Now Al Gore wants the same job, but he can’t use the same tactic. Rather than moving away from what’s left of the Democratic left, he’s being forced to embrace it, conspicuously. The AFL-CIO and Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition are meeting in Chicago this week, and Gore and his allies will be openly begging for support–not lookingto pick a fight. On the Republican side, meanwhile, Gov. George W. Bush is pulling the Sister Souljah. Flush with money and momentum, he has refused to embrace a hard-right agenda. His loudest antagonists in next week’s Iowa straw poll are ardent pro-lifers, villains in the eyes of many moderates.
The cause of Gore’s predicament is as irritating (to Gore) as it is obvious: Bill Bradley. The former New Jersey senator is no raging liberal, and he has yet to offer a menu of specific panders. In fact, Bradley airily dismisses the need for detailed proposals, until at least this fall, on anything other than campaign reform and gun control. But his mere presence–shrewd, well funded, relentless–is forcing Gore to work harder to lock up “the base.” And that, in turn, could make it harder for the vice president to win the top job, if he manages to take the Democratic nomination. It’s a simple but iron rule of presidential politics: to win it all, run to the middle as fast as you can.
Gore’s base was supposed to be secure by now, especially with Big Labor. When Democratic House leader Dick Gephardt decided not to run, Gore’s aides talked of wrapping up an endorsement from the 13 million-member AFL-CIO as early as last February. Indeed, most of the AFL-CIO’s leaders, including president John Sweeney, want to endorse Gore, the sooner the better. But though Bradley is not beloved by Big Labor, flirting with him is a way to advance the unions’ agenda.
And it’s a controversial agenda. The industrial unions want tougher action against cheap imported steel–and are withholding support for Gore, a dedicated free trader, as a way to get it. Gore huddled at the Pittsburgh airport recently with local steel-industry officials. The administration will soon unveil a new “save the steel industry” plan, but the unions are unlikely to be soothed, let alone excited. The Teamsters, meanwhile, want the veep to help banish the federal monitors who oversee the corruption-prone union. Does Gore want to risk doing a favor for Jimmy Hoffa Jr.? No way. Bottom line: it’s unlikely that the AFL-CIO will endorse Gore now–and perhaps not even at the next meeting in October.
It’s the same story with the Jackson family. There is, as they say, a history. Jackson Sr. and Gore were bitter antagonists in the 1988 presidential primaries. But Gore has assiduously cultivated the family since, seeking Senior’s advice and campaigning for Junior, now a House Democrat, when he ran for Congress from the South Side of Chicago in 1995. When Jackson Sr. made it clear this spring that he wouldn’t run himself, Gore again hoped for a key early endorsement.
He didn’t get it. Eager, as always, to play a pivotal role, the Jacksons quickly realized that Bradley had access to money, a strong hoop-based appeal in the black community and contacts among the power elite in Chicago, their hometown. Bradley’s most generous law-firm supporters: two white-shoe powerhouses in Chicago. Among his $1,000 donors: Michael Jordan. And His Airness is not alone. Last week Bradley hosted a “Hoopla” fund-raiser in Chicago featuring NBA Hall of Famers.
The Jacksons also want to prod Gore on the issues. One of them is national health insurance, which Bradley supports. Another is the AIDS epidemic in Africa. In the eyes of some AIDS activists, Gore hasn’t been doing enough on the issue, and they’re picketing some of his events. The Jacksons haven’t joined in the criticism of Gore–yet. Bradley, who privately has been courting the Jacksons, says only that he’s studying the issue. Both candidates will make their pitch to the Rainbow this week.
Gore can’t even catch a break when he’s working the base. Seeking to impress environmentalists recently, he paddled a canoe down the Connecticut River to advertise a new federal cleanup grant. Great news for greens? Well, no. As the whole (political) world knows, his river dance turned into the photo op from hell. The authorities–without Gore’s knowledge–sped up the release of 100 million gallons of water into the river. Their aim was to assure him a smooth ride. It wasn’t, and, for Al Gore, it may never be.
