The new millennium has arrived and the race for the White House has begun, or rather continued, in earnest. The campaign activity over the last few months was only a warm-up for the primary showdowns that will occur over the next three months in NH, South Carolina, Michigan, California and New York. Presidential candidates Bill Bradley, John McCain, Al Gore and George W. Bush have put their campaigns into full gear with the hopes of building a strong momentum early in the New Year to carry them through the overloaded primary period.
Bill Bradley and John McCain, despite what any campaign officials or consultants may say, are indeed the underdogs. Both are vigorously competing against the respective party establishment golden boys. And they have thus far been quite successful at creating a very spirited and interesting race. Al Gore and George W. Bush, often toted as the sure thing candidates for their party nominations, should be feeling a bit nervous as their opponents have set the stage for wins in New Hampshire. While a loss in New Hampshire would not deliver a fatal blow to the Gore campaign, it is quite important for Bush who needs to show the rest of the country and his supporters that he is a winner.
For Bradley and McCain, wins in New Hampshire are crucial. Because of the attention the state receives for its first-in-the-nation contest, New Hampshire is seen as a type of political barometer that can predict what is to come. Although, historically, the winners in New Hampshire do not always go on to win their party's nominations, for Bradley and McCain it could mean a blitz of media coverage that would expose them to a much larger national public eye.
This evening at UNH, Gore and Bradley will be debating for the first time in the New Year since their last encounter on the set of "Meet the Press" in December. Bradley will no doubt be looking to increase and secure his lead in New Hampshire. He will continue to prove that he has fresh, clearly defined policies and the experience to occupy the White House. One can also expect Bradley to continue pressuring Gore on the issues of campaign finance reform, gun control, and healthcare reform. Gore, on the other hand, will talk of his experience and his role as the Vice-President in an attempt to solidify his image as the more qualified and capable candidate. However, the truth is there are very subtle differences between the policy proposals of Bradley and Gore. They tend to agree on issues more than they disagree. With more debates scheduled throughout the month, Bradley and Gore need to shine in these encounters and attract the attention and support of an already cynical and apathetic public.
Tomorrow night, the field of Republican candidates will take the stage, but of course the spotlights will be focused on McCain and Bush. One can only hope that Orrin Hatch, Gary Bauer, Steve Forbes, and Alan Keyes will accept reality and drop out of the race soon. Not only will the debates become more tolerable to watch with only two candidates involved, but it will create a new dynamic allowing the American people to see McCain versus Bush, one on one, to see who really is the better man for the nomination.
There are many questions that remain to be answered. Will the year 2000 be the year of the underdog? Will Bill Bradley upset a sitting Vice-President to win the Democratic Party nomination, or will Al Gore earn what he believes is his rightfully deserved promotion? Will John McCain shock the Republican Party establishment by stopping the Bush presidential campaign machine, or will Bush use his entire $67 million war chest to secure the nomination. Who, if anyone, will be the first to go negative and begin attacking their opponent? When will Bradley start utilizing his big wig Hollywood and NBA contacts to spread his name and increase national awareness? Better yet, when will Bradley announce Michael Jordan as his running mate? And when will former president George Bush get on the campaign trail and start fighting for his son?
The next three months of this year will no doubt provide the answers to many of these questions and give us a much clearer idea as to who will be the respective party nominees for the general election in November. No doubt, the 2000 campaign will prove to be one of the more competitive and unpredictable presidential contests in a while. Pundits and strategists are taking advantage of this opportunity to predict the outcomes and the winners. Unfortunately, the only thing certain is that nothing is certain until the public goes to the polls, casts their votes, and a winner is announced from the tallies.
