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Substance Should be Part of Election
Posted
5-8-2000
This article will be my first in the AE era. AE means After Elian. Maybe we
can begin to focus on issues of substance rather than one more "hot button"
issue that stirs emotions but really doesn't have a great impact on people's
lives. After all, we are going to be electing the first president of the
21st century in six months and I hope the deciding issues aren't ones like
Elian Gonzalez.
Al Gore and George W. Bush
should be judged on their abilities to lead our nation, what vision they
have for our nation, and how they intend on achieving that vision. Yet I'm
not confident that will happen. More likely, the news media AND the
electorate will decide the question of whether those concepts will be
relevant during the campaign. If history holds true, the media will feed us
the easy, sensational angle every time because it requires less work on
their part and they believe that is what the public wants. The electorate,
unless it demands an issue-oriented campaign, will base its vote on
emotional issues like Elian, Gore's association with Clinton, or Bush's
fratboy, party-boy reputation.
I sure hope people recognize
the seriousness of this election. Too much is at stake to cast votes
lightly. Our country and federal budget has made such tremendous progress in
the last eight years, I am concerned that a return to the philosophies of
the '80s will have severely negative consequences. The economy is strong,
more people are working than ever before, and consumer confidence is high.
Many economists trace much progress to the federal government finally
getting its own financial house in better order. I know it wasn't popular,
but the budget vote in 1993 that cost the Democrats control of Congress,
really was the catalyst for the deficit being reigned in. Since then, we've
enjoyed the strongest economic times in our nation's history and it didn't
take a war to get our economy going.
It is going to be hard for W.
to attack Al Gore on the economy. So what will it be? I'm guessing it will
be the Clinton stuff that has been rehashed so many times already. Will that
sway undecided voters? I don't know. The people who hate Clinton aren't
voting for Gore anyway and most others are indifferent to Clinton-Gore
bashing. The problem for W. is there's nothing left to bash Gore about that
hasn't already been put out there.
I'm sure Gore will start
dissecting the George W. Texas success story. He's going to make W. talk
about foreign policy issues and other things that may not be the governor's
strong suit. Frankly, W. doesn't seem overly cerebral, not that it matters
too much in a country that elected Ronald Reagan. But I'll stack Gore
against W. in debates any day and feel confident Gore will show his
strength.
It is still early and many,
many things can and will have an effect on the presidential election.
Drastic changes in the economy, sudden trouble overseas, and choices for VP,
and many other factors will shape the race. It is too early to handicap the
race, but right now, it looks like a dead heat. The candidate that best
frames the public perception, not only of himself, but also of his opponent,
will likely prevail. |
