The Democrats are in Los Angeles this week, trying to get their story straight. Bill Clinton sucked up all the oxygen in the early part of the festivities and it was clear Al Gore couldn’t wait for Elvis to leave the building.
With all due respect to George Bush, junior, Bill Clinton is the man Al Gore is running against this year. If the election were to hinge on Ronald Reagan’s famous question: “Are you better off today than you were eight years ago?” then Al Gore wins. Problem is, so many people think they’re so much better off than they were eight years ago, they think they can afford to look beyond pocketbook issues, and when they do, the first thing they see is Clinton’s odious behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. For a year now, Al Gore has been laboring to hit his own stride, but that’s been impossible as long as Mr. Gore has Bill Clinton’s pants tangled around his ankles.
So in comes Joe Lieberman, the first Democrat to stand up in the Senate and cluck his tongue over the president’s wayward hips. Candidate Gore is said to be as pleased as can be about having Mr. Lieberman as his running mate and why not? Senator Lieberman’s selection is an act of political chess worthy of Gary Kasparov.
First, it takes the moral rectitude plank away from the Republicans and that – let’s face it – is the only solid plank in their platform. The Democratic ticket looks like a snapshot from an ecumenical prayer breakfast.
Second, by nominating the first Jew to a national ticket, the Gore campaign hit the spin doctor’s bonanza. There is a finite amount of media attention that will be given to the vice-presidential candidate. By picking Joe Lieberman, Al Gore ensures a certain fraction of that coverage – let’s say 25 percent – will be about Senator Lieberman’s religion and will include a call for tolerance and inclusiveness. If you know going in that one out of four stories about your candidate will be positive – that’s a tremendous advantage.
But let’s get back to Bill Clinton. Sex scandals aside, Bill Clinton is the looming presence in the 2000 presidential race. Bill Clinton was the first New Democrat to gain the Oval Office. Al and Joe, who along with Bill are alumni of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, are the president’s political heirs and there’s no getting away from that.
A New Democrat is a political triangulator, balancing appeals to right and left. Bill Clinton was progressive on health care, conservative on welfare. He got his way on welfare, health care is worse than ever. Clinton ran with support from labor, but was a free-trader, too. On his watch we got NAFTA, GATT and PNTR for China. Labor got… well, ask a Verizon striker what labor got.
Gore and Lieberman are cut from the same cloth. They lean left on gun control, civil rights and the environment. At least that’s what they say. They lean right on foreign policy, bloated Pentagon budgets, free trade and, in Lieberman’s case, school vouchers and privatizing social security. George W. says Joe Lieberman’s positions are closer to his own that Al Gore’s. There may be something to that Mr. Bush, but it’s too late to call “do over” now.
Here’s my prediction for election 2000: whoever loses, big business wins. If you want to know which big businesses in particular, just look at the advertising slapped all over the convention hall in LA. My question is: Will you be better off in eight years than you are now?
Same As the Old Boss
The Democrats are in Los Angeles this week, trying to get their story straight. Bill Clinton sucked up all the oxygen in the early part of the festivities and it was clear Al Gore couldn’t wait for Elvis to leave the building.
With all due respect to George Bush, junior, Bill Clinton is the man Al Gore is running against this year. If the election were to hinge on Ronald Reagan’s famous question: “Are you better off today than you were eight years ago?” then Al Gore wins. Problem is, so many people think they’re so much better off than they were eight years ago, they think they can afford to look beyond pocketbook issues, and when they do, the first thing they see is Clinton’s odious behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. For a year now, Al Gore has been laboring to hit his own stride, but that’s been impossible as long as Mr. Gore has Bill Clinton’s pants tangled around his ankles.
So in comes Joe Lieberman, the first Democrat to stand up in the Senate and cluck his tongue over the president’s wayward hips. Candidate Gore is said to be as pleased as can be about having Mr. Lieberman as his running mate and why not? Senator Lieberman’s selection is an act of political chess worthy of Gary Kasparov.
First, it takes the moral rectitude plank away from the Republicans and that – let’s face it – is the only solid plank in their platform. The Democratic ticket looks like a snapshot from an ecumenical prayer breakfast.
Second, by nominating the first Jew to a national ticket, the Gore campaign hit the spin doctor’s bonanza. There is a finite amount of media attention that will be given to the vice-presidential candidate. By picking Joe Lieberman, Al Gore ensures a certain fraction of that coverage – let’s say 25 percent – will be about Senator Lieberman’s religion and will include a call for tolerance and inclusiveness. If you know going in that one out of four stories about your candidate will be positive – that’s a tremendous advantage.
But let’s get back to Bill Clinton. Sex scandals aside, Bill Clinton is the looming presence in the 2000 presidential race. Bill Clinton was the first New Democrat to gain the Oval Office. Al and Joe, who along with Bill are alumni of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, are the president’s political heirs and there’s no getting away from that.
A New Democrat is a political triangulator, balancing appeals to right and left. Bill Clinton was progressive on health care, conservative on welfare. He got his way on welfare, health care is worse than ever. Clinton ran with support from labor, but was a free-trader, too. On his watch we got NAFTA, GATT and PNTR for China. Labor got… well, ask a Verizon striker what labor got.
Gore and Lieberman are cut from the same cloth. They lean left on gun control, civil rights and the environment. At least that’s what they say. They lean right on foreign policy, bloated Pentagon budgets, free trade and, in Lieberman’s case, school vouchers and privatizing social security. George W. says Joe Lieberman’s positions are closer to his own that Al Gore’s. There may be something to that Mr. Bush, but it’s too late to call “do over” now.
Here’s my prediction for election 2000: whoever loses, big business wins. If you want to know which big businesses in particular, just look at the advertising slapped all over the convention hall in LA. My question is: Will you be better off in eight years than you are now?