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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (43622)	4/23/1999 7:04:00 AM
From: Zoltan!	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 67261

April 23, 1999 Bradley Offers Democrats Soap and Water By PAUL A. GIGOT Al Gore released a list this week of 113 Illinois Democratic Party regulars who've endorsed him for president. But it's typical of his recent luck that the vice president was upstaged by a single endorsement for Bill Bradley. Paul Volcker declared for the former New Jersey senator and sole Democratic challenger to Mr. Gore. The legendary Fed chairman hadn't done that since Adlai Stevenson, long before Tall Paul was a public figure. But what should really scare the veep is Mr. Volcker's reasoning: "I am a disturbed citizen. For too many years, I've seen the healthy skepticism of Americans about government erode into a corrosive cynicism," he said. "That cynicism and distrust need to be changed. It seemed to me long ago that Bill Bradley had the potential--had the essential qualities, the character to do just that." Ouch. There's that word again--character, campaign 2000's antonym for Clintonism. But this isn't Jerry Falwell talking. This is a Democrat, one of those Wall Street pillars Mr. Gore is supposed to have in his pocket because of the stock-market boom. But instead of crediting the veep with Clintonomics, Mr. Volcker implies that he's guilty by association with Clinton sleaze. "Those other guys have played around with campaign finance and haven't done a damn thing. They've got a record of ducking and swerving," Mr. Volcker told me Wednesday from his Manhattan cellphone. Bill Bradley "is serious." Who would have thought impeachment's biggest loser would be Al Gore? Had Mr. Clinton left office honorably and resigned, the veep would be president now. But the fact that he stayed, forcing Democrats to betray their own principles to defend him, may yet prevent Mr. Gore from winning in 2000. Democrats were reluctant to break with their president while Republicans might benefit. But next year in the person of Mr. Bradley they have a chance to register their unhappiness by voting for a fellow Democrat. Bill Bradley--so earnest he's Al Gore without the sense of humor--may be the vehicle that lets Democrats expiate their guilt for having rolled in the muck to save Monica's soulmate. Mr. Bradley is every Democrat's chance to take a shower. This is the only way to explain Mr. Bradley's boomlet in the polls--to within 17 points of Mr. Gore in New Hampshire in the latest Zogby survey. You can't attribute his rise to any issues, because Mr. Bradley so far isn't running on any. He's had even less to say on Kosovo than George W. Bush. He doesn't sharply disagree with the veep on trade or the environment, or much of anything else. Ask one of his advisers what issues are working for him and the answer is "the idea of leadership and integrity." Even Mr. Bradley's widely advertised and admirable speech this week on race was more about character than substance. One of his implicit points was that he'd have the moral authority to lead, in contrast to Mr. Gore's pandering to the party's racial activists. Like Mr. Bradley's entire campaign, the speech was about the man more than the message. Mr. Gore has thought he could run as Bill Clinton's heir the way George Bush ran for Ronald Reagan's third term in 1988. But the veep may want to rethink his strategy of appearing next to the president, Zelig-like, in every White House photo-op. In the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC poll, one in every three voters says Mr. Gore's biggest weakness is "his association with President Clinton." Only 10% call it his greatest strength. Amid today's prosperity that's amazing. A recent Pew Research poll found that "attitudes toward Gore are more closely linked to Bill Clinton's mixed personal ratings than to his strong job approval." While prosperity trumps scandal for Mr. Clinton, the opposite seems true for Mr. Gore. According to Pew, 74% of Americans agree with the statement that, "I am tired of all the problems associated with the Clinton administration." That includes 64% of Democrats. Of those Clinton-fatigued, only 35% would vote for Mr. Gore over George W. Bush. Mr. Gore must be freaked, if not livid: All of that slavish devotion to his boss and this is the reward he gets? Doesn't the public value loyalty any more? Another problem is that Democrats may worry that Mr. Gore won't be their strongest candidate. Every Republican sure thinks so. "Bradley would have a clean slate," said former Vice President Dan Quayle in an interview this week. "There's a lot of baggage with Bill Clinton--Gore calling him 'one of our greatest presidents' on the day he was impeached. "Plus Republicans don't like Al Gore. Bradley--they're indifferent. And they like a sports star.'' Democrats may wonder about nominating a man who even Dan Quayle is sure he can whip. The odds are still good that Republicans will get their wish. The veep is awash in campaign cash. As a candidate he's as ruthless as his boss. And his party's establishment and interest groups will fight for him as ferociously as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley did for Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Humphrey won the nomination, remember, despite a war, urban riots and his ties to LBJ. Then he lost in November. interactive.wsj.com