Sampling of Democrats Shows Gore Fans Moving to Bradley

Until this week, Reesa Luger, a fortysomething housewife and registered Democrat, figured she’d probably support Al Gore in next year’s presidential election.

But then Luger watched some video clips of Gore and his rival for the Democratic nomination, Bill Bradley, giving their standard campaign speeches--and, to her surprise, she had a sudden change of heart.

“Bradley had much more charisma than I had imagined,” Luger said. “I’d vote for Bradley. . . . You need someone dynamic and different.”

“I was a total Gore supporter,” agreed Noel Sills, a rental car agency worker. “But he just doesn’t compare to Bradley.”

Their sentiments were echoed by others in a group of 12 Democratic voters in this Baltimore suburb, and they could spell trouble for the vice president.

Gore’s support among Democrats around the country is broad--but it isn’t yet clear whether it is also deep. And as more Democrats take their first serious look at Bradley, some of them say they like what they see.

During a two-hour “focus group” discussion conducted by pollster Peter D. Hart, a dozen Maryland Democrats talked about the state of the nation (“pretty good”), their main concerns this election year (health care, crime, the environment) and their pungent disappointment with President Clinton (“dishonest,” to cite one of the milder comments).

They said they yearn for a strong Democratic candidate to carry their banner.

“I don’t have a political hero,” Sills said softly. “I’m looking for one.”

But when the voters who said they backed Gore were asked to explain why they support the vice president, they found themselves struggling to express a reason.

“I’m more familiar with him,” Sills said.

“I didn’t know about anyone else,” Luger said.

“He’s the vice president,” shrugged Monica Opher, a paralegal.

Most said they considered Gore “honest”--but also “wishy-washy.”

And most said they didn’t know enough about Bradley to have much of an opinion.

“I’d like to know what his agenda is,” said Judi Dickman, a social worker. “Is he an experienced enough politician to be president?”

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican front-runner, got mixed reviews--”a leader,” “friendly,” but also “moneyed” and “dishonest.” Six of the 12 Democrats said they would consider voting for Bush.

Asked which candidate she’d like to spend time with, Luger laughed and named Bush. “He’s a hell-raiser,” she said with a mischievous grin.

Hart asked the voters their views of the candidates early in the session, and then showed them five-minute video clips of Gore and Bradley talking about their lives at a Democratic Party dinner in Iowa on Oct. 9.

Gore’s performance, which drew cheers from party activists in Iowa, left most of the Maryland voters unimpressed. But Bradley’s low-key speech held them spellbound. As he talked quietly about the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, Opher, an African American who said she was “leaning toward Gore,” wiped away a tear.

“I have to learn more about this man,” she said.

Dickman, too, said she was impressed. “He’s much brighter than I thought he was,” she said. “I thought he was just another jock in politics.”

The focus group’s reactions appeared to mirror those of Democrats around the country. A Gallup Poll for CNN and USA Today released last week found Gore clearly in front among Democrats nationwide, 51% to 39%. But that number represented a serious erosion of Gore’s once-commanding lead, down from 63% to 30% only a month ago. And in New Hampshire, where Bradley has been campaigning for months, the two contenders are neck-and-neck.

Pollster Hart said the voters’ sentiments “should give Al Gore a lot of pause and a recognition that he has a lot to do.”

In particular, Hart noted that Gore’s association with Clinton has turned into something of a liability, even among Democrats.

But the vice president still has time to change the voters’ impressions, Hart said.