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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bwanadon who wrote (3835)	10/29/2000 12:49:13 AM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS:Gore deserves the presidency THE question before the United States is how best to sustain and share the current prosperity. The man who best answers it is Vice President Al Gore. Gore has a better economic plan for the foreseeable future than does George W. Bush. And Gore has a keener mind and greater training for charting the course when the foreseeable inevitably becomes the unforeseen. In the matter of sustaining, Gore prudently would save more of the federal budget surplus. As to sharing, he is more aware of those the economy has left behind. Texas Gov. George W. Bush has done a remarkable job of persuading the American public to contemplate turning the White House over to him and the Republicans, especially considering that peace and prosperity are often thought to provide an unbeatable head start for the incumbent party. The election is rated a toss up in the polls. But in our view, the candidates are separated in qualifications by a wider margin. Picking a president is more than a matter of comparing résumés. But using them as a starting point, Gore simply overwhelms Bush from college to the capitols. Bush was an indifferent collegian, Gore a dedicated one. Gore devoted himself to duty as he saw it, volunteering for the Army. Bush took a tour of the Texas Air National Guard. As a representative and senator, Gore was a diligent, one might say obsessive, student of such technical but vital subjects as nuclear deterrence and global warming. For the last eight years, he has been a force in shaping the Clinton administration's policies on welfare, trade and the budget surplus. Even if you credit Bush for being a brilliant governor of Texas -- we wouldn't -- it adds up to five years of serious attention to some of the issues pertinent to the presidency, after two decades of knocking around the oil business and running a baseball team. On the central policy questions, Gore more closely reflects our views. The first priority for the budget surplus is to pay down the national debt, not to give a trillion-dollar tax cut, particularly not one weighted toward the wealthy. On health care, Gore will be a stronger advocate of patients' rights and for extension of insurance and care to those who cannot afford it. On social issues, such as affirmative action and abortion, Gore is progressive. Bush is, at best, unproven. Gore's appointments to the Supreme Court would be more likely to protect a woman's right to choose an abortion than would Bush's. On the environment, Gore's understanding of science and theory is unequaled among public officials. Bush is wishy-washy, or worse. In foreign affairs, Gore holds all the cards, though it would be rare indeed for a sitting vice president not to outpoint a governor here. Nonetheless, Gore has been a thinker and a participant in foreign affairs for two decades. He believes in an internationally active United States with a strong military. Bush often advances much the same view, but what Bush thinks on foreign affairs will be what his advisers tell him to think. We've omitted education, which the candidates have missed no opportunity to mention. Both Gore and Bush would preach reform from the presidential bully pulpit. Fine. But a president doesn't have all that much influence on the quality of education in America. While we think the choice is clear, we would hardly present this election as a moment of truth for the country. Our forecast for a Bush presidency would be ``fair with frequent periods of verbal cloudiness.'' Generally he is a business-friendly Republican as opposed to a culture warrior. He has been a pragmatic governor, not an ideologue. His relationship with Latinos in Texas is one that California Republicans should emulate. While there is debate about the success of Bush's education program, his commitment to educating poor and minority children is commendable. Bush has surrounded himself with capable advisers. The presidency has seldom been, and shouldn't be, a one-person performance. And we're not on board with the whole Gore plan. In his eagerness to solve problems with tax credits, he both complicates the tax code and, as Bush points out, puts government even further into the business of rewarding certain life decisions. At least on the campaign trail, Gore has a hard time saying no to anyone with a grievance. The populism he uncovered at the Democratic convention has seemed forced. Voters will look not just at policy, but at personality. For all the stories about what a cutup Gore is when the cameras aren't running, the aspect of personality that matters most is public persona. Bush is congenial, conciliatory and comfortable. Gore can be calculating, abrasive and self-aggrandizing. We wish Gore were more careful about the details. But then, we wish Bush had mastered more of them. Finally, we turn to Silicon Valley. Except for those who think Silicon Valley's business winners should get to keep more of their money, Gore's policies fit Silicon Valley as well as those of the more laissez-faire Bush. Gore has been a champion of free trade. He has been a stalwart advocate of new technologies and the Internet. He not only believes in the information revolution, he understands the technologies as well as anyone in elected office. The Clinton-Gore administration has presided over eight years of prosperity in America. Much of that has been good fortune, but the rest, due to astute leadership, has earned for Vice President Gore our recommendation that Americans elevate him to the top job.