Hitting the Bases

Standing before the Democratic National Convention “as my own man” at last, Vice President Al Gore walked grinning into Los Angeles’ Staples Center, high-fiving his way to the stage, and accepted his party’s nomination for president Thursday night with a pledge to fight for America’s working families.

Gore, a familiar face in politics for a quarter of a century, was in the odd position of having to reintroduce himself to voters. In a speech considered critical to his prospects against Republican nominee George W. Bush, he portrayed the Texas governor as the friend of the rich and powerful. For himself, Gore asked the people to judge him by “how and what we do for all of you--the people who pay the taxes, bear the burdens and live the American dream.”

Working hard to look presidential, Gore offered a list of specific issues that he would pursue, including targeted tax cuts for working families and reform of the estate tax to help farmers and small businesspeople. “For all the good times,” he said, “I am not satisfied.”

Opinion polls indicate that the voters frequently agree with Gore on the issues but are left cold by him as a person. The polls suggest Americans have a personal affinity with the more affable Bush. This disparity has unsettled Democratic strategists. Before Gore took the stage, Sen. Joseph R. Biden of Delaware said Democrats “can’t understand how a guy like George W. Bush can be leading a guy with the kind of caliber, experience and know-how as Al Gore.”

Delegates, looking forward to this night since arriving here last weekend, received Gore with hearty cheers and applause. He was not the magnetic Bill Clinton, but he worked populist issues that traditional Democrats hold dear.

Although Gore wasn’t directly critical of the Texas governor, it surely was not coincidence that he used a school in San Antonio in an example of “crumbling and overcrowded” classrooms.

The Democratic nominee obviously believed that voters would respond to a sharper delineation of the issues than they got from Bush in his acceptance speech in Philadelphia two weeks ago. Gore emphasized their different approaches to use of the budget surplus to finance tax cuts. Bush’s plan gives across-the-board tax cuts that favor the affluent. Gore took a more populist stance, saying his plan would “make sure that our prosperity enriches not just the few but all working families.”

Gore also reached out to the political center on the issue of morals or family values. He said, “I believe we must challenge a culture with too much meanness and not enough meaning,” especially violence and indecency in the entertainment industry. In this, Gore may also have been trying to rid himself of the taint of President Clinton’s sexual scandals.

In what will be seen by many Americans as manipulated timing designed to grab attention from Gore, it was disclosed Thursday that independent counsel Robert Ray has convened a grand jury to decide whether Clinton can be indicted after he leaves office for statements about his relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky. If the announcement has political effect, it will only be a backlash in Gore’s favor. Even Bush’s campaign manager said, “We think the timing of this was wrong.”

Gore took his full share of credit for successful Clinton programs and promised to carry forth much of the Clinton-Gore agenda. He said he knows “I won’t always be the most exciting politician,” but, he added, the presidency “is more than a popularity contest.”

Given the frenzy of corporate and private fund-raising at the conventions, first with the GOP in Philadelphia and this week with the Democrats in Los Angeles, it’s ironic indeed that Gore promised that campaign finance reform would be the “very first bill” that a Gore administration would push. Even if the vice president missed that irony, the vow was welcome. In the long run, it will be the most important pledge Al Gore made Thursday night.