*9 ASHCROFT: HEALER OF THE BREACH? Under the header "The Gospel According To John," New Republic's Zengerle profiles Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO). Ashcroft, "the most authentic social conservative currently receiving serious consideration" for the GOP nod, is "laying claim to the Reagan legacy," in an effort to "prevent his base from splintering." An ally of the religious right, "who view Ashcroft as a fellow traveler," he "holds morning prayer meetings in his office, and on Sundays he attends Assembly of God services in an underground movie theater at Union Station." He has proposed a bill to make social Security taxes deductible, will unveil his own flat-tax proposal and "continues to push" for term limits. His "strategy has one salient flaw, however: it is risky for a candidate of such low national name recognition to cast himself as a healer of the breach." A prominent conservative: "Steve Forbes can't legitimately say that he's been fighting the good fight for this community for the past ten years. ... He's kicked this constituency in the teeth for a better part of the decade. If I'm John Ashcroft, I'd point that out" (12/22 issue).