Well, Bush did a fine job, and is likely to win. Gore came off reasonably well, but Bush handled himself better. Bush's response to the charges about Texas was much better than Gore's lame attempt to pass off his lying as a handful of mistakes about details. It was a devastating revelation that the legislature meets 4 months out of the year, and therefore has little time to move bills along. In the end, it seemed amazing that anything gets accomplished. Meanwhile, hammering on the increase in the number of uninsured, while touting the decrease in Texas, was pretty effective.
On foreign policy, Bush articulated what most Americans believe: that while we have a commitment to maintaining critical alliances and the free flow of trade, we cannot go around intervening readily, as if we were the world's 911. Our military forces are not intended to police truces or engage in humanitarian missions, but to fight wars. Gore, while trying to be careful with his words, made it clear that he was much more open- ended and willing to commit forces for humanitarian reasons.
On domestic policy, Bush again hit closer to the center. Gore may pay lip service to local control of education, but his proposals sound like the first step in a federal take- over. He may pay lip service to consultation with affected parties, but he sounds like a "command and control" environmentalist. On medical issues, Gore has little credibility, having supported Clintoncare, and left the Medicare problem to fester. On Social Security, well, no one is quite sure what to make of the lockbox, but they do know what investing their own money means. On taxes, Gore cannot elude the fundamental fact that people would rather have a straightforward rate reduction than complex deductions and credits.
For what it is worth, the CBS snap poll had Bush winning by several points........ |
