Tsongas told the interviewer, however, that he opposes the breeder reactor because the radioactive plutonium it produces could be used by nations not now possessing nuclear capability to make nuclear weapons. The Congressman expressed the fear that the "breeder is slipping through Congress while everyone is concerned about the light water reactor."

As one listens to Tsongas there emerges the unmistakeable impression that, although he has drawn the support of many of the idealistic liberals in the state, he is not one of them; he is a far more pragmatic liberal.

His stand on defense budget cuts is typical. In the House he voted against the B-1 bomber and the neutron bomb, but also opposed efforts to cut defense-related jobs at the Mitre Corporation in Bedford, Lincoln Labs in Lexington, and Cambridge Research Laboratories at Hanscom Field. He also worked against attempts to close Fort Devens, and to remove funding for ballistic missile defense program research from the defense appropriations package.

The reason for this apparent schizophrenia is simple: Tsongas has approved cuts that did not affect Massachusetts jobs, but kept hands off programs that provide jobs for residents of the Commonwealth--especially residents of the Fifth District.

In addition to this piecemeal approach to maintaining employment in his district, Tsongas points to downtown development of older cities as a way of dealing with the problem. He never fails to inform listeners of the major achievement of his four years in Congress--authoring legislation, which was recently signed into law, to get the rundown city of Lowell declared as an urban national park--to commemorate it as the country's first planned industrial city. As a result, he maintains, the city will be able to tap federal funds for its revitalization efforts and new industry will be attracted to Lowell and along with them, new jobs.

Although other Massachusetts cities--such as New Bedford, Fall River, Lynn, Worcester and Springfield could not be declared national parks, Tsongas says they can all benefit from programs geared to their special situations.

Tsongas also eagerly points out his strong support for Israel. He says he has continually supported efforts to increase arms sales to that country and opposed attempts to cut military aid. He also voted against the Carter administration's package for selling arms to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In other foreign policy matters, Tsongas is leading the current fight against lifting the embargo on Rhodesian chrome, and has also opposed the ending of the arms embargo against Turkey. Earlier this year, he authored legislation to prohibit the U.S. Export-Import Bank from providing loans to South Africa.

The big issues of this campaign, however, are Brooke's famous "misstatement" during his divorce proceedings, and Guzzi's late entry into the race in apparent response to Brooke's sudden vulnerability. The reason for the proliferation of small issues, in turn, is that Tsongas, Guzzi and even Brooke do not differ greatly on the substantive issues.

Yes, Brooke favored the neutron bomb, but Tsongas now attacks the senator on what he terms his "performance" and his "accessibility," not his record. "When was the last time you saw Brooke?" and "When was the last time Brooke did anything for you?" are the questions Tsongas asks the voters. He does not question Brooke's stand on nuclear energy or arms sales to Israel. And, although neither Tsongas nor any other candidate will mention it, the question they clearly hope the voters are asking about Brooke is, "Can he be trusted?"

Tsongas and Guzzi differ even less on the issues. Indeed, when Tsongas entered the race, which was at a time when Guzzi had no intention of following suit, the secretary of state gave Tsongas lists of his financial supporters, a sort of unofficial endorsement, Tsongas says. And, because the two candidates' positions are so similar, Tsongas received a substantial amount of money from those people--before Guzzi tossed his hat into the ring.

Tsongas says his previous experience in the Congress sets him apart from Guzzi. "They can all tell you what they're going to do, Congressman Paul Tsongas can tell you what he's done," says one piece of his campaign literature. But a good number of liberals who support Tsongas are doing so because they are infuriated at Guzzi for entering the race late, thereby splitting the liberals who had been solidly behind Tsongas.

But the lack of issues separating the candidates, and Tsongas's own difficulty in increasing his exposure, will likely make it difficult for the Congressman to convince enough of Guzzi's traditional liberal following, as well as other voters, to switch their allegiances.

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After his WCAS interview, Tsongas stepped into the offices of the Acupuncture Center of Cambridge, located in the same building. At that time he asked one of the employees whether they could cure "political pains." Perhaps Tsongas would be wise to return now and find out if they can.