First Visit to County in Presidential Quest : Gore Finds a ‘Cousin’ on Campaign Trail

Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr. was making the rounds, shaking hands with each person who had showed up at a luncheon Thursday to look him over. One of the hands the would-be 1988 Democratic presidential candidate shook was that of Leslie Stroup of Westminster, whose great-grandmother was a Gore from Tennessee.

That tickled Gore, who, as it happened, had along as his advance person another cousin, attorney Pierce Gore of Los Angeles.

Taking the podium but directing his remarks to Stroup, Gore said he and Pierce Gore “have already claimed you as a cousin, Leslie, and we’re trying to scout up about 150,000 more cousins before the election.”

Stroup was one of 50 members of the Democratic Associates gathered for the luncheon at the Hotel Meridien in Newport Beach. Gore was the second Democratic presidential candidate in two weeks, after Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, to come to Orange County in search of cousins and other supporters. At back-to-back luncheons, Gore met with the Associates, whose members pay a $50 annual membership fee, and the Democratic Foundation, whose members kick in $1,000 a year to support the party and hold political events in an effort to rebuild the party in this overwhelmingly Republican county.

Expresses Hope

In similar speeches to both groups, Gore said that while the world is “poised 30 minutes from nuclear destruction,” there was hope for controlling the nuclear arms race.

“It can be done,” he said. “We can solve the problem.”

Speaking to the Associates, he added, “The name of the game in 1988 is putting forward a positive image of the future that is clear enough and compelling enough for Americans to work toward, and then winning the general election. I believe I can do that for the Democratic Party and for the nation.”

Although Associates and Foundation members said they were generally impressed with Gore, most took a wait-and-see attitude about the race.

“He’s not a real dynamic speaker, but he’s effective,” said Boyd Roberts of Santa Ana, a member of the Associates. “Gore certainly is somebody I could support.”

Foundation member Bruce W. Sumner, after hearing Gore, said he is “my kind of guy” but cautioned, “I haven’t made a commitment.”

To get support here as well as in the rest of the country, Gore needs to distinguish himself from the Democratic candidates who emerged on more or less equal footing after the demise of Gary Hart’s campaign. Hart had strong support among Orange County Democrats.

Seeking to succeed Hart as front-runner are Gephardt, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt and Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden.

Gore’s primary pitch is that he is from the South, a region the Democrats need to carry in order to win the presidency, and that he has a substantive legislative record on nuclear arms control, the environment, education and other major issues after 11 years in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Also, in the coming-of-age of baby-boomers, he is young. At 39, he would be the youngest-ever President if elected. President John F. Kennedy was 43 when he took office; Gore would be 40.

Gore is attempting to use this in his favor. Referring to President Reagan, he said, “After the oldest President in American history, pollsters are already finding a desire for youth and energy and the capacity to give this country a fresh start.”

Because Gore got into the race on April 10, well after the other candidates, he said he is “playing catch-up,” both in finding supporters and in identifying money for his campaign. Thursday’s visit was his first to Orange County to gather support. Gephardt, by contrast, has already visited Orange County several times. On his last trip, Gephardt won the endorsement of Santa Ana Mayor Dan Young and took away about $25,000 from a fund-raiser.

The Democratic Foundation and Associates expect Dukakis to be the next contender to come through, probably in July.