| |||||
|
Arts & Entertainment Books Comics Health & Body Media