In Wednesday night's second presidential debate, President Bill Clinton responded to several of Senator Bob Dole's policy challenges by saying "I don't have time in thirty seconds to fix all that."
But Clinton could not explain the discrepancies in his own record if he had 30 minutes. As his did in the first presidential debate, Dole challenged Clinton on his record, but in this debate he added another element, an element that has long been missing. Dole took off the kid gloves and asked why, in a country which puts such emphasis on honor, duty and public ethics, why in such a country is there a president who has 900 FBI files sequestered in his private residence?
Polls reported in Wednesday's The New York Times indicated that voters viewed Dole as combative, while Clinton is explanatory. Dole has not pursued a negative campaign at any point in the election. He ignored the Paula Jones incident, the Whitewater scandal, and other numerous topics that sent the media into a feeding frenzy periodically during President Clinton's administration. The voters characterized Dole as combative, but he had shown remarkable restraint. He had nothing to lose in the debate.
Dole succeeded in reminding Americans that the office of the presidency is more than signing bills, shaking hands and lending a concerned ear. The office of the presidency is a public trust and Bill Clinton cannot be trusted. If his reversals on policy and his blatant disregard for campaign promises such as the middle class tax cut were not enough, Clinton has attempted to suppress congressional hearings and has been found to be in the possession of 900 FBI files under subpoena that were "lost" for quite a length of time. During the time these files disappeared, they went through substantial revision and several pages "disappeared."
Bill Clinton is an excellent communicator. He has the ability to make direct communication with people and to convince them that he has their best interests at heart. Dole's rhetoric about states' rights and a balanced budget dulls in comparison to Clinton's rhetoric, but we can trust Dole's word. Clinton is an engaging speaker and his word cannot be trusted whatsoever.
More importantly, however, Dole holds a deep conviction that his ideas are those that will benefit America, and whether they are popular or not, he stands behind those ideas. Dole does not carry around a copy of the Tenth Amendment because it earns him percentage points. He carries that card in his pocket because he believes that the return of the power to the states and the people is one of the most important goals of his political career.
When asked about the President's role in establishing principles in government Dole answered, "Honor, duty and government, that is what America is all about. Certainly the President of the United States, the most important office in the world, has the responsibility to lead by example." Is Bill Clinton the best example of honor, duty and government that we can provide? What about somebody who, as Dole characterized himself, "grew up living in a basement apartment, somebody whose parents didn't finish high school, somebody who spent about 39 months in hospitals after World War II, somebody who uses a button hook to get dressed every morning, somebody who understands there are real Americans out there with real problems?"
In his closing remarks Clinton stated, "If you don't leave this room with anything else tonight ... I hope you'll leave with this. This is a real important election. The world is changing dramatically ... the decisions we make will have enormous practical consequences."
The decision to re-elect Bill Clinton or to elect Bob Dole will indeed have enormous practical consequences. These consequences will impact our economy, our foreign policy and our social policy. But, most importantly, they will impact the character of the institution of the presidency. Will the presidency become a public trust under Dole's leadership or will trust, honor and duty be reduced to the cliches that the Clinton campaign has made them?
