Civil Politics, So Far

One news report on the first televised joint appearance of Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley noted that each candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination scored some points but neither drew much blood. Good. We’ve had enough of politics as blood sport.

By contrast, the GOP town hall-style meeting Thursday night was crippled by the absence if front-runner George W. Bush. The result was a less substantive and satisfying exchange than the Democrats were able to mount.

The hour-long Gore-Bradley session in Hanover, N.H., Wednesday night was a civil exchange between two experienced, articulate public leaders on issues ranging from health care and education to gay rights. Civility and enlightenment are what American voters want and need, not a barrage of “gotcha” attacks and verbal traps.

This was not a debate. The candidates did not have an opportunity to question each other directly. But Gore did manage to argue that the nation could not afford the cost of Bradley’s proposed health care program and Bradley in turn questioned Gore’s figures.

Five Republican candidates--all but front-runner Gov. George W. Bush of Texas--participated in a similar meeting Thursday night. Bush was in Texas, where his wife was being honored by Southern Methodist University. Bush wanted to avoid a debate until January. But he has agreed to one joint New Hampshire appearance on Dec. 2.

New Hampshire voters take their first-in-the-nation role in the presidential nominating process seriously. Many will merely remember that Bush was not there, not why. Bush is so far ahead in the polls he apparently sees only the disadvantages of appearing with his GOP competitors.

The other Republicans shied away from mentioning Bush until one woman talked of the nominating process as “an auction” and said she really wanted to ask Bush about campaign finance reform. The question instead went to Steve Forbes, who said he shared her frustration that Bush was absent.

Gore began pushing for weekly appearances with Bradley after the former New Jersey senator began eroding Gore’s lead in opinion polls. Meanwhile, Bush will need to reassess his posture as the distant front-runner. If Bush is as able as his supporters contend, he should have nothing to fear from a debate.

Bradley has promised not to engage in negative politics and he passed up good opportunities to needle Gore Wednesday night. “People want a positive vision from the person who will be their next president,” he said. That is correct. Some American voters may be entertained by negative attacks, but most want to hear the candidates on the issues and see how they conduct themselves.