Return Salvo

President Clinton handed the Democrats’ torch to Vice President Al Gore Monday night after boasting of accomplishments during their 7 1/2-year administration and boosting Gore as a worthy successor. From here on, Gore’s success depends on his own ability to convince American voters he is the leader to carry their work forward.

Clinton, obviously irked by the do-nothing accusations aimed at him by Republican nominee George W. Bush, told the opening session of the 2000 Democratic National Convention, “Harry Truman’s old saying has never been more true: If you want to live like a Republican, you’d better vote for the Democrats.”

Clinton recited the administration’s achievements to essentially refute Bush’s claim that the Democrats had “squandered” opportunities during this period of prosperity. He and Gore hope that strong positions on specific issues will overcome any personality advantage Bush may have claimed from the GOP’s feel-good convention.

Clinton made a point of saying early in his speech that “one of the very best decisions of my life” was picking Gore as vice president. It did, however, take the president quite a while to return to Gore.

By flying east this morning, Clinton leaves the convention stage to Gore and his running mate, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut.

For all the accomplishments that Clinton cited, there is cause for concern by Democrats in a Los Angeles Times poll published today. The poll suggests that the traditional tendency of voters to reward the party in the White House for good times is outweighed by personal doubts about Clinton and Gore. Only half of the voters who believe the country is on the right track now say they will vote for Gore, far less than the margin by which satisfied voters usually support the party in power.

The poll suggests what the analysts have been saying: Gore must present himself as a strong leader confident of where he wants to go and capable of motivating voters. He needs to unify Democrats at this convention and send delegates forth to battle for his election with the sort of enthusiasm Republicans showed for Bush in Philadelphia. More depends on the spirit of Gore’s acceptance speech Thursday night than the Clinton send-off Monday.

The president issued an effective rebuttal to Bush’s claim, made at the end of the GOP convention in Philadelphia two weeks ago, that the Clinton administration, “during eight years of increasing need, did nothing.” Clinton’s list rivaled in detail the promises he made as the party’s nominee at the past two conventions.

Citing a record that included tougher gun controls, welfare reform and family leave, Clinton added: “To those who say the progress of the last eight years was an accident, that we just coasted along, let’s be clear: America’s success was not a matter of chance, it was a matter of choice. “ And Gore, he said, “was always there” for the tough issues. Yes, he’s been there, but the polls suggest that Gore’s presence alone won’t put him in the White House.

For all of his troubles, his scandals, Clinton can still move loyal Democrats. “Fifty-four years ago this week, I was born in a summer storm to a young widow in a small Southern town,” he recalled. “America gave me a chance to live my dreams.” And now as he prepares to leave office, Clinton said with obvious emotion, “My heart is filled with gratitude.”

Gore, who worked mightily to show independence by choosing the centrist Lieberman as his running mate, now finds that much of his fate remains tied to Clinton. He has slightly more than 80 days to find a way to make that tie work without strangling himself.