Al Gore, the incumbent Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate, is running from his home in D.C. and moving his national campaign headquarters down to Nashville, Tenn. Some spinsters are calling this move a return to Gore's "roots," and perhaps he is looking to rejuvenate his campaign and nurture it through the primaries with the help of some southern charm in Tennessee. While Gore does enjoy a winning record for campaigns he has run in Tennessee, this is more likely a strong foreshadowing of what could lie ahead when the votes are tallied in 2000 -- the end of Al Gore's Washington career.
Despite his campaign's attempt to rebuild his image as an everyday guy with a modest farm boy upbringing, Gore's public image as a stiff, privileged, Washington-bred bureaucrat will be hard to change. The American electorate is never given enough credit for being informed or educated about the candidates and the issues. However, in the case of Al Gore, there is little ambiguity. This Tennessee farm boy is a career politician who spent his formative years at St. Albans High School in Washington. Sure, he left D.C. and spent some time in Cambridge. However, he quickly returned to D.C and began working in public office. Gore has been in our nation's capital for the past 23 years and clearly wants to remain there for another four, if not eight years.
The American people acknowledge the fact that Al Gore has served his country with military service in Vietnam, a combined 16 years as a United States representative and senator, and now the sitting Vice President in his second term. But the American people also realize and acknowledge that he has lost touch. Gore has been in D.C. for far too long and is out of synch with the pulse of America. This, and the fact that he is associated with an administration that most Americans are ready to replace, does not bode well for his hopes of leading America into the 21st century.
What Gore doesn't realize is he is suffering from a bad case of vice-presidentialitis. If he thinks a strong economy and incumbency are going to pave his way into the White House, he is mistaken. Clinton fatigue is real and the American people are ready for a change. While the Clinton Administration may be experiencing strong public approval and a solid economic climate, eight years with the same administration is a long time. Similar public fatigue was seen with the Reagan administration in 1988. While, Bush managed to pull off a victory as the sitting vice president, Gore faces a much more difficult situation as part of an administration marked by many more public scandals.
Furthermore, Gore is boring and uninspiring. His interactions with voters and appearances on Larry King Live and other talk shows leave voters only confused and thinking, "There is just something about him; I could never vote for him." These same sentiments have been echoed by other esteemed public figures. Senator Patrick Moynihan, who's critical endorsement Gore lost recently said, "There is nothing wrong with Al Gore, he just cannot be elected."
The questions remain: when Al Gore talks, do people really listen? When people look at him, do they see the next president? Judging from the latest polls and the recent Federal Election Commission filings showing him raising less money than Bradley in this quarter, probably not. People see in Al Gore the conventional politician and they want a change. If he wants to fulfill his dream of occupying the Oval Office he must do something to change this perception. Al Gore must distance himself from the Clinton Administration and prove that he has not been molded by Washington. However, the reality is Gore is facing some heavy hitters who have managed to attract the public eye because of their distance from the Washington lifestyle. There is Bill Bradley, a Rhodes Scholar and NBA Hall of Famer who served in the U.S. Senate for eighteen years but has been distant from the Washington lifestyle for many years now. And, there is George W. Bush, the governor of the second largest state in the United States who enjoys a great media image and respectable last name, and despite being the son of a former president has been able to distance himself from the Washingtonians.
Mr. Gore and his campaign have their work cut out for them. Still, the general feeling seems to suggest that no matter how many times he changes his image, claims a reinvigoration of his campaign, or moves his headquarters, Al Gore will not be the next president of the United States.
