Gore May Have Blown His Chance to Be President
John LeBoutillier
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2000
newsmax.com
Al Gore may have already blown his final chance to become president of the United States.
Gore made a big point at the Los Angeles convention of separating himself from the Liar-in-Chief, Bill Clinton, by pointedly stating, "I am my own man."
That was code for "I am not Clinton." The now-infamous Kiss was yet another way to show that Gore was a loyal, monogamous husband who lived life on the straight and narrow.
Gore then surged in the polls, overtook Bush and could have remained in the lead except for one thing: he lied about his mother-in-law’s dog and the price of prescription drugs. That single fib arrested Gore’s upward momentum in the polls.
He was able to survive that dip and even climb back into a six-point lead before last’s week’s debate because the underlying issue – the cost of prescription drugs for seniors – is such an important and serious issue.
Then came last week’s debate. Once again Gore could not contain himself and repeatedly lied or exaggerated. He also behaved poorly. His sighing and weird facial contortions and Herman Munster makeup made him a very unattractive candidate.
The result? In the post-debate coverage it was Gore, not Bush, who became the butt of jokes and the subject of scrutiny.
And the one thing that Gore did not want to do – become another Clinton – is exactly what his lies have done!
All the effort to separate himself from Clinton, to become "my own man," has been undercut by his serial lying. His very identity as a candidate is now at risk. Gore is on the cusp of falling into a disastrous region: a politician with little vehement and ardent support but saddled with no credibility.
No wonder he has launched an all-out anti-Bush TV ad blitz nationwide. Rather than face his own failings head-on, he has decided to do what liberals always do: take their opponent down into the gutter with them.
The shame of this year’s campaign is that the GOP has been downright afraid to talk to the American people and explain our conservative ideas. Bush and Cheney have pulled back from talking on the stump about vouchers, for example, and thus have allowed Gore to talk about charter schools. Why be afraid of vouchers? They work, they are a good idea, and it is the correct position to take. Why not make it a cornerstone of the campaign? We could make big inroads into the minority community with that issue. It is a shame to miss such a golden opportunity.
Instead we have witnessed a Bush campaign trying to "out-liberal" the real liberals. Just last Friday saw George W. Bush in Iowa proposing an entirely new federal program titled the Parents Drug Corps, which will cost $2.8 billion a year. And this is to "educate parents in drug prevention."
Does anyone believe that even one penny of that money will ever reach any parents at all?
Similarly, Bush has proposed yet another new federal spending program to promote literacy. Does anyone believe even one cent of this $5 billion-a-year plan would ever have anything to do with teaching even one child how to read?
Is this the role of the federal government? To teach reading and to teach Mom and Dad how to keep their kids off drugs?
Heading into the second debate in Winston-Salem, each candidate has to repair earlier damage – and attempt to inflict new damage to the other fellow. Gore needs to address his credibility problem. He cannot deny it. No one can become president who cannot be trusted. A president’s word should be totally credible. With Nixon and then with Clinton we saw two men who lied – and whose lies undermined their presidencies and their legacies.
Gore also wants to try to make himself more likable. Polls show that swing voters so far find Bush to be amiable and affable.
Bush hopes to find yet another Gore lie or misstatement to pounce upon. And he wants to put Gore back on his heels as a big-spending liberal. Bush also must avoid a misstatement of his own that might reinforce a growing perception among some that he is not "up to the job."
The race is close. With the booming economy behind him, Gore should be ahead. But his own lack of self-discipline has frittered away his advantages.
Bush has hung in there and is positioned to capitalize on any further Gore miscues.
Prediction: Whichever candidate makes the fewest mistakes from here on out will win. |
