in the 1950s , during ha

rd economic times , Latinos became the targets . This year , two former immigrat

ion officials who have been lobbying for several years to cut back the illegal t

ide from Mexico have proposed an initiative that appears to have captured the fr

ustrations of many people within this economically fragile state . Known as the 

Save Our State initiative SOS to its proponents it would deny state services , i

ncluding education and health care , to undocumented immigrants and their childr

en . The cost savings , according to an estimate prepared by Gov. Pete Wilson 's

 administration , would be $ 3.1 billion . Last week Wilson , a Republican who i

s facing a surprisingly strong primary challenge from computer software milliona

ire Ron Unz , indicated that he supports the initiative . `` People can try to m

ake this into a racial thing or an anti-immigration thing but that 's not true ,

 '' said Alan Nelson , a sponsor of the measure who was Immigration and Naturali

zation Service commissioner during the Reagan administration . `` People are jus

t realizing there 's huge cost associated with illegal immigration and we have t

o do something about it . '' Eddie Cortez is a staunch Republican in a town of 1

35,000 that has seen its Latino population spiral upward from 30 percent to 51 p

ercent over the past 15 years . But he believes the proposal , paired with the g

overnor 's unrelenting campaign , is creating an atmosphere that threatens civil

 rights and erodes respect . It also devalues immigrants ' contributions , he sa

id . There are conflicting reports about the costs and benefits of illegal immig

rants , but a recent study by the Urban Institute , a Washington think tank , sh

ows immigrants nationwide contribute $ 30 billion more in taxes each year than t

hey receive in benefits and services . `` Not only does the rhetoric have an eff

ect but it 's the cause of what we 're seeing here , '' said Cortez . `` At the 

least , it 's promoting discrimination . At the worst , it 's racism . '' On a p

ersonal level , it also means the loss of at least one Latino vote for Wilson . 

Cortez , who voted for the governor last election , said he willn't this year . 

Pomona 's mayor and its city council , one of the few in California with a Latin

o majority , were so angered by a Border Patrol arrest of two illegal immigrants

 last month near an elementary school-an arrest witnessed by local children-that

 they protested to federal immigration and justice officials . But Border Patrol

 officials insist the political climate has had no effect on their patrols or ar

rest rate , which increased only slightly from the previous year . `` All we 're

 doing is what we normally do , '' said Allen Kenrick , assistant patrol agent i

n charge of the inland region . `` They just don't like us . '' The debate over 

illegal immigration has pointed out a serious political flaw for Latinos . Their

 lack of statewide organization and political heft has become a liability that s

huts them out of serious discussions about who is welcome at the American border

 . `` The game going on at the ( U.S.-Mexican ) border is not new , '' said Kevi

n McCarthy , a Rand Corp. researcher who specializes in immigration issues . `` 

But this is an election year and it 's likely to be a tight election year and I 

think there 's a bigger question here . Is this a short-term phenomenon or are p

eople looking to cut off immigration generally ? '' Since January , Wilson has t

rekked to the Mexican border to spotlight the tide of illegal aliens who jump th

e border , flown to Washington four times to lobby for money to pay for illegal 

immigrant services , and joined lawsuits filed by Florida and Arizona governors 

to try to force the federal government to pay for immigrant services . Wilson , 

whose latest television advertisement shows illegal immigrants toppling down the

 hills of Tijuana toward California , is the most obvious target of Latino ire .

 But few politicians have shied away from illegal immigration as a threat to Cal

ifornia 's future . Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein , facing a challenge from m

illionaire Republican Michael Huffington , has proposed a border toll to help of

fset the costs of border protection . Last year , Sen. Barbara Boxer , D , sugge

sted that the National Guard assist the Border Patrol in closing the border . St

ate Assemblyman Richard Polanco , a Los Angeles Democrat who is chairman of the 

Latino Caucus , said he has been disheartened by the tone and intent of what he 

sees as a neo-nativist campaign , spawned by economic fears and manipulated for 

political gain . Last year , Polanco watched nearly two dozen bills , described 

as anti-immigrant by Latino activist groups , come up for vote in the Assembly .

 Four of them became law , including provisions that : allow local police to coo

perate with immigration agents in locating and arresting illegal immigrants ; re

quire state corrections personnel to help deport prisoners who are illegal ; and

 require proof of residency for job seekers and driver 's license applicants . `

` These are ugly times . These are very difficult times , '' Polanco declared . 

`` After all is said and done , what remains is that Californians will still hav

e problems that need to be addressed . And you have to ask whether we 'll be too

 polarized psychologically to do that . ''

 BERLIN A small building set in a grove of chestnut trees on Berlin 's once-gran

d Unter den Linden houses Germany 's central war memorial : Inside its walls , h

eavily incised by machine-gun fire from half a century ago , stands a single bro

nze sculpture of a woman cradling the body of her son . `` To the victims of war

 and tyranny , '' reads the inscription . If there were any interest on the part

 of Germans in commemorating the Normandy landings Monday , it ought to be be ev

ident here . Young men drafted into Adolph Hitler 's Wehrmacht were , after all 

, victims of war about 100,000 German soldiers died in the two months it took th

e Allies to consolidate a front in northern France . But in unavoidable contrast

 to the surging crowds and victors ' pageantry marking D-day 's 50th anniversary

 700-odd miles to the west , this shrine stands silent and largely empty . A lit

tle rain falls through the open-air skylight above the sculpture ; a few wilted 

bouquets lie on the stone floor in front of the statue ; visitors trickle silent

ly in and out of the door . That is all . `` Germany looks at the D-day festivit

ies with mixed feelings , '' said Klaus Bering of the German news agency Deutsch

e Presse Agentur . `` While the Allies celebrate , the Germans are just watching

 from the sidelines . '' Indeed , there are no ceremonies in Germany Monday , no

 government pronouncements , no scheduled moment of silence . German television 

is airing `` The Longest Day , '' and a few German veterans are making independe

nt pilgrimages to the French beaches , but , on the whole , the proceedings that

 have captured so much attention in the United States have made for a virtual no

n-event here . True , for Germany , the landings in Normandy were really just a 

sideshow to the 1942-43 Battle of Stalingrad , which for this country was the tu

rning point of World War II . And Germany doesn't commemorate that high-casualty

 catastrophe either , because the Allied occupiers banned veterans groups here i