-Caveat Lector-
It's a pity he couldn't turn into a shapechanging reptoid once in a
while to appear more interesting.
Nicky
Candidate Gore steps out
By Penny Bender / Tennessean
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Al Gore, the most influential vice
president in history and the man with the Boy Scout
demeanor, has a problem: people think he's boring.
Some are asking: is he too boring to be president?
A few early stumbles in his campaign, including laying
claim
to creating the Internet, haven't helped. Poll after
poll shows
him lagging behind Republican Gov. George W. Bush, a
man
with a name but no substantial public record.
But Gore's yawn factor may not be his biggest problem.
The character flaws of President Clinton may be a
bigger
obstacle. There is fear among some Gore supporters
that
scandal-weary voters may turn their backs on Gore and
his
generally clean image, just to be finished with the
scandal-ridden Clinton administration.
Gore's handlers hope to send his geeky image packing
Wednesday and shake off the remnants of scandal, when
he
stands before the Smith County Courthouse in Carthage
and
officially declares his intention to be America's 44th
president.
"His ideas are going to excite people," said spokesman
Chris
Lehane. "This is a guy who has been tested, who's been
on
the national stage. Right now it's Al Gore vs. Al
Gore. All
that will change when there are other candidates to
compare
him to."
Until then, Gore is wasting no time in trying to
define
himself.
With major policy speeches on education and
faith-based
aid to communities under his belt, Gore recently held
a rally
for women in support of his campaign; addressed the
women's political action committee, EMILY's List; and
received endorsements from 19 Democratic former
senators.
After announcing in Carthage, he plans to hit Iowa,
New
Hampshire and New York next week.
But many people wonder whether Gore should have to
work
so hard so early in the campaign.
Historically, vice presidents running for the top job
suffer
from a lot of early criticism and comparisons. After
all, they
are second fiddle -- unknown and untested, said James
Davis, political scientist and professor emeritus at
Western
Washington University.
"Mondale had the same problem in 1984," he said,
referring
to former Vice President Walter Mondale. "George Bush
managed to finesse it in 1988. He was the first one in
more
than a century to do that."
But others question whether this vice president, who
has
had more policy-making authority than any other in
modern
history, should seem to be dragging so badly.
"If you are a Democrat, and your president has a 70%
satisfaction rating, the idea of a primary challenge
ought to
be ludicrous," said Stuart Rothenberg, a longtime
political
analyst who publishes a newsletter on national races.
Despite a booming economy, low crime and relative
world
peace to which Gore can lay at least partial claim, he
still
trails Bush in the polls by at least 10 percentage
points. Not
only that, but the words most often used to describe
Gore to
pollsters are "boring" or "stiff."
Friends and supporters who know Gore to be relaxed and
witty say they are bothered by the public perception
of him
as wooden and geeky. One long-winded speech in El
Paso,
Texas, left Clinton and administration officials
fidgeting in
their chairs. And the president's remarks about Gore's
slow
campaign start have not helped, either, they conceded.
Reinventing government is one thing. Reinventing Gore
is
another.
People who know him and have watched his career know
him
as a policy nut who is as comfortable talking about
urban
sprawl as Russian disarmament. Gore never will command
the cameras the way Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton
have,
they say.
"He's the kind of guy who doesn't know how to use
contractions," Rothenberg said. "He can't figure out
how to
clap. It's almost like he's had instruction, but he
hasn't
practiced enough."
Gore "can't be made over," agreed Stephen Hess, a
political
analyst for the liberal think tank Brookings
Institution.
"He can't go on Leno or Letterman and turn out to be
the
new Gore," he added. "He's been dealt a hand, and that
hand
includes high intelligence, considerable knowledge of
the
federal government, a nice family and an outstanding
career.
"All they can find is that he went to a Buddhist
temple and
made a few phone calls from the White House. That
ain't
bad," he said.
But Republicans hope Gore's downfall will be his
unwavering loyalty to Clinton. They will remind voters
who
could be lured by Gore's ideas that he defended
Clinton
during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Character will be the undercurrent of the 2000
presidential
campaign, predicted Robert Denton, director of the
Center
for Leader Development at Virginia Tech.
"Will this person embarrass us and will he reflect the
beliefs
and morals of this nation? Say what you want about the
issues, that's what the subtext will be," he said.
Gore's problem, he added, is this -- "He stood there
and said,
'Yes, I believe Bill Clinton.' "
Reminding voters of that may be a winning strategy,
said
Rothenberg, who believes the reason there is some
interest
in former Sen. Bill Bradley, Gore's lone Democratic
challenger, is the public's disenchantment with
Clinton's
behavior.
Americans are tired of the administration and want it
to go
away. "What it does is rob Gore of what should be a
natural
progression," Rothenberg said.
Top Gore aides and supporters refuse to talk about how
the
impeachment or Clinton's character will affect Gore's
campaign.
Instead, they stress Gore's integrity, his plans for
the future,
his family life and the fact he is happily married to
Tipper
with four children and about to be a grandparent.
"Al Gore is committed to his family, strongly rooted
in his
faith. He is a man of remarkable skill and vision.
People don't
know this about him. They don't have a good enough
sense
of who he is," said Marla Romash, deputy campaign
manager of Gore 2000.
"It's only going to be a matter of time before all of
America
knows."
Party leaders also dismiss the notion that the
impeachment
scandal will hurt Gore.
"The impeachment is behind us. I don't think (voters)
are
thinking about that. The country is ready to go on,"
said
former Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, who endorsed
Gore last week.
"It could work in a reverse way to help Al Gore,
because he
is Mr. Clean in every sense of the word," he added.
"Many things that happen in public life that are
dramatic are
not necessarily good government," added former Sen.
Mike
Gravel, D-Alaska.
"As long as a president is honest, trustworthy,
hard-working
and has the best interest of the people at heart,
he'll do well,"
said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "The fact that he
doesn't
have rock-star quality is not so important."
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
