European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday november 6, 1992 commentary i the stars and stripes a Page 13bush Campaign never Able to strike right note Bill Clinton is great live. That May seem an Odd thing to say about a politician in this Day and time when soundbites and 30-second spots Are supposed to be what matters. But it gets to the essential reason Why the governor of Arkansas his voice shot and the bags under his eyes too big to be disguised by makeup is today the president elect. Though he campaigned unashamedly on mtg Arsenio Nashville now Ana Donahue Clinton never came off particularly Well on the tube. Many viewers must have looked at this flush faced Young overachiever and wondered what All the fuss was about. But lordy can he work a crowd. At crucial moments in this Campaign a when he it persuaded party readers to get be Lind him Early in 1991, when his Back was against the Wall after the Gen Nifer Flowers and draft stories when his bus caravan pulled out of new York and into the american heartland a Clinton has won Over the people he really needed face to face. This Campaign came Down to some clutch debate performances before huge nationwide audiences. But there probably was no More important moment for Clinton than the Gray Day in february when he spoke to a Small crowd at the elks club in Dover n.h., after the draft Story had hit. He promised that if new Hampshire gave him a second Chance a i wont be like George Bush. I wont forget who gave me a second Chance. Ill be there for you until the last dog new Hampshire obliged and Clinton carried the Tom Baxter Bedrock Republican state again tuesday night. The future president was still in the stands of Decatur High school shaking hands with people after most of those who attended his ecstatic final Georgia rally had filed out saturday. His Campaign ran chronically late be cause of his insatiable attraction to crowds a but he made an impression on every crowd he plunged into. Early on the press nicknamed him a Elvis a and the Rock in Roll that preceded his rallies was always strikingly Good. In Many cases the Campaign even found music that was indigenous such As . In Atlanta. In contrast the Bush Campaign never seemed Able to strike the right note musically or otherwise. Bush a Jonesboro ga., rally was preceded by lord have pity on the working Man. A rally in Gastonia n.c., was kicked off by achy Breaky heart. On family night at the Republican convention the theme was from la Cage Aux Folles a Broadway show about love. Even before the Clinton Campaign had left the snows of new Hampshire an electric Shock of recognition had begun to pass through the crowds in High school gymnasiums when Bill and Hillary entered the room. When they were joined by a1 and Tipper Gore on the bus trips their rallies took on even More of a Rock show Quality these Multi candidate bus trips Arentt such a new gimmick by the Way. Newspaper accounts of Huey Long strip to Arkansas to Campaign with sen. Hattie Caraway in 1932 could with a few changes have described the Clinton Gore bus trip from through South Georgia. Groups gathered at every Mailbox one paper reported to wave to the speeding car passing a on its Mission of political Knight if a Little of the Star Quality of Southern rockers has rubbed off on the president elect so has a Talent for stump speaking. With his Arm outstretched and his Chest out he reminds you at times of the Grainy footage of Long and others. Finally a though this certainly Wasny to emphasized in the Campaign a you can glimpse in Clinton a Affinity for mass meetings a Little of the spirit of those formative Days when College students organized themselves to protest the War in Vietnam. These have proved to be useful attributes for getting elected. Now the question is How much do they have to do with governing if youcm4 keep a Tori Heap a Juchem those a comp you Arlo sinks thf1r6. When the republicans and Ronald Reagan won a Victory of similar proportions in 1980, there was much talk of a new conservative mandate. But everybody figured Reagan and the new Republican majority in the Senate were on the same Side. It remains to be seen if that a True of Clinton and the majority democratic Congress filled with new members who cover a wide Range of the political spectrum. Many observers remembering Jimmy Carter doubt it. It will take persuasive Powers of a High order to get this new and Independent minded Congress to move in unison on the economic programs that arc the Bedrock of Clinton a platform and to sell policies that will involve More than a Little pain to the american people. But who better if persuasion is what a needed but the spiritual offspring of Elvis and Huey Long c Cox news service with election of Clinton comes surge of Hope for the last 15 years Barbara Walters has been haunted by the comment she made to Jimmy Carter in a tire inaugural interview. A be Wise with us a she said. A be Good to the truth is that we All know what she meant because most of us on one tuesday in november or another have Felt at least a whiff of the same thing. Its called Hope. I flipped the Little Blackjack next to Bill Clinton a name with Hope the first time i recall feeling that emotion since i cast my first vote for George Mcgovern in 1972. If Ever a Man has been tested for the presidency it is this one not in Vietnam or even in the trenches of Long life but in the court of Public opinion. My polling place was choked with voters even children wanted to stay up and hear the news. Everyone is eager to say that this is because the american people seized the Day. And they did fashioning a real contest from common sense Larry King the debates the Mcneil Lehrer news hour the pages of their newspapers the today show endless dinner table discussions and concern for their children and their Check books. In time there will be Many Post Mort Ems of this election but one thing they should All have in common is the admission that Clinton ran the Best democratic Campaign in recent memory and George Bush the worst Republican one. The Man who was inexorable is. The Man who did t turn up then turned Nasty. History will record that the president turned in two lacklustre debate performances and that when he got his Campaign Back on course with questions about higher taxes and misplaced Trust he derailed it himself by the sophomoric Gaffe of calling his opponents a a bozos and comparing their expertise to that of his Spaniel. They say its not Over till the fat lady sings i say when the dogs rear their Heads its time to Bow wow out. But ultimately Bush a greatest Burden was his own first term. On the morning after Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, the editorial Page of this paper thundered tie republicans got what they richly deserved. Luring the past 12 years have displayed that insensate Pride Wincn goeth before Anna Quindlen 3 destruction. Four years ago republicans promised under their benign guidance an Ever ascending scale of Prosperity just before the worst Ana longest financial and Industrial and agricultural disaster fell upon the and the editorial added a there can be no mistaking the determination of the american electorate to order a change in their government and in its i am a working Mother a feminist and a reporter whose enduring interest has been in the Small moments of the lives of Unsung people the kind of people who Only ride in Limos when someone in the family Dies. I thought George Bush was not interested in not even aware of most of those disparate parts of my life whether vetoing family leave nominating Clarence Thomas or talking endlessly about a capital gains tax. One night j saw Bill Clinton on the news say a the hits that i took in this election Are nothing compared to the hits the people of this state and this country have been taking for a Long and i began to believe that he saw us. I began to believe that growing up struggling to make ends meet learning to live with an alcoholic Parent losing the governors office because of the hubris of the Young and cocky and taking the hits about infidelity patriotism and moral spine that he had taken during this Campaign might have taught him something about hard times. Every once in a while i want a Little Hope the Way some people want a Martini or a new pair of shoes. That a what Barbara Walters was trying to get at when she talked to Jimmy Carter. People said she did no to act like a journalist and maybe there a some truth in that. But maybe there Are simply some occasions when we reporters despite our Best intentions can to help but act like human beings. Tuesday was one of them. I could be cynical about the possibility of real change and the Manifest dangers of expectations i could wonder aloud whether like Rhett Butler the Only cause Bill Clinton really believes in is himself. But ill think about that later you walk into the Vot last. C the now York to new the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government
