Marlin Fitzwater, former press secretary to presidents Ronald W. Reagan and George H.W. Bush, discussed his opinions on campaigning, dealing with the press and the upcoming elections before a study group of 40 people at the Institute of Politics yesterday.

Fitzwater, who attended the study group to promote his new book, Call the Briefing!, outlined what he believed to be the most important rules of dealing with the press.

The first crucial skill, he said, is to know your own strengths and weaknesses.

Next, it is important to have a message, he said, praising Reagan as someone who communicated his message well and stuck with it.

In the current campaign, Fitzwater said that presidential candidates Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes Jr. and Patrick J. Buchanan have also done a good job in maintaining clear messages.

A third important tool in communicating with the press is the use of symbols, Fitzwater said. He described a visit to Russia by Reagan in which the president symbolically demonstrated his belief in freedom of religion, commerce and education by going to a church, a market and a university.

Fitzwater also spoke of his strong distaste for the campaign season.

Fitzwater said the campaign process makes a normal group of reporters become "monsters of the worst kind" in the effort to chase conflict.

"[It's like] five-year-old kids playing soccer for the first time...just chasing the ball around the field," he said.

While working for Reagan and Bush, Fitzwater dealt with the press by anticipating what the top stories of the day would be and making it a point to know five facts about each of those stories, he said.

In this way, as he wrote in his book, he satisfied the "lions of press corps that need their daily feeding."

After his remarks, Fitzwater answered some questions from the audience. He said that President Clinton's press secretary, Mike McCurry, demonstrates a more mature rela- tionship with Clinton than did earlier press secretaries George Stephanopolous and Dee Dee Myers.

Fitzwater also fielded questions about the ethics of the Iran-contra affair and insisted that the Reagan administration had done nothing illegal by trading weapons with Iran.

However, he did say that they "shouldn't have done it."

Fitzwater also said the campaign staff of Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) is "effective" and the "best thing going for him."

But Fitzwater criticized Dole's message as weak.

"The weakness, frankly, is his personal performance," Fitzwater said.

Fitzwater ended his discussion by predicting the outcome of the '96 presidential election.

"I think Dole will get the nomination," Fitzwater said. "[Colin L.] Powell will be his vice president. They will beat Clinton. It will be a very tight race.