"People attacked him for things like his position on women and the Holocaust about which he deserves to be picked on," she said. "But they are in the past. Things like his strict isolationist and economic policies are just as scary but were overshadowed by his sensationalist issues."

Prominent Reform Party member, Marxist and national Buchanan co-chair Lenora Fulani made the trip to Harvard to watch Buchanan's speech yesterday.

Fulani, who is black, said that while she disagrees with him on social issues, she will support him if he becomes the official Reform Party candidate in the 2000 election.

"He's not going to become president," she said. "This is not about a candidate's vote. A vote for the Reform Party lets Americans have a choice in the political process."

Fulani said that yesterday's speech was the first time that Buchanan specifically outlined his plan for campaign finance reform, calling for a ban on "soft" money.

Buchanan said donations should come from individuals, rather than large special interest corporations.

"There is an independent movement in America to clean up or clean out Washington," he said.

After the speech, Alan K. Simpson, director of the Institute of Politics (IOP) and a former Republican senator from Wyoming, said Buchanan's presence in the election, even as a third party candidate, will hurt Bush more than Gore