Moving on

Clinton was gracious in his farewell speech -- unlike our last two-term president.

How quickly we forget.

For all the handwringing this week about how President Bill Clinton is stealing the spotlight and casting long shadows over Vice-President Al Gore, you'd think Clinton was Ronald Reagan.

Remember when Reagan left office? He and Nancy showed up at the 1988 Republican nominating convention in New Orleans as if they were royalty. They swept into town and, to borrow a phrase that's been used to describe the Clintons' behavior this week, sucked up all the oxygen.

Imagine if Clinton had offered on Monday night, as Reagan did during his farewell speech, to "volunteer a little advice now and then and offer a pointer or two on strategy." Imagine if he had offered, as Reagan did, to "help keep the facts straight." (Never mind the unlikelihood of Ronald "I Can't Remember" Reagan being able to keep anything straight, especially with regard to the Iran-contra scandal.)

Imagine if, like Reagan, Clinton had tried to contrive an invitation to a future convention as either a guest or -- hint, hint, won't you please amend the Constitution -- candidate. "This is the last Republican convention I will address as president," Reagan told the hall full of weeping delegates. "Maybe you'll see your way to inviting me back sometime."

Imagine if Clinton had told his hall full of weeping delegates, "I want you to know that if the fires ever dim, I'll leave my phone number and address behind just in case you need a foot soldier. Just let me know, and I'll be there."

Imagine if Clinton had said these things while letting convention delegates chant "four more years" -- as Reagan did. Then imagine a few hundred pounds of confetti and balloons majestically descending over the convention hall when his speech ended. That's how Reagan's speech wound up -- as if he, not the nomination of his vice-president as the GOP presidential candidate, had been the main show of the week.

On Monday night, if Clinton had acted just one bit the third-term wanna-be that Reagan had, Clinton would be the laughingstock of the country right now. But for all Clinton's self-
absorption and much-discussed regret at having to step down, his final performance didn't come close to being the shameful, ego-ridden pridefest delivered by our last two-term president when his final act was up.

In stark comparison with Reagan's first-person-singular romp through the highlights of his administration, Clinton's speech was positively generous toward his VP. Clinton called making Gore his vice-president one of the "best decisions" of his life. He noted that Gore had cast the deciding vote in the Senate to pass the historic 1993 budget agreement. He described Gore as a "strong leader." "Al and I have worked closely together for eight years now," he said. "In the most challenging moments, when we faced the most difficult issues -- of war and peace, of taking on powerful special interests -- he was always there."

Reagan, on the other hand, waited until he was more than halfway through his speech before mentioning his vice-president by name. Even then it came across as an afterthought: as Reagan waxed rhapsodic about the possibilities of a Republican-controlled Congress teamed up with a Republican presidential administration, he said, "And then George Bush can have a team that will protect your tax cuts." Reagan's next mention of Bush was even more strained and seemed designed to reassure the public that Bush had, indeed, been doing some work while in office. "Today, I'm proud to say, we have eliminated so many unnecessary regulations that government-required paperwork imposed on citizens, businesses, and other levels of government. . . . You haven't heard it all yet," Reagan said, as if he were letting the American public in on an administration secret. "George Bush headed up the task force that eliminated those regulations."

Contrast that with Gore's performance during the past eight years, when he redefined the role of the vice-presidency, as even his opponent George W. Bush has acknowledged. Unlike Vice-President Bush, Vice-President Gore has been a partner in a successful administration, in every sense of the word. He's not laboring in Clinton's shadow; he's walking in the light both he and Clinton have been shining on this country for the past eight years.

Gore's job now is to remind the public of the role he played in creating the greatest economic expansion in US history; in making America more tolerant of gays, lesbians, minorities, and women than it's ever been; and in bringing public discourse about religion back to a civilized pitch.

This legacy -- which includes solid Supreme Court appointments and an unheralded commitment to equal opportunity for all people -- is a great foundation on which to build. There's no question that Gore has the stuff to meet the overrated younger Bush head-on. Indeed, Gore is 10 times the politician, strategist, and policymaker that Bush is. It's now time for Gore to come out and, as the elder Bush might say, "kick some ass."

We have no doubt he can do it.

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