The Vanity Fair Article
The it the Times was commenting on is a lengthy article about the Clinton-Gore rivalry in the current issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The article is an excerpt from a new book -- 'For Love of Politics — Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years by VF contributing Editor, Sally Bedell Smith -- to be published on October 23, 2007 by Random House, Inc.
The article paints a rather unflattering picture of behind-the-scenes maneuverings by both Bill and Hillary Clinton and the extraordinary lengths they went to prior to the 2000 Presidential Election to undermine Al Gore's quest for the presidency in ways both subtle and not so subtle. As Bill told George Stephanopoulus on ABC's This Week yesterday, he sees Hillary as the most qualified person to become the next President of the United States. This article strongly implies that this isn't a conclusion that Bill reached casually or even in recent years. It has been in the making for years, if not decades.
Bill and Hillary Clinton and Al and Tipper Gore on the campaign trail in New Jersey, July 1992 (photo: Mark Peterson/Corbis)
As the article summary points out
White House Civil War
Promised real power as Bill Clinton's vice president, Al Gore found he had a rival for that role: the First Lady. And when Hillary decided to run for the Senate, a tense competition got ugly. In an excerpt from her new book about the Clinton White House years, the author reveals how conflicting agendas — the triangle of a scandal-ridden lame-duck president, the wife he'd betrayed, and his designated successor—sapped Gore's 2000 campaign as the bond between two couples dissolved into distrust, anger, and resentment.
The 1992 Presidential Campaign
Early on in the 1992 Campaign, after Bill Clinton had chosen Al Gore as his running mate, everything was amiable and close between the two politicians and their wives, Hillary and Tipper. After twelve years of Republican domination of the White House from 1981-1993, the public was receptive for a change. Many of you will recall the bus trip that they went on through eight states and, if memory serves me right, won seven of them that year. Prior to that, Bill Clinton had had a bumpy ride in the press, with accusations of womanizing and draft dodging dominating the news. Still, it was to his credit that he persevered and became the 1992 Democratic nominee. A forgotten but very important reason for his comeback was his selection of Al Gore as his running mate. How critical was that selection? As I wrote in a recent diary, 'To Restore Our Image Abroad, We Need Al Gore'
After being selected as Bill Clinton's running mate in 1992, Gore filled a gaping hole in Bill Clinton's resume. Moreover, his selection also signaled an important generational change in American politics -- the first baby boomers to guide this nation's destiny. From Harry Truman to George H.W. Bush, every American President had either served in or was in uniform during World War II. It is hard to recreate the political dynamic of 1992 but one can argue that without Gore and with charges of draft dodging filling the airwaves, it is not inconceivable that Bill Clinton would never have become the 42nd President of the United States. That's how important Gore's selection was in the minds of many voters.
So, I'm sure, as much as Gore was grateful to Clinton for being chosen as the Vice Presidential nominee, one can argue that Clinton needed Gore to get elected in 1992.
So far, so good.
Early Tensions Emerge in Clinton's Presidency
Examples of conflicting priorities and agendas, nothing unusual in the heat of a political campaign and particularly after a winning one, emerged early on in 1993.
When Hillary Clinton was appointed as head of the Clinton Healthcare Task Force, it was a surprise to most top Clinton officials -- including Al Gore, whom Bill Clinton neglected to inform prior to his decision. As Dee Dee Myers recalled
In deference to her continuing role as Bill's "closer," staff members called Hillary "the Supreme Court." "We would always say, 'Has the Supreme Court been consulted?'" recalled Dee Dee Myers, the president's press secretary for two years, now a V.F. contributing editor. Whenever Bill said, "Let me think about it," aides knew he intended to call Hillary.
Why was this the case? The article states that Bill Clinton, once elected, no longer needed Al Gore because now that his "Dudley Do-Right" image was no longer necessary to take the curse off "Slick Willie." Many of the Clinton inner circle assumed that Bill wanted Hillary, not Gore, to succeed him in the White House.
Another reason for this building competition between the Clintons and Gore's were their backgrounds. Although both Bill and Hillary were products of the Ivy League (Yale Law School), Al and Tipper had, unlike, the Clintons, also attended elite public schools -- the prestigious St. Albans School for Al and the equally prestigious National Cathedral School for Tipper. (Note: For those of you unfamiliar with Washington, DC, the two schools are close to each other in NW DC and Al met Tipper at his high school prom at St. Albans for the first time). Of course, Al's father, Senator Albert Gore, Sr., had also served in the US Congress in both houses from 1939-1971. Several books have also mentioned Al Gore as being referred to as "Prince Albert" in Washington, DC social circles -- well before anyone had ever heard of Bill and Hillary Clinton!
