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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 10, 2000)
Bush and Gore campaigns getting in gear for fall fight By Calvin Woodward The Associated Press WASHINGTON — So much for shaded policy disagreements. Starker choices loom for voters — on abortion, taxes, Social Securi ty and more — now that Democ rat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush are preparing to go head to head for the presiden cy Even when the rhetoric of both candidates seems to match, poli cy experts see contrasts that are likely to be magnified and be of practical consequence for the na tion’s future, not to mention pocketbooks. “This is in some ways as pro found an ideological difference as there has been since Reagan and Carter in 1980 — if you dig into it,” said Michael Franc, vice president for government relations at the . conservative Heritage Foundation. Digging is required because the vice president, a self-styled prag matic “reinventer” of govern ment, and the Texas governor, a “compassionate conservative,” can sound alike when they are not speaking to the ideological wings of their parties. On health care, for one issue, Gore proposes changes that are modest by comparison with those of his vanquished Democratic ri val and modest, too, alongside the grand vision of universal health care abandoned by the ad ministration he serves. But his plan is much more am bitious and expensive than any thing Bush has put on the table. For his part, Bush proposes across-the-board tax cuts larger even than the congressional Re publican package that Democrats attacked as too costly last year. Gore offers selective tax relief here and there. As well, Bush stands for partial privatization of Social Security, proposes expanded medical sav ings accounts and spells out a way for parents whose kids are in failing schools to use federal money for private education — ideas roundly opposed by the vice president. Those ideas have simmered in Congress for a decade but only now are emerging with force in a presidential campaign. On the Republican side, Franc argues, that sets the governor apart from Bob Dole campaign in 1996 and President Bush in 1992. “A lot of conservative thinking that might have been trendy or outside the envelope in the early ’90s is now much more widely accepted,” he said Thursday. Because the ground has shift ed, “I see Bush as being to the right of Dole, to the right of his dad,” he said. Al From, president of the cen trist Democratic Leadership Council, said the differences be tween Gore and Bush are more pronounced than might have been expected from two men who share a moderate impulse. From contends that Bush built his centrist message “on the cheap,” without the painstaking and often painful policy work that helped Bill Clinton move his party beyond its old orthodoxy in 1992. That left Bush ill-equipped to stay in the center when the pri maries got rough, he said. “Clinton built his own philo sophical base in the party that he could fall back on when he got in trouble,” From said. “Because Bush didn’t do that, he had to fall back on the people who were the establishment.” As a result, he said, Gore can draw vivid differences with Bush on some of the social and eco nomic issues where they might otherwise have been closer. When Gore’s opponent was Bill Bradley and Bush’s main rival was John McCain, policy differ ences tended to be minor or else overshadowed by debate over character, veracity, tactics and — for Republicans — religion. Despite all the heat aboui abor tion, Bush and McCain espoused similar positions on one side of the issue; Gore and Bradley did the same on the other. McCain and Bradley take parting shots as they exit election spotlight By Ron Fournier The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Falling as swiftly as they soared, John Mc Cain and Bill Bradley abandoned their presidential races Thursday and chided their triumphant ri vals on the way out. “Millions of Americans have rallied to our banner,” McCain said as both candidates sought to leverage the support they had earned. The Arizona senator pledged to press his case for political reform and warned that Republicans will “slip into the mists of histo ry” without it. McCain, who pulled swarms of Democrats and independents into GOP contests, offered nominee-in-waiting George W. Bush his “best wishes” — but not his endorsement. An hour before McCain bowed out, Bradley told reporters he w'ould support Vice President A1 Gore, but he also accused his fel low Democrat of “distortions” in their primary fight. “I hope that he wilt run a better campaign in the general election,” said the for mer New Jersey senator, who was unable to win any primary or caucus. Still, it was a triumphant day for the political establishment that backed Bush and Gore, both of whom vanquished their rivals after stiff challenges. “When you do battle with entrenched power ... it’s very difficult,” Bradley said. Within minutes of McCain’s announcement, Bush’s team was reaching out to McCain interme diaries in an effort to mend fences. The rivals themselves spoke briefly by telephone but settled nothing. “John needs some time to think, and I need some time,” Bush said. Said to be still seething at the Texas governor, McCain is in no hurry to make peace. He planned to take a week’s vacation before determining what leverage he has with Bush and what he might want to achieve with it, said a McCain adviser. McCain knows he is not bar gaining from a strong position, but the adviser said his boss wants to somehow keep his sig nature issue — campaign finance reform — on the political agenda. With that goal in mind, McCain quit the race but didn’t shut down his campaign — a techni cality that keeps his options open in case he wants to make things uncomfortable for Bush, who needs McCain’s endorsement to unify the party. McCain’s options, according to the adviser, include: barnstorm ing the country to promote cam paign finance reform, leading a platform fight at the Republican National Convention or even mounting a third-party presiden tial bid. Aides say that last option is remote. McCain himself has ruled out bolting the GOP and said Thurs day, “I love my home.” He did, however, leave himself a loop hole by saying in his departure speech that the party deserves “the allegiance of none” if it does n’t embrace campaign finance re form. One of McCain’s top support ers said he urged the senator to let go of the enmity he feels toward Bush. “There’s no question that there’s some bitterness there and some anger,” said Sen. Charles Hagel, R-Neb. McCain was the 10th Republi can to leave the race. Bradley has been Gore’s only challenger. Both could not sustain momentum against the sheer force of their ri vals’ organizations. McCain had the most potent insurgency, staggering Bush in New Hampshire and Michigan. In a testament to his drawing power, one of every four GOP pri mary participants had never be fore voted in a Republican con test. Their paths cleared, Bush and Gore warmed up for what both camps predict will be a negative campaign. The Texas governor criticized Gore for supporting a ban on un limited, unregulated donations while raising the so-called “soft money” himself. Using a line he unleashed against McCain in their primary battles, Bush said of the vice pres ident, “We’re not going to be fooled by somebody who says one thing and absolutely does an other.” Gore reissued his challenge to forsake TV ads in the general election. “We can elevate our democracy,’ he told reporters here. Neither Bradley nor Gore made clean exits. The Democrat did not release his delegates, saying they had earned a voice at the national convention. He has 412 delegates — more than 1,000 behind Gore. On his way out of the race, Bradley said he will h^Jp elect Gore and “continue to work for a new politics and for the values I laid out in the campaign.” He said those values include cam paign finance reform and politics that is honest, positive, compas sionate and ruled by convictions, not polls. Aides said Bradley, 56, may well run again. McCain left more room for doubt by suspending his cam paign. The tactic may allow him to collect his full allotment of fed eral campaign funds, including convention expenses. He also re tained control of his 231 dele gates, a fraction of the 1,034 need ed for nomination. LAZAR'S BAZAR • 57 W. 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