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November Ho!

Michael BrusPosted Monday, March 13, 2000, at 3:16 AM ET

Issue 1 is the kickoff of the general-election campaign. Issue 2 is campaign finance reform. Issue 3 is high oil prices.

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On NBC's Meet the Press, Republican strategist Mary Matalin makes the case for George W. Bush's electability: In 17 "swing states" (states in which Clinton won by fewer than 10 points in 1996, and Dole by fewer than 3 points) Bush is 10 points ahead of Al Gore. Moreover, the John McCain challenge not only brought independents to the polls, but increased core GOP turnout too. (The McLaughlin Group's Tony Blankley also makes this point.) Lawrence Kudlow (MG) adds that Bush "whipped" McCain in the final two GOP primary debates. But all GOP talking heads (save Pat Robertson) agree that Bush needs to reach out to McCain voters to win. Jack Kemp (CNN's Late Edition) even urges Bush to put McCain on the ticket, and Rep. J. D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., a McCain supporter, proposes that former President Gerald Ford be the go-between. (On LE, Bush strategist Karl Rove says that Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., a McCain supporter, will meet with Bush and endorse him.) Susan Page (LE) argues that vice presidents usually can't save a losing ticket; the only candidate who might do so in Bush's case, Page argues, is Colin Powell.

Pundits credit Gore for brazenly proposing a campaign-finance overhaul to make up for his checkered past. ("It's nothing if not nervy," says Brit Hume of Fox News Sunday.) While some commentators criticize Gore for "getting religion" only after McCain's success--Gloria Borger (CBS's Face the Nation) wags that Gore will ask McCain to be his running mate--most admit that Gore's strategy is clever. ("Everybody's a hypocrite on this issue, and there can only be reform when the hypocrites unite" behind a reform agenda, says McLaughlin's Eleanor Clift.) Paula Zahn (FNS), Steve Roberts (LE), Tucker Carlson (LE), and Paul Gigot (PBS's NewsHour With Jim Lehrer) note that while campaign-finance reform itself may not be tops on the voters' list of priorities, the issue symbolizes other, McCain-like qualities, such as candor and humility. Will Bush be able to compromise with McCain on campaign-finance reform in order to win the senator's endorsement? Many say it will prove difficult, but Hume predicts that a campaign-finance compromise will be easy. More difficult, he says, will be a compromise on tax policy.

Appearing on MTP, Pat Buchanan blames both President Clinton and former President Bush for high oil prices. Why? Because Mexico, which Clinton blessed with NAFTA, and Kuwait, which Bush defended in the Gulf War, refuse to increase oil production. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani argues on CNN's Capital Gang that high oil prices will allow Bush to criticize Gore on foreign policy, which ordinarily voters don't care about. Tony Blankley (MG) sees the oil issue as a chance for Bush to attack Gore's environmental extremism. And Lawrence O'Donnell (MG) says that if gas prices reach $2 in California this summer, it could create an electoral opening for Bush.

Miscellany

On MTP, Pat Buchanan says that if he wins the Reform Party nomination, the party platform will not have a pro-life statement. However, Buchanan himself will issue a separate "personal statement" attesting to his beliefs. ... In one of his taped introductions to the week's talking points, John McLaughlin dubs "Taps" over footage of Bill Bradley's withdrawal announcement. ... Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell appears on FNS unshaven, with a Tricky-Dick five-o'clock shadow. ... On CG, Margaret Carlson endorses a system of regional primaries to replace the current system. Al Hunt, Mark Shields, and Bob Novak disagree, however, arguing that the current system, with its narrow focus on a few states, forces candidates to deal with voters intimately. ... McLaughlin's Lawrence Kudlow asserts that Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y., is on the short-list of Bush's candidates for veep.

Putting People First

On LE and FNS, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson plugs Al Gore as a candidate interested in "helping working families." In the next breath, Richardson announces that as the U.S. envoy to OPEC nations, he has been seeking "stability" in oil prices--$30 (the current price) is too high, he says, and $10 would be "too low." Why is $10 "too low"? Because, Richardson admits, a price that cheap would hurt domestic oil producers (i.e., rich families). Richardson also refuses to consider allowing new offshore oil drilling, because this would irk the environmental lobby (ie., upper-middle-class families).

Last Word

Tony Snow (FNS): Mr. Richardson, I want to try to cut you down to a yes or no answer. If Al Gore came to you and said, I want you to be my running mate, would you say no?

Bill Richardson: This is five months away. I am going to totally dodge your question.

Tony Snow: Well, there you go. The straight-talk express lives.