European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday february 17, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary Leslie h. Gel voters have same needs today As in 32 Nineteen ninety two could be As seminal a political year As 1932. Perhaps More than the presidential hopefuls realize americans fear the future and Are open to profound change a far More than in Pivotal election years like 1960 and 1980. The candidate who catches and defines today a shapeless and plastic anxieties could harness a Force As Strong As the one that carried Franklin Roosevelt to the White House 60 years ago. A something weird is going on out there a fear anger ugliness a said Roger Ailes a Republican strategist. A a it san explosive year a warned Peter Hart a democratic consultant. A this election is about defining the future of America a reflected Douglas Bailey publisher of hotline a daily political report. The mood runs against the essentially status quo policies of president Bush a even if the recession ends statistically by the summer. Republican leaders privately admit As much and worry that the president is grossly out of touch. The mood favors democrats who show they understand the fears and exude Confidence about curing them. Democratic gurus fret about their candidates but sense the kill and the enormous plasticity of the moment. Yet 1992 is not 1932. Recession is not depression. But expectations were Low 60 years ago and they have been sky High since 1945. It does not take nearly As much today to depress a Middle class Long pampered by Success. And 1992 is not 1960 or 1980 when voters were merely interested in a a change or a new the historian Arnold Toynbee wrote of the Early 1930s that a men and women All Over the world were seriously contemplating and frankly discussing the possibility that the Western system of society might break Down and cease to similar rumblings can be detected now. As with 1932, 1992 Marks the end of an Era. The cold War the Central organizing principle of american politics has disappeared. Nothing can fill that void. Gone also is the Central article of Post War Faith that children would surpass their parents. Key industries and jobs that powered growth Nave disappeared under the Waves forever. Germany and Japan Rise again posing complicated threats. Now As 60 years ago intellectual and political categories have broken Down. It is hard to locate right and left on the spectrum. Hawks and doves Are merely Birds once again. Voters cannot get their bearings. Today As then there is a loss of political inhibition a willingness to think the unthinkable As Leon Wieseltier of the new Republic suggested to me. David Duke can become a serious candidate for governor of f. Will in frustration Over lawmakers momentum gathers to set term limits for elected officials and legislate policy by referendums. Public opinion soundings begin to Echo that volatility. A can Usa today Survey in january showed an astonishing 55 percent of americans saying that the Economy needs a a Complete in a times lbs news poll from last August on health care 50 percent said the system required a fundamental changes a and 40 percent said it had to be a completely the democratic challengers have not tapped deeply enough into these rumblings. They All Call Tor a fundamental change or a reinventing government or some such and even offer far reaching specific proposals. But they have not quite found the right words Ana seem to shy away from galloping with the full logic of their own proposals for change. Franklin Roosevelt too exercised caution throughout the 1932 Campaign. But he left no doubt that he understood the horror of the depression no doubt about his revolutionary plans to inject the Federal government into economic planning no doubt of his commitment to bold and humane experimentation. Now As then americans do not expect their presidents to have All the answers. But americans want to be sure their next president is talking about the right problems appreciates their despair and is committed to doing something everything to make their lives better. C the now York . May Well embrace genuine Tsongas for at least this 15 minutes the great political fact is Tsongas Chic. This Means that an Era which began in 1960 is dead As a door Nail. The modern puffing up of the presidency and the attendant giddiness of great expectations for government began 32 years ago with the dizzy romanticizing of a presidential candidate a democratic senator from Massachusetts. Today Paul Tsongas former democratic senator from Massachusetts is prospering which proves the end of the a heroic Era of presidential politics 1960-1992, . Tsongas began this race As the Tortoise that made the rest of the Field a tortoises All a look like hares. But As new Hampshire prepares to vote tuesday his improbable worry is that his Campaign May have As the saying goes a peaked too if he fades then he was As someone coldly said the a pet Rock of the political season a Mere absurdist Novelty. He May be enjoying the 15 minutes of Fame that supposedly is every americans entitlement. But he also is proving that recessions which can be Good for the Economy by wringing out fat also can be Good for politics by making people receptive to someone who says things such As the school Day is too Short and so is the school year and Federal Aid should be linked to longer school Days and years and to improved test results for All seniors. It is said that Tsongas is not telegenic. True he does no to look or talk like an Anchorman. But americans who Are not nannies would not Trust an Anchorman to run a car Wash never mind a country. Question who has received More votes than anyone in history right Richard Nixon whose problems with television were Tson Gasian. In new Hampshire where retail politics is necessary and Tsongas is a neighbor he has demonstrated that familiarity can Breed respect if you say things such As it is a Pana Eringi to talk of a tax Cut for what gov. Bill Clinton Calls a the forgotten Middle forgotten no one talks of anything else and a targeted capital gains Cut would be Wise. In the 40 years since the new Hampshire primary became a big Deal there has never been a Campaign quite like Tsongas with such a High ratio of Steak to sizzle. Tsongas has inflicted his 85-Page issues Book on 140,000 people. And still they Are not hostile. Amazing. He is proving an important Point which is americans often do not like a person just because they like the Way he talks. Rather they like the Way he talks because they like him and they like him because of what he says. Their liking May be mysterious even to them but it has something to do with the persons authenticity. John Wayne played Many characters from the Young and lean Ringo kid to the old and ample rooster Cogburn but Wayne always played himself. In movie after movie Jimmy Stewart did the Best Jimmy Stewart imitation anyone Ever saw. Walter Cronkite a inflections were Well Cronkite an. Tsongas the rumpled scold with the arid wit is doing Vintage Tsongas. How Vintage on june 14, 1980, sen. Tsongas addressed the convention of the americans for democratic action. The Ada had once been a vibrant part of a democratic party that was brimming with vitality. By 1980, the Ada was just a Little Liberal Ginger group and Tsongas subject was Why it had withered. Few Young people were present and Tsongas told the Ada that it was no longer fashionable to be Liberal. The 1960s, with an unpopular War an uprising against segregation and an economic surplus to spend on social programs were years a Well suited to the Liberal but Young voters of 1980 had not grown up Reading about americans effortless economic abundance. Rather he said they had read about a the demise of the Auto Industry a capacity to compete sound familiar just As in 1992 he tartly says that too Many liberals like employment but not employers in 1980, he said liberals should not take economic growth for granted and should take seriously the problems of the private sector. When today he says "1 have no problem with greed if it works he is in his 12th year of campaigning to connect liberalism with the exigencies of capitalism. Since he delivered that Ada speech his party has lost three presidential elections. In those elections the democrats won lost record by states counting the District of Columbia is 20 wins and 133 losses. Their electoral vote record is 173 won and 1,440 lost. Democrats have become the Cleveland indians of presidential politics and have no standing to condescend to Tsongas who May yet be the Minnesota twins a from worst to first a of the new Hampshire Field. The Washington pot Wnters group
