Gore's Stealth Strategy
Is Al Gore running scared?
The vice president will talk your ear off about education or Social Security. But on some less predictable issues, he's fallen silent. He doesn't hold press conferences. His events are carefully planned and staged to guard against the risk of unexpected questions. And he's been steering clear of touchy areas, even as they dominate the headlines.
Bottom line: Gore talks about what he wants to talk about, when he wants to talk about it.
Even when the situation seems to cry out for comment, the vice president keeps mum. After injecting himself into the Elian Gonzalez saga, Gore said nary a word about the Cuban boy during a Florida visit last Friday. The vice president had already weathered the storm provoked by his abrupt announcement that Elian should stay in the United States until family courts reach a decision. But while passions rose and conflict loomed after the arrival of Elian's father, Gore kept quiet.
This week, the vice president's keeping his distance from the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. To the untrained eye, it's the kind of venue that could burnish Gore's image. He could parade his comfort with international economic affairs, he could deliver a serious-minded speech, he could hobnob with some of the world financial leaders gathering in the nation's capital.
But alongside those meetings will be protests and anger and resistance - from the same crowd at last year's Seattle WTO talks. Concern over world trade and its environmental and social implications may create an agitated, unhappy background at the D.C. discussions. Perhaps the vice president figures the more space he puts between himself and that kind of protest, the better - ever mind he supports global trade expansion and lowering barriers. It appears he's decided he has better things to do this week than stump for international trade.
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So instead, Gore's holding two of his school days, in Columbus, Ohio and Charlotte, N.C. He'll drop by classrooms, he'll enjoy school cafeteria lunches, he'l address assemblies, he'll meet parents and teachers. And he'll take their questions.
Gore should absolutely be open to voters - and their questions are important. His Florida audiences had the opportunity to ask him about Elian, but never did so. Good for them, but that doesn't mean the question is irrelevant. Standing up to voters is only one part of the equation of public life. Dealing with the press is an essential skill as well.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush holds a media availability nearly every day he's on the campaign trail. Remember, he was the one supposedly at risk of hurting himself with the press, after hiccups like the pop quiz on foreign leaders. But Bush has, for the most part, navigated those waters with success. Gore, by contrast, seems an unapproachable control king. He may be wearing warm earth tones, but he's still stiff and unbending as far as the press is concerned.
Why? What questions are so profoundly unsettling that he prefers never to hear them, rather than answer them? An obvious possibility are the questions on campaign finance - on the conviction of his fundraising friend Maria Hsia, on the persistently flimsy explanations we've heard about what Gore was doing to raise money in 1996 and whether he realized he was doing it. Such questions are squirmy ones for the vice president, but ignoring them will do anything but make them go away.
If Gore has to face a torrent of skepticism, criticism or controversy, it's better for him to get it out of the way now. This long election campaign will provide pitfalls aplenty for both Gore and Bush, but resolute silence can transform road bumps into gaping potholes. If, in April, Gore can put to rest a few lingering questions, then he can campaign better in October. For now, his determined avoidance of the press looks like weakness, if not fear.
The media drumbeat is for Gore to open up and talk to the press. Even as he's kept his eyes on the voters and tells them he wants to fight for them, Gore's heard that sound. Better to talk to the press than have them talk about how you're not talking. The vice president will probably schedule a press conference fairly soon, which will quiet us news folks for a while. But if Gore remains unapproachable, then maybe you'll be reading a few more stories like this.