Pat Buchanan has signed his declaration of independence. He did it with an appeal to a new patriotism - fittingly enough, as patriotism and political independence have been linked since the American Revolution.

Before you decide whether to seek the Presidency of these United States on the Reform Party ticket -- and they say they are interested if you are -- there are some things you should know. The party's leftists are recruiting an anti-abortion, anti-immigration creationist, Pat Buchanan, as their champion.

BY NOW, many people are wondering what Lenora Fulani, the leftist, was doing having lunch with Reform Party hopeful Pat Buchanan, the right-winger. I was there. She was attending the funeral of social conservatism.

The second-most asked political question of the past month, next to "Did you ever use cocaine, Governor Bush?" was this one: "How can Pat Buchanan and Warren Beatty both be interested in becoming the Reform Party candidate for president?"