GORE is the MAN, good, clean, intelligent, experienced, solid citizen, serious, in touch with people. In presidential debates, GORE is going to WIN HANDS DOWN. GORE knows his stuff inside out and outside in and can speak without notes. Bush got a problem on his hands.
Mark my words. He will be the next president. The only
things going for BUSH are a smile and a nice shoe shine, according to a political observer.
By Bob Herbert
ASHUA, N.H. -- Al Gore seemed to be enjoying himself. The
instant reviews were coming in and they were quite favorable. The vice president had just finished a two-hour open meeting with 125 mostly independent voters in Plymouth, N.H. He answered every question they came up with, including one from a man who was convinced that the search for a cure for cancer should be financed by a steep dedicated tax on beer and "every bottle of booze" sold in America.
"I respect your opinion," Mr. Gore said, "but I am not prepared to endorse it right now."
Most of the people at the Saturday morning meeting expressed surprise at the range and the depth of the vice president's knowledge of complex issues, and his eloquence as he talked about matters like gay rights.
In response to a health care question, Mr. Gore offered -- as he does at nearly every stop -- a ferocious critique of Bill Bradley's health care proposal, saying it would devour the budget surplus over 10 years, largely destroy the Medicaid system and jeopardize financing for
Medicare.
He said his own, more modest plan, based on providing access to health insurance for every child in America within four years, was politically doable and had the virtue of remaining within the constraints of a balanced budget. "It's affordable," he said.
Al Gore may finally have stumbled upon himself. He's chucked those long and dreadfully boring speeches. He no longer genuflects before every politician in the house. He speaks frequently to relatively small gatherings of ordinary citizens and talks to them about whatever is on their minds.
This plays to his strengths -- his intelligence, his fundamental decency, his enormous capacity for hard work and the experience he has gained from nearly seven years as vice president.
In response to a question about gay rights, Mr. Gore told the audience: "I do not believe that God could have intended for people to be persecuted all their lives because of who they are or who they fall in love with."
In addition to health care and gay rights, the vice president spoke easily and knowledgeably about the test ban treaty, gun control, the environment and the dangers of excessive partisanship in Washington.
"He did very well," said Eileen Curran-Konrad, an English teacher from New Hampton. "He doesn't have charisma, but he has substance and that's important. I'm going to vote for him."
Paul Normandin, a lawyer from Laconia, said: "He did an outstanding job here. He displayed experience that other candidates don't have, and he will bring respect and dignity to the White House."
Mr. Gore's appearance in Plymouth was one of several around the state. There were no inside-the-Beltway questions, no queries about campaign staffers, or the shift of his headquarters from Washington to Nashville, or the recent flap over Naomi Wolf, the writer who has been advising him on women's issues. The voters were interested in health care, education, human rights at home and abroad, the danger of nuclear proliferation and
Mr. Gore's vision of America's future.
During a stop in North Conway, the Vice President devoted a few gleeful minutes to George W. Bush's foreign policy follies.
"I sympathize," said Mr. Gore, "with those who say it's not necessarily important whether a candidate for President who's just getting his feet wet knows the names of the leaders of foreign countries. But I think that it is an issue if a candidate for President has no idea why it's important to stop the spread of nuclear weapons with a comprehensive test ban treaty."
The audience applauded. Mr. Gore then referred to Mr. Bush's comment about the coup in Pakistan. (Mr. Bush had said: "The new Pakistani general, he's just been elected -- not elected, this guy took over office. It appears this guy is going to bring stability to the country and I think that's good news for the subcontinent.")
The only thing going for BUSH is a smile and a nice shoe shine, according a political observer--JPR
Said Mr. Gore: "I think it's important if a candidate for president in our country, the world's oldest democracy, doesn't know that when a democracy is overturned by a military coup, it's not good news for America."
It was a good day for Al Gore. He ended it with a well-received speech, delivered without notes, in Dover. He told the dinner audience, among other things, that "democracy is a marathon, not a sprint." Hardly anyone
missed the point. |
