Working families are focus of Democrats

Panel talks will replace speeches. Also, Gore is expected to name his running mate Tuesday.

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2000

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Convention will showcase working Americans, their daily struggles and the issues important to them, party officials said Sunday.

In a departure from the usual political speeches, the Los Angeles convention will feature half-hour panel discussions with three to six participants. They'll talk about health care, education, crime, retirement and middleclass tax cuts, among other issues, said Doug Hattaway, a campaign spokesman for Vice President Al Gore.

Meanwhile, Gore convened with top advisers Sunday in Nashville, Tenn., and narrowed his list of possible vice presidential nominees to four men.

Citing knowledgeable Democratic sources, the Associated Press reported they were Sens. Evan Bayh, 44, of Indiana, John Edwards, 47, of North Carolina, John Kerry, 56, of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman, 58, of Connecticut.

Campaign chairman William Daley indicated Gore would likely make his decision today on who will join him at the convention.

"We really see the campaign as a fight for working families," Hattaway said. "Particularly how to build on the foundation of the current prosperity. You'll see plumbers, firefighters, homemakers and average working people put first and center stage (at the convention)."

On Aug. 14, Washington Gov. Gary Locke will moderate a discussion on working families and the improving economy.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., will lead an Aug. 15 discussion on education.

Actor Jimmy Smits will introduce an Aug. 16 panel on health care that will be moderated by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. And Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., will moderate a panel the same night on crime and victims' rights.

President Clinton will speak the first night of the convention, Aug. 14, as will first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic Senate candidate in New York state.

Gore will be nominated Aug. 16, and the vice presidential choice will speak the same night.

The next night, Gore delivers his acceptance speech.

Hattaway said Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is giving voters "cotton candy and we're giving them real nutrition."

Sunday's discussions on a running mate, held in Gore's hotel suite and lasting nearly two hours, included Daley, the head of Gore's search, former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, and Gore's brother-in-law, Frank Hunger, who said there would be a family huddle with Gore's wife, Tipper, Sunday night.

Daley, asked if there was still a possibility of the "wild card" selection that Gore has dangled teasingly, replied, "four plus a half," suggesting the prospects of a surprise pick had dimmed.

Daley and Hunger said they expected Gore to sleep on any decision. "You won't see anything happen tonight," said Hunger.

Christopher did not comment as he emerged from the meeting. Earlier, he told reporters, "We're coming to the end of the road."

Gore plans to call his running mate late today or Tuesday, when he's set to announce his pick in Nashville, a week before the Democratic National Convention opens in Los Angeles to nominate him and his running mate to face Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Kerry and Edwards are considered by most Gore advisers to be a cut above the rest, though that does not necessarily reflect the vice president's thinking, according to senior aides. A number of them touted Edwards' prospects, going out of their way to say his relative lack of government service would not be a problem.

The advisers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that Lieberman and Bayh are still in contention. Two others on the short list, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, 59, and New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, 53, have said they don't want the job. Advisers say they have no reason to believe Gore, 52, will try to convince them otherwise.

Daley said Sunday that all the candidates on Gore's short list are highly qualified and dismissed any concern that Edwards, elected just two years ago, lacked necessary experience.

"It's not about the resume or the pedigree," Daley said on CNN's Late Edition. "It's about what people stand for, what they fight for, and what their life experiences are about."

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