The Clintons and Gores in Happier Days
Hillary and Al's 2000 Campaigns
The article points out that Bill Clinton had given unprecedented responsibilities to Gore in a wide variety of policy areas. This elevation of the VP's office had begun with the unusually close relationship between Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in the 1970's. Yet, the personalities involved in the 1990's were quite different. I distinctly remember joking with a co-worker at the 2000 Gore Campaign about what might have happened had Bill been married to Tipper (both share a birthday) and Al to Hillary: all-night parties in the first instance; numerous C-Span policy seminars in the latter case.
Initially, while Tipper was close to Hillary, competition between Hillary and Al was always simmering beneath the surface. This was to become openly evident after Hillary decided to seek the US Senate seat of retiring US Senator Pat Moynihan (D-NY). Some friends cautioned Hillary not to run for the fear of being perceived as an outsider. But, Bill saw Hillary's election in New York as "as a prize for Hillary, a lifeline for him, and a salve for their marriage after her humiliation over his sexual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky."
The Clinton-Gore relationship would deteriorate from that point on.
The Relationship Sours
The rest of this long article points to a number of developments over the next two years from 1998-2000 which soured this relationship between the Clintons and the Gores. Among numerous specific examples cited in the article
- Bill and Hillary praising Al Gore in public while undermining his election chances in 2000. Bill could have used the power of the White House to promote Gore's candidacy but chose, instead, to promote Hillary's.
- The Monica Lewinsky Affair outraged Gore in private while he continued to loyally support Bill Clinton in public.
- The Hillary-Al competition for campaign donations hamstrung Gore's effort in 2000 as he'd accepted public matching funds while George W. Bush had not. Until after both political conventions (when both Gore and Bush received federal funds for the General Election), Gore was outspent something like $105 million to $40 million, as I recall.
- Some of these efforts to raise campaign funds were so blatant that, in one instance "Hillary then shocked the vice president's supporters by soliciting donations for herself in front of Tipper."
- Bill Clinton clearly wanted Hillary, not Gore, to someday carry on his legacy. Even his appearance at the 2000 Democratic Convention stole the limelight from Gore. You'll remember his majestic entrance like a champion prize fighter entering the ring before an important fight.
Did Gore make mistakes during the 2000 Campaign? Sure. He's acknowledged them. Every political campaign makes mistakes. Remember Karl Rove dumping over $2 million in the closing weeks to win California for Bush in 2000? Gore won CA comfortably by well over a million votes. But there were greater problems that burdened his campaign. As to the question that has been discussed endlessly on these pages -- why didn't Al Gore use Bill Clinton more often during the 2000 Campaign? -- the article says this
While polls showed the president's job-approval ratings holding at around 60 percent, questions about his character were taking a toll on Gore. A study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted in April found that "personal image problems and fallout from Clinton administration scandals are contributing to Al Gore's declining favorability ratings and his poor showing in early horse race polls." The study reported that Gore's favorability rating was 47 percent, down from 58 percent the previous December. Seventy-four percent of those polled were "tired of all the problems associated with the Clinton administration" — an alarming phenomenon that became known as "Clinton fatigue." Only 29 percent of Americans would have welcomed four more years of Bill Clinton, and 52 percent said they liked Gore better. In a hypothetical race between Gore and George W. Bush, the Texas governor led 54 percent to 41 percent, up several ticks since January.
Daily Kos member, NeuvoLiberal, has written extensively and often of this disconnect between Clinton's job approval ratings and his personal ratings in the months and years prior to the 2000 Election. Here's a quote from a Gore aide, several versions of which I personally heard in private conversation in Nashville, TN
Gore strategist Tad Devine told Steve Richetti, Bill's deputy chief of staff, that the comment had helped raise Gore's unfavorable rating by five points in a week. "The president goes out and awakens doubts about Gore, and all the bad stuff ... begins to come to the surface," said Devine.
And, what I heard was certainly not in those polite terms that Tad Devine used. The language used was unflattering to Bill Clinton and is unfit to be reproduced in a public forum.
