`Cross My Heart And Hope To Die, I'll Cut The Deficit'

Dressed in faded jeans, Jon Cowan, 27, and Rob Nelson, 29, don't much look like prophets of austerity. Cowan is a former Democratic Hill aide; Nelson, an independent political fund-raiser. But this obscure duo from the MTV generation is trying to hold elected officials accountable for the red ink on the nation's books. They're asking candidates for Congress--and the White House--to sign a pledge: If the $300 billion-plus budget deficit isn't cut in half by 1996, they won't run for reelection.

Their movement, called "Lead or Leave," has the great virtue of reducing the complexity of restoring fiscal balance to a bumper-sticker slogan. But why would politicians promise to end their careers because of a collective failure that's not any single member's fault? Because, say the "Lead or Leave" organizers, the deficit won't be attacked seriously until a majority of Congress accepts personal responsibility for it. By November, they hope to secure the pledge from 100 elected officials. Says Nelson: "If we tie members' political careers to this, reducing the deficit will become the highest priority."