Here’s what I think it was: For the past eight years, Democrats have believed in the political science of innoculation. The Clinton-Gore strategy for taking power in 1992 and holding it in 1996 was to systematically take away all of the issues Republicans had used for years against Democrats–that they were soft on crime, coddled welfare recipients, squishy on defense, spendthrifts with the budget.
The Democrats were very successsful at that, and they put the GOP in a pickle. Then Monica Lewinsky came to the Republicans’ rescue. The voters didn’t want Bill Clinton tossed from office over it, but they did want him to pay somehow. Since he couldn’t pay, Al Gore would (and still might). The whole theme of the GOP convention was character, but the origins of this strategy–born of necessity in a good economy–go back to the beginning of the campaign. Almost from day one, Bush has said that he is running for president to “restore honor and dignity to the Oval Office.” That is the central argument. The Republicans have no great issues; the country is in strong shape, and not craving huge tax cuts. Social Security and education are important but not winning issues by themselves. The driving theme of the GOP campaign has been to clean out the stables and remove the stench.
Enter Joe Lieberman, Al Gore’s air freshener. By picking Lieberman, Gore looked as if he was doing the gusty, non-political thing, when in fact he was making a shrewd political choice. It’s another form of innoculation, only this time he’s protecting himself from the Clinton sleaze virus that had sapped his campaign. Or to use another medical metaphor, he’s disinfecting the Oval Office.
In Nashville on Tuesday, Gore and Lieberman pressed their advantage. They cleverly turned the VP choice into a fresh chapter in the civil rights movement. This will help solidify the Democratic base and improve the odds of a successful convention.
If Gore goes on to win, this will be remembered as the week when he turned it all around. Challengers, no matter how charming, must have an argument: Jimmy Carter had the Nixon pardon in 1976; Ronald Reagan had the misery index in 1980; Bill Clinton had “the economy, stupid” in 1992. What is Bush’s basic argument now for taking power? For Republicans, it’s a problem.
