Robert K. Dornan, the feisty presidential hopeful and former member of Congress known as much for his charisma as his staunch conservatism, spoke at the Harvard Law School Forum yesterday evening to an audience of about 60 people.

In a talk that stretched for two hours, Dornan railed against the political system that he claimed "banished" him from Washington, D.C., while he kept listeners shaking with laughter from his acerbic comments.

"[This is] the first time I ever followed Oliver Stone," Dornan began, referring to famed move director's speech at the Forum earlier this month. "Though I'm sure there are lots of lost women in Hollywood who attribute their downfall to him."

Dornan spoke of the political support he won from former president Ronald Reagan, who urged him to bring his conservatism to various reaches of California.

"Reagan told me, "Why don't you go down there?" Dornan recalled of the former president's advice that he run for a seat in California's 38th congressional district. "The representative there only pretends to be a conservative."

Dornan was first elected to Congress in 1976. He then held three different California seats--in the 27th, 38th, and 46th districts--for a total of nine terms. However, on election night, November 5, 1996, 1,212 late absentee ballots blocked his bid for a 10th term.

Dornan also finished well behind the rest of the field in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in the same year.

At yesterday's talk, the former representative spent much of the time contesting the congressional election results.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans in Washington seemed to escape Dornan's ire last night.

In fact, he expressed his disillusionment with power-seeking in general.

"It's been a unique path, I have never joined any elite group, never sought advance while others stabbed friends in the back," said Dornan in a pointed reference to his fellow Republicans, who, he said, abandoned him in his re-election bid last year.

"If I could change one thing, it would be to introduce term limits in Congress," he said, complaining of what he said is the disproportionate clout of incumbents.

Dornan also claimed that he lost his election through ballot-stuffing by illegal immigrants.

"You may be looking at the only Congressman who lost by the vote of people who aren't Americans," he said.

Dornan had scant respect for Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), the occupant of his former seat, who he claimed has done "absolutely nothing" in the year she has been in office.