Foes Used Jabs to Punch Up Images

Al Gore opened with a joke. Jack Kemp came down from the clouds.

Behind all the policy talk, the two running mates tried on Wednesday night to revamp their images a bit.

Gore, known as a dour policy wonk, actually caused Kemp to crack a smile. Kemp did not cite a single obscure 18th century thinker or throw out a single arcane economics term. He went so far as to boil down the Dole-Kemp economic plan to the childhood game of musical chairs.

“I’d like to start by offering you a deal, Jack,” Gore said in his opening remarks. “If you won’t use any football stories, I won’t tell any of my warm and humorous stories about chlorofluorocarbon abatement.”

Kemp beamed. Then the former quarterback faded away from the podium for a mock pass.

On economics, Kemp shelved his references to economists of old. Instead, he explained that the have-nots are elbowed aside in our economy just like a big guy elbowing out the little guy for the last seat in a game of musical chairs. The solution, Kemp said, is “we need more chairs,” or a faster-growing economy.

Neither man, of course, could shed their true natures completely.

Listen to Kemp delving into the etymology of the word economics:

“The word ‘economics’ in Greek came from the word family, or law or custom of the family,’ he explained. “A family without a job where both breadwinners are away from home and cannot spend time with their children or can’t send the child to the school of their choice rather than just the choice of the federal bureaucracy cannot possibly be as strong as a family that has the nurture, the love, the dignity and the justice that goes along with one breadwinner, a strong job and if that man or woman wants to work, it’s their choice, not just to pay taxes.”

Gore, for his part, did appear as wooden as ever, even after joking about it.

“He acted just like I acted when I was trying to be him,” said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who played Gore during Kemp’s practice debate sessions earlier in the week.

Reality was as malleable as putty when the debate ended and the spinners flooded into the media center.

Just before the two men took the stage, the spin-meisters were working in reverse. To lower expectations, aides to Kemp were praising Gore’s debating skills. He’s a pro, they said. A bright, articulate man who knows verbatim the policies of the president.

Au contraire, the Gore camp retorted. Kemp is telegenic, bright, passionate, far better on television than the stiff old vice president. Gore, they maintained, would clearly be the underdog.

Then the two men debated and everyone’s perspective changed.

“I think he jumped right through the television screen into Americans’ living rooms and explained what the economic plan means to them,” said Kemp advisor Dave Carney, touting his man.

Kemp certainly tried. Whether the question was on race relations, the environment or morality in America, Kemp sought to steer his response to tax cuts and how they will stimulate the economy.

Wayne Berman, another Kemp aide, said the tight time limits forced Kemp to focus. “In 90 seconds it’s not as easy to get into some of the more philosophical references that occasionally come up out on the campaign trail,” Berman explained.

Ron Klain, Gore’s chief of staff said he expected his boss to edge Kemp on the nuances of policy, Gore’s strong point. But he said he was nervous that Kemp would beat Gore on style. No dice, Klain said, Gore won that too.

“Gore was well-prepared, relaxed, at ease and very comfortable,” said Peter Knight, chairman of the Clinton-Gore campaign.

So that Gore would not be too overconfident going in, his staff posted on a bulletin board in Gore’s view a front page headline from the Washington Times that declared: “GOP anticipates Kemp dominance in debate tonight.”

Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, a spinner for the administration, was claiming victory even before Kemp and Gore took the stage--in baseball, that is.

She was glued to a television set in the media center next to the debate hall, watching the New York Yankees edge the Baltimore Orioles. Although Shalala is from Cleveland, she played years ago for a pigtail baseball league, and her coach was none other than George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees. In a bit more spin, she swore that she is the best shortstop he’s ever had.