Gore aims to separate from Clinton
By HELENA PAYNE
News Writer
When Clinton campaigned in 1992, he became a sparkle in the media's eye. But after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, people questioned if Gore will be a fallen star from Clinton's once glowing administration.
During the impeachment trial, Gore gradually distanced himself from Clinton. They were rarely ever seen together at even major political events.
South Bend Tribune political writer Jack Colwell said Gore has worked "very hard" to sufficiently distance himself from Clinton.
"He set out to do that at the Democratic National Convention and has taken the gamble that the distancing will separate him from Clinton's personal problems and give him the best chance to win," said Colwell.
However, Gore's attempts could be in vain for a certain segment of voters who Colwell said will never be convinced that Gore is a viable candidate independent of Clinton.
"Some voters, of course, will link him with Clinton's problems, no matter how he seeks to distance himself during the campaign," said Colwell.
Government professor David Leege said this challenge comes from highly partisan Republicans who want to make character the main argument against Gore's campaign.
"They will not let it die," said Leege.
"I think the vice president sent several signals that he was his own man," said Leege.
He said Gore has separated himself and is not interested in doing what many past candidates have done by using the coattails of the incumbent president to enter into the executive office.
"Instead of asking for the support of the president, he has run his own campaign. That's different from the 1988 campaign when George H. W. Bush made considerable use of Ronald Reagan," said Leege.
Since Gore has chosen not to use Clinton in the campaign as frequently as past candidates, he has also lost some benefits that Clinton could have brought to the campaign.
Some of those benefits are critical swing vote categories.
"Particularly for African-Americans and women, Clinton has been a strong mobilizer," said Leege.
Although African-Americans as a group generally vote Democratic, Bush has attempted to appeal to African-Americans and other minority voters through political ads on television.
Women have become a key voter group in the 2000 presidential election.
Initially, Gore had the majority of the female vote, but Bush has been making more appeals to women in his campaign rallies by mentioning his wife, Laura, and his concern for the family and women.
In addition to Clinton's ability to draw women and African-Americans the economy has grown considerably under his administration.
"Gore has the difficult task of seeking to be linked with Clinton on the booming economy, not linked to the president's personal woes," said Colwell.
Colwell said keeping the two aspects of Clinton's presidency has been hard for Gore because of constant references to Clinton's character.
"Of course the Bush campaign wants to prevent this [separation] with references to the Clinton-Gore administration and references to honesty," said Colwell.
Leege said Gore's nomination of Senator Joe Lieberman for vice president was an effective way to defend his own moral character. Lieberman, who has been vocal about his Jewish faith and desire to strengthen the United State's morals, was also vocal about Clinton's involvement with Monica Lewinsky.
"The Bush strategy was to try to attract the moral center," said Leege. "The Gore people followed a checkmate strategy. I thought it was a very effective selection of a vice presidential nomination. It was better than [Bush's selection]."
Colwell said Gore's nomination was strategic by asserting Gore's ticket is not connected to the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
"Lieberman, one of the first Democrats to harshly criticize Clinton's Monica madness and a senator known for concern for ethics, was no doubt selected in large measure because it would send a message that the Democratic ticket condones no such behavior and is concerned about ethics," said Leege.
However, people often point out that Lieberman did not vote for Clinton's impeachment even after criticizing his actions. Leege said that it is possible that Lieberman could be against Clinton's action, but not convinced that they merited his impeachment.
"That doesn't mean that he exonerated Clinton from failures," said Leege. "A person could feel that it was guilty of reprehensible behavior but also fell that Clinton didn't do anything [for which he could be] convicted."
Gore has taken many steps to distance himself from Clinton, including choosing Lieberman as his running mate. However, Gore has also shown there are aspects of the Clinton administration that will help his campaign.
Although Gore has chosen not to draw on Clinton's persona, he has tried to draw on his accomplishments.
Colwell said it is still early to predict the success of Gore's strategies.
"It's one of those things that perhaps will not be known until after the election," said Colwell. "If Gore loses, he will forever be haunted by the thought that Clinton on the campaign trail could have enabled him to win. If Gore wins, most analysis probably will be that he was wise to distance himself and that he won on his own."
All News Stories for Wednesday, November 1, 2000
