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Surrounded by talent With a Little Help from His FriendsBy Rick Horowitz
Stunning in its simplicity, bold in its execution. And its impact? Well, that's the question, isn't it? Actually, that's not the question. The question is, "Does he have a better idea?" "He" being Al Gore, and time's a-wastin'. We're down to the dwindly days now, and the veep is still running second in most of the polls -- a point, or two, or five behind George W. It's been that way for weeks: Bush up here, and Gore right on his heels -- but hardly ever closer than that. So what's a candidate to do? If you're Al Gore, you have to face reality, and then you have to deal with it. Here's reality: They don't like you very much. The country's at peace. The economy is booming. Inflation is down. Job growth is up. You're a key player in an administration that has had at least a little something to do with all that. And it's getting you nothing. On the big issues -- Social Security, Medicare, tax cuts, the environment -- the voters are where you are. And it's still getting you nothing. Experience? Knowledge? You've got it all over the other guy, the voters say. And it's still getting you nothing. Some of it is the Number One you've been Number Twoing for all these years; people are ready to clean house, and they're perfectly prepared to toss you out with the rest of the Clinton trash. But most of it is right there in the mirror: They don't much care for the who of you -- the Al Gore who embellishes his stories, who talks...very...slowly, who rolls his eyes, who plots his sighs. So what do you do? You surround yourself. You surround yourself with people who aren't you, who are strong where you're weak, who aren't scratchy fingernails on the great cosmic blackboard the way you are. You find yourself some folks with reputations for honesty and sincerity -- a Joe Lieberman, a Madeleine Albright, a Warren Christopher -- and you don't let them out of your sight. You put them on your campaign plane with you as you dash across the country, and you stand them right next to you on every podium from now through Election Day. And you don't just stand them there. You point to them at every stop, and you introduce them, and you have them say a few words in your behalf. And when they're done vouching for you, you take back the microphone and you tell the crowds, "These are the kinds of people I'll have around me if you make me your president! These are the kinds of people who'll be right by my side, or just a phone call away." And what you'll mean by that, though you won't have to spell it out, is this: "Don't worry if I'm a few genes short of genuine -- they'll cover for me." And the voters will be so impressed by this collection of notables you've assembled that they'll forget all about your own shortcomings and sweep you triumphantly into -- Not so fast. It can't be that easy, can it? Of course not. You can hear the skeptics already. "Sure, the team is important," they'll admit. "But it's the captain who really matters. All the deputies, all the advisers in the universe can't make up for an empty space right in the middle of things." That's exactly what they'll say -- unless, of course, they happen to glance across the street. And if they glance, what'll they see? They'll see George W., surrounded by his Dick Cheneys and his Colin Powells and his Condoleezza Rices. Surrounded by his daddy and all his daddy's old friends, all of them proud and protective and ready to help their boy cope with the big, wide world out there. A president with training wheels? "Don't worry," says George W. "They'll cover for me." Posted 11/2/00. Stick
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Rick Horowitz