We are all too familiar with how these two campaigns ended. One resulted in Hillary being elected US Senator from the State of New York. The other with the Supreme Court of the United States finally "selecting" Bush as President, in spite of the fact that Gore won the popular vote by well over 500,000 votes. My concluding thoughts on this a bit later.
In other 'Gore News' in the past few days
* Al Gore was a "big hit" when he gave a speech about Climate Change in British Columbia, Canada
this past Saturday before an overflow crowd
Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore speaks to students first at "green tea."
Expecting to see the Oscar-winning American only on a big screen, the students rose to their feet and cheered when he made a surprise appearance 10 minutes before he was to take the stage upstairs.
"His main message was we have to act now, there's no time to lose," said Vicky Husband, a B.C. environmentalist and recipient of both the Order of Canada and the Order of B.C.
"(Climate change) is the defining crisis of our time and he did make a couple of comments about the lack of leadership," she said, adding quickly that he gave some credit to Campbell for the actions that he has begun to take in B.C.
*
The Raw Story reports that Gore is a
huge hit in Germany too with a new German web site enthusiastically supporting Gore as the next US President
German website adds international angle to 'draft Gore' movement
Democrats heading the still-strong movement to convince Al Gore to mount a presidential run are being given a run for their money in sheer, "Draft Gore" zeal -- all the way from Germany.
This August, Michael Kachel, a 42-year-old IT director from Munich, launched what may be the first foreign website dedicated solely to luring the former vice president into the 2008 race.
* Gore gave
an interview to 'EuroMoney' in which he said that financial institutions can play a very important role in finding solutions to Climate Change
Gore interview: Markets are key in battle to combat climate change
Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States and leading environmental campaigner, says that market forces will play the pre-eminent role in the fight to combat climate change in an exclusive interview published by 'Euromoney.'
Gore says he is encouraged by the commitment of some of the world’s largest financial institutions to pledge capital and intellectual resources to financing new technology that will assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
*
Writing this evening in 'The Huffington Post,' Bill Katovsky -- whose new book was published today,
'The World According to Gore: The Incredible Vision of the Man Who Should be President' -- says this of the
growing Draft Gore Movement
Draft Gore Movement Picks Up Steam
All across America, Al Gore supporters nervously count down the days to October 12 -- that's the day when the Nobel Peace Prize is announced. Many expect the former Vice President to win the award, and if he does it will cap a marvelous year of accomplishments -- Oscar, Emmy, Live Earth, bestseller. It will also immediately fuel speculation that Gore will jump into the 2008 presidential race.
* Finally, our own
NYPopulist, who started
Netroots For Gore, informs me of an email that he received from one of the member groups of
'America For Gore'. Here's some of the text from
Draftgore.com
Dear Friends,
We are entering the final stretch of this campaign, energized by a wave of enthusiasm and the hope that a Gore candidacy may be just weeks away. No, we cannot promise you that. But our candidate has left the door wide open and now it's up to us to try to persuade him to walk through it. Events over the next few weeks could affect this decision - and with it, the course of history. Some of them are out of our hands, such as the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on October 12. But what we can do is make our voices heard to let Al Gore know that our call to service is backed by our willingness to fight for him. Please read on and join us on this historic journey.
Help us take out an ad in the New York Times
This will be our biggest bang of the campaign: a full-page ad in the New York Times with a powerful open letter to Al Gore asking him to run for president. But this ad is extremely expensive and we cannot afford it without your contribution. This is a one-time request and a unique
opportunity for you to let Al Gore know how strongly you feel about him running in 2008. This is one letter he is sure to read. Please help us make it a reality by making a contribution today
It may seem hard to believe that a group of grassroots activists like us could have a real impact on the choice of candidates for president. But as Margaret Mead once said:
Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Thank you for your continued support of Draft Gore.
Back to the Vanity Fair article. Bill Clinton may well be correct when he promotes Hillary as best qualified to lead this nation beginning in 2009 and beyond. And the tactics employed by him and his wife prior to the 2000 Election could simply be attributed to hardball politics. However, the calls for Gore to run in 2008 will simply not die down unless he explicitly rules it out.
This is the third major article connected to the magazine about Al Gore. The first detailed the grossly unfair treatment he received from the media in the 2000 Election. The second was an article by another VF columnist in 'Slate' magazine and one who is a very unlikely Gore supporter.
Does Vanity Fair know something that we don't?
(crossposted at Truth & Progress and Docudharma
