Bush sets bar; now Gore must reach it

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By HOWARD TROXLER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2000

The Web site of the California Democratic Party spells out the "goals" (the word "quota" is incorrect) for that state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention:

Hispanic-Latinos, 26 percent; African-Americans, 16 percent; disabled, 10 percent; Asian-Pacific Islanders, 9 percent; gay men, 5 percent; lesbians, 5 percent; Native Americans, 1 percent.

This is not to make fun, but just to point out a simple truth. Democrats will be trying very hard this week to convince the nation they are mainstream and moderate. But somewhere along the way, somebody was in charge of counting the lesbians.

Imagine if the Republicans had something like that two weeks ago in Philadelphia. What if there had been "goals" for (not that there was a shortage) rich white guys, supply-side tax-cutters or the Christian Coalition?

The point is, the Democrats' left wing is just as liberal as the Republicans' right wing is conservative. But don't bet on the same kind of spin coming out of Los Angeles that we got from Philly.

Reporters are not going to run around finding anti-abortion Democrats to ask them if they feel "excluded." Nobody is going to criticize the party for "hiding" its radicals by putting on a sanitized, well-scripted show.

Yet that is pretty much what the Democrats will do. Up on stage, there will be parades of "real Americans" carefully selected to discuss "every day" problems. They will be the smiling, happy face of the Democratic Party, a face a moderate voter could love.

Meanwhile, on the floor of the convention will be the IBEW, the AFL-CIO, the government-employees' union, the NEA and every different stripe of put-upon interest group possible.

That means Al Gore faces the same challenge that George W. Bush met two weeks ago: He has to run away from his own party. Bill Clinton did it to great effect in 1992 and 1996. Bush is doing a great job of it so far this year.

Clinton, for his part, is not going quietly. He will deliver his last-hurrah speech tonight, although knowing him, it will be just one of many. If Clinton had any restraint, his speech would be a vigorous listing of his accomplishments, a thundering endorsement of Al Gore, and a "goodbye." If he was really falling on his sword, he would go out of his way to recount his own sins frankly and urge the nation not to blame Gore.

But the way Clinton milks a microphone, and the way he has been so publicly feeling sorry for himself these last few weeks, suggests he will not leave it at that. If he gets into smarmy self-justification and whining about his and Hillary's critics, it could be disastrous. Gore may have to shove Clinton, and his pocketful of Barbra Streisand's money, right off the stage.

The acceptance speech Bush gave in Philadelphia was near-perfect. He distanced himself from the Republican nastiness of the past decade with a single sentence. Instead of trying to ram Clinton-hating down everybody's throat, Bush gave the nation the perfect way out -- regret for a wasted potential. On top of that, Bush sounded like a man of some vision, with his call for seizing the day.

Gore has to match it. He does not have leeway. If his convention is not as reassuring, if Clinton does not deliver a strong coda tonight and then exit on cue, if Gore does not deliver the performance of his life, then Bush's lead will probably stay unbeatable.

The cold fact is, going into the Democratic convention, Bush was leading Gore in 30-plus states that had a total of 335 votes in the Electoral College, with only 270 votes needed to become president. After the convention the only things that will turn it around are a colossal Bush mistake, a massacre in the debates or an unrelenting attack from Gore. The last time anybody was this far down going into his own party's convention, but still won in November, was in 1988. The name of that underdog, of course, was George Bush.

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