POLITICS
Mr Gore is still being economical with the charisma
BRUCE ANDERSON
his Democratic Convention is a curi- ous, inchoate business. The problems began at the beginning, when a presiden- tial candidate made a convention-rousing speech, which also played well on televi- sion. Unfortunately for the Democrats, however, this candidate was not Al Gore, but Bill Clinton.
Not since Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 has a President left office in the prime of life as Bill Clinton is now doing. For the next 30 years or so, this could cause prob- lems not only for Hillary Clinton but also for the Democratic party. At every con- vention, he will speak from the platform, and in every convention at which his party has a lustreless candidate there will be the same buzz in the hall: 'If only Bill could run again.'
Two groups of Americans hated the Clinton speech. The first and less powerful was the 40 per cent or so of the potential electorate who are partisan republicans, mostly committed Christians, who despise Mr Clinton and the way that he has com- promised the dignity of the Presidency. The second and more important group are Al Gore's 200 closest friends and advisers. They had hoped that Bill Clinton would somehow turn into Uriah Heep — 'ever so 'umble' — and apologise before handing over the torch in a self-effacing manner. But neither apology nor self-effacement have ever been Clinton fortes. He spoke for 40 minutes, as if taking a lap of honour which he wished to extend to a marathon. In the Gore team's opinion — expressed in private and through gritted teeth — this was most unhelpful.
Al Gore's intimates understand the risks. Mr Gore is already associated with some of the worst aspects of the Clinton regime, although his misdemeanours were financial — dubious fund-raising — rather than sexual. But this means that he is embroiled in the Clinton negatives. Whereas Mr Clinton could overcome his negatives by force of personality, Al Gore's personality is not forceful.
A couple of years ago, Gavin Esler of the BBC went to interview Vice-President Gore. In the preliminary chats, Mr Gore was affable and witty, though at one stage he did try Mr Esler's patience by picking up Socks, the First Cat, and chucking it on to the BBC man's lap. Mr Esler was wear- ing a dark-blue suit, which was promptly covered with cat hair. Seeing that, Mr Gore chuckled, saying, 'That's all the Clin- ton charisma you'll get from me.' He was right. As soon as the cameras rolled, Al Gore turned into wood. None of the inter- view ever appeared on television: not even the cat hairs.
As a presidential candidate, Mr Gore does not have to rely on cats to make him- self seem interesting — and he has chosen a formidable running-mate. Joe Lieber- man is a Jew and a mensch. He seems to be an unusual figure in partisan politics: someone who is respected and taken seri- ously by all sides. He also has a Jewish sense of humour, and once paraphrased President Kennedy's famous injunction. `Ask not what your country can do for you,' said Senator Lieberman, 'ask what you can do for your mother.'
Joe Lieberman has added a sense of purpose and moral depth to the Gore tick- et, but one should not overestimate the significance of this. Vice-presidential can- didates have a limited capability, and prin- cipally a negative one. The running-mate who appears to be an inadequate potential president could drag down the ticket, though Richard Nixon won in spite of Spiro Agnew, and George Bush Sr survived Dan Quayle. Senator Lieberman would make a perfectly plausible president, but that is not likely to persuade many Ameri- cans that Al Gore is a plausible president.
It is well understood here that the office of vice-president is longer on digni- ties than on duties. Woodrow Wilson's Vice-President, Thomas Marshall, had a favourite party-piece. There were two brothers, he would say. One was a wastrel, who refused to study at school, refused to get a job and finally ran away to sea. The other brother was hard-working at school and diligent in later life; he rose to become vice-president of the United States. Neither of them was ever heard of again. Mr Lieberman will do Mr Gore no harm, but few favours. He will undoubt- edly solidify the Jewish vote behind the Democrats, but it is already fairly solid, and in mobilising it, the senator could inflict some long-term damage upon his party.
If his nomination encourages Jews to vote for the entire Democratic ticket, he could just sway the New York senatorial race in favour of Hillary Clinton. If that were to happen, and assuming Al Gore loses, Mrs Clinton would be a formidable challenger for the Democratic nomination in 2004. She would also be unelectable. Senator Lieberman can do little to prevent George Bush from being elected for a first term, but he may ensure that President Bush's re-election is a formality.
In his election campaigns, Bill Clinton secured victory by concentrating on four issues: health, education, the environment and the economy. This year, Al Gore will adopt the same tactic, but he has a prob- lem. Last time, and with the invaluable assistance of Newt Gingrich, Mr Clinton persuaded enough Americans that in all four cases, the Republicans would be a threat to their aspirations. But it is very hard to make George Bush seem threat- ening. In 1980, Jimmy Carter's only hope was to persuade the American people that Ronald Reagan might start a world war: it did not work. In 2000, Al Gore's only hope is to persuade his voters that George Bush would start a recession. That will not work either.
Moreover, Mr Bush has taken moder- ate, bipartisan positions on health and education, thus appealing to the large number of Americans who believe that the existing arrangements are inadequate. All this makes it difficult for Mr Gore to throw his opponent on the defensive.
On Tuesday, the word in Democratic circles was that Al Gore intended to write his own speech. In response to this rumour, some Democrats were hopeful, and others pessimistic. The hopeful ones argued that no one had been able to cre- ate a viable political identity for Al Gore. so the best chance was that he should seek to do so for himself. But the pes- simists believed that any attempt by Al Gore to project himself to the American people was fraught with danger: he might succeed.
On Monday, while making his ritual journey towards Los Angeles, the Vice- President was campaigning in Missouri. Addressing one crowd, and briefly seem- ing more than wooden, he bellowed: 'I want to tell you what this campaign is about. It is about YOU.' A good try, Mr Vice-President, but an unconvincing one. The trouble for the Democrats is that this campaign is about you.
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