The Hats Fly Early

It’s not quite summer yet, and already a George W. Bush phenomenon is sweeping the country, or at least its magazine covers, as the Texas governor pursues the GOP presidential nomination. Vice President Al Gore has formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and has begun to move out of the shadow of Bill Clinton. The presidential campaign is upon us months before major candidates would usually announce. Questions abound. Who is George W. Bush and what makes him presidential timber? Is Gore up to a campaign in which he is seeking the No. 1 spot?

Answers will emerge as time, a whole lot of it, passes. Bush and Gore have vastly outraised their rivals in campaign dollars and enjoy lopsided leads in the polls. But Bush will be tested by the media and his GOP challengers as his blank slate is filled in; one of the unknowns is his stand on gun control. Gore is looking over his shoulder at former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, still carrying star power from his New York Knicks basketball days and still a could-be Democratic contender.

The fascination with Bush is not as spontaneous as it looks, nor is George W. a pampered neophyte who suddenly burst on stage. Bush has caught fire with mainstream Republicans who smell a winner in this self- described “compassionate conservative” with a credible record as governor of the nation’s second-largest state. He says he sees his challenge as ensuring that “everyone gets the education and access to opportunity” they need to thrive in a high-tech society.

Voters also might ask, who is Al Gore? Until this past week, he was defined mostly as the wooden Clinton sidekick with a penchant for saying silly things, like his line about practically inventing the Internet. Now Gore is on his own, declaring his independence from President Clinton’s “inexcusable” actions in the Monica Lewinsky affair. Gore promises that as president he would address the “crisis in the American family.”

The campaign might be starting early, and there’s obviously no shortage of platitudes. But American voters could do a lot worse than the choices being offered now.