MacKay's timing? It's not his buddy

By TIM NICKENS

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 10, 1998

RLANDO -- Buddy MacKay cannot buy a break.

Just as the candidate for governor told fellow Democrats gathered at Hillcrest Elementary how proud he was to share the stage with President Clinton, a small television mounted on a side wall silently broadcast CNN and the logo for the story of the day.

Related links MacKay endorses; Clinton apologizes Now it's up to Congress From AP: Starr report may be released soon Clinton to apologize to Cabinet

"Investigating the president."

By midafternoon, the embattled president and the struggling candidate for governor had moved on to a fund-raiser at a downtown hotel. Not long after MacKay warmly welcomed Clinton as a friend and the president responded with heartfelt gratitude, there was more news out of Washington.

Independent counsel Kenneth Starr had delivered his report to Congress that presumably lays out his case for impeachment against the president.

If Mark McGwire's timing was off by as much as MacKay's, all of those home runs would be foul balls.

Wednesday was supposed to be a bright day for the lieutenant governor and Florida Democrats who cannot seem to get on track. It was supposed to be a day when MacKay could jump-start his campaign by bringing in his friend in the White House, raising some badly needed cash and reaffirming that the president's policy positions also are his own.

Instead, it is another bump on a MacKay campaign trail that has yet to see a smooth stretch.

His support among black Democrats still is not nearly where it should be because a black legislator was removed as the incoming House leader in January. His campaign account is not nearly as fat as Republican Jeb Bush's. And Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford and at least two Democrats in the Legislature publicly endorsed Bush just last week.

MacKay hoped the Clinton fund-raisers would be a turning point for his campaign. Instead they turned into another peculiar sideshow, and once again the Democrat seemed to be a victim of political events outside his control.

Wednesday will be remembered as the day MacKay embraced Clinton just as Starr delivered the details to Congress about the president's relationship with Monica Lewinsky and possible impeachable offenses.

It was a day when the mood inside the Democrats' cocoon, although at times subconsciously upbeat, seemed at odds with reality.

Inside Hillcrest Elementary, principal Aliette Scharr and PTA president Susan Waldrip were thrilled that Clinton came to their inner-city school. They talked glowingly of the school's adoption of the president's goals and programs, from literacy to bilingual education to the benefits of a multicultural student population.

Yet the Orlando Sentinel offered its own greeting: an open letter to the president on its editorial page in which it again urged him to resign.

"Mr. Clinton, why should anyone -- including those children you'll meet today -- believe you at all?" the editorial asked. "And if it's okay for the president to lie, should they have to tell the truth?"

Outside the hotel where the fund-raiser was held, several dozen protesters awaited the president and a media entourage that included reporters from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and USA Today. The signs were blunt.

Resign.

Impeach Clinton.

Starr for President.

Shame.

Inside the hotel, the banner behind the podium read: "Florida Democrats United for Victory."

Yet MacKay was the only statewide elected Democrat within miles of the president. U.S. Sen. Bob Graham stayed in Washington and Gov. Lawton Chiles is on a trade mission to Europe. Attorney General Bob Butterworth came to Coral Gables but skipped Orlando. Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson and Crawford stayed in Tallahassee.

Even MacKay's running mate was missing in action, dispatched by the campaign to Pensacola. The most notable politicians in attendance were U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville, Peter Deutsch of Lauderhill and Robert Wexler of Boca Raton.

Wednesday will not be remembered as the day Clinton and MacKay outlined their shared visions for lower class sizes, more individual control over medical treatment and tougher restrictions on gun sales.

It will be remembered as the day Clinton delivered the speech he should have given to the nation Aug. 17. Instead of defiant, he was remorseful. Instead of blaming Starr, he blamed only himself. Instead of sounding rehearsed, he sounded genuinely apologetic.

"He was not speaking from a piece of paper," said Cheryl Perets, a University of South Florida political science student from Tampa who had her picture taken with Clinton. "He was speaking from the heart."

Gerald White, a power plant operator for Tampa Electric Co., had named his son after Clinton in 1994 and wanted to hear from the president directly.

"I came here to hear an apology, and I got that," he said. "I've been getting hit pretty hard, but my family and I are not surrendering our support."

On election day, standing next to Bill Clinton is not going to make or break Buddy MacKay.

The $1-million the fund-raising events were expected to raise will help the Democrat. MacKay was careful not to condone Clinton's personal behavior, and his decision to stand by his friend of nearly 20 years might even win him some points for loyalty among some voters.

But Wednesday was supposed to be the day MacKay could quit dwelling on past snubs and political quagmires, focus on issues and build momentum.

Clinton's apology and Starr's report snatched the opportunity away. Now MacKay is left once again to wonder what if.

What if the president were not so wounded and could provide more than just money?

What if black Democrats were as united behind him as they were behind Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1994?

What if Democratic unity in Florida was more than a banner hanging on the wall?

What if Florida's campaign for governor really could be decided solely on issues such as lower class sizes and abortion rights, issues MacKay pushes and most voters support?

In a shuttle bus after the fund-raiser, MacKay spokeswoman Michelle Kucera strained to hear a radio report about the delivery of the independent counsel's findings to Congress.

"We can't buy a break," she said softly.

Not even when the president comes to town.