Jewish World Review Dec. 24, 2003 / 29 Kislev 5764

Clarence Page

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Consumer Reports

Al Gore's new campaign pal


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Al Gore will not be ignored.

With his endorsement of Howard Dean, the former vice president moved from political Siberia to the Democratic Party's power center.

He's made several "major" addresses, as his staff has called them, over the past couple of years, but none rattled the political establishment as much or raised as many startling questions, such as: Why now? Why Dean? Why not his former running-mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut? Does Gore really think Dean has a prayer? Has "Call Me Al" Gore gone completely nuts?

The answer appears to be six words: Gore wants to be a player.

If Dean wins the nomination and the presidency, Gore will be seen as a kingmaker who helped put him there with a well-timed endorsement.

If Dean loses either one, Gore still will be remembered as the fellow who shifted the national conversation with one little speech in Harlem, a status that could help him become a major contender to run himself in 2008.

Gore's endorsement, coming on top of other important endorsements from Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. of Illinois and two major unions, shows Dean is reaching beyond his maverick, outsider, largely Internet-generated base to impress some party insiders.

It also strikes a blow to Dean's rivals, particularly Lieberman, whom Gore curiously did not find the time to notify of his decision before announcing it.

"I won't talk about Al Gore's sense of loyalty," Lieberman said recently, obviously disappointed when asked about it on NBC. With that, ol' Joe showed more respect for his ol' pal Al than his ol' pal showed for him.

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But Gore seems to have bigger fish to worry about. His single-minded robo-candidate vision seems to be locked like a radar-guided missile on another agenda: building a new base in the party to compete with the power exerted by Bill and Hillary Clinton and their friends, including party chairman Terry McAuliffe.

Yes, Dean gains by hooking up with Gore, but so does Gore. By endorsing Dean, Gore helps quicken Dean's followers into a full-blown faction, rivaling the Clinton insiders.

In this way, we see leading Democrats reverting back to their historical propensity for factional infighting. (Republicans, by contrast, show a remarkable talent for keeping their bareknuckle smackdowns in-house.)

A similar maverick uprising in the party's 1972 convention, partly led by a young Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. of Chicago, unseated the Illinois delegation led by the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. Outsiders that year nominated Sen. George McGovern (S.D.), who lost almost every state that November.

Ironically, many of those idealistic mavericks are today's pragmatic insiders who've been trying to find any alternative to Dean, who they dread will be another McGovern - too extreme to be elected.

Gore may well remember that those same insiders urged him not to run this year, despite polls that have showed him to be more popular than the Democratic candidates who are running. To heck with the party regulars who don't want Dean, he might well be saying. They didn't want me to run, either.

Now, standing next to Dean, Gore seems to give stature and receive it. Voters looking for a maverick outsider might easily forget that Gore used to be the ultimate Washington insider, a senator who was the son of a senator.

And Gore the techno-gadget-freak must be impressed by how well Dean's new-wave campaign building machine rides on the cutting edge of new technologies adapted to populist politics. Dean's ability to draw crowds, organize local campaigns and raise funds has broken all expectations by using the device Gore once inaccurately claimed to have invented: the Internet.

The only problem with this scenario is that it reveals how little of Dean's campaign has been about nuts-and-bolts issues and how much of it has been about opposing "Bush's war." He spells out that opposition in crowd-pleasing generalities but little detail as to how he would withdraw the United States from Iraq or what the consequences might be for the region or America's image around the world. So far, he hasn't had to offer details. Ironically, like Richard Nixon in 1968, he only has to promise to withdraw America with honor and that's enough red meat for his hard-core supporters.

With that in mind, Dean runs a risk by linking himself too closely to party insiders like Gore. His supporters might seriously question the ability of insiders like Gore to remain loyal to something larger than themselves - something like ideals. They might even mention as an example of Gore's fidelity his heave-ho farewell to Joe Lieberman.

Ah, and you wonder why so many people hate politics.

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Up

12/12/03: Going for the political heavy hitters: Can Gore's new pal survive the veep's endorsement?
12/09/03: When is force excessive?
12/02/03: Medicare reform: A real turkey of a package
11/25/03: Colleges helping student athletes score diplomas
11/18/03: Soccer moms vs. NASCAR dads
11/13/03: Hunting 'terrorists' in Vegas strip clubs
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11/06/03: Dean waves wrong flag, Dems see red
10/28/03: No more excuses for the parents
10/23/03: Box Cutter Kid did us a favor
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10/02/03: The wages of luck in a 'jobless recovery'
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09/02/03: Put term limits on airport security rules
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08/08/03: Colin Powell is the 'odd man out' again
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07/22/03: Presidential politics: A time to pander, a time to push away
07/15/03: Deeper realities of Baker's dust-up
07/10/03: Formerly aloof, Bush now embraces Africa
07/08/03: Wrestling with the ‘Q-word’ in Iraq
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06/10/03: The 'Industry of Hillary' raises bucks for both sides
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03/21/03: A Moranic moment bites peace movement
03/18/03: Viewers beware when tv networks don't care
03/14/03: Powell's battle for Bush's ear
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01/31/02: Prisoners of a War of Words
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12/18/01: Whatever happened to questions about the birds and the bees?
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11/27/01: Friendly warning from a lover of liberty
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11/08/01: Lessons about terror from the 'hood
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10/30/01: It's not just about bin Laden
10/26/01: More than mail fell between the cracks
10/23/01: Terrorists threaten urban recovery, too
10/18/01: Sometimes, assassination warranted
10/15/01: Self-censorship rises again
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10/05/01: Look who's 'profiling' now
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08/16/01: Bush's u-turn on racial goals
08/09/01: Outsider Bubba comes 'in' again
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04/23/01: 'Slave' boat mystery reveals real tragedy
04/19/01: McVeigh's execution show
04/12/01: Not this time, Jesse
04/05/01: Dubya is DEFINITELY his own man, you fools!
04/02/01: Milking MLK
03/29/01: The candidate who censored himself?
03/22/01: "Will Hispanics elbow blacks out of the way as the nation's most prominent minority group?"
03/19/01: Blacks and the SATs
03/15/01: The census: How much race still matters in the everyday life of America
03/12/01: Jesse is a victim!
03/08/01: Saving kids from becoming killers
03/01/01: Parents owe "Puffy" and Eminem our thanks

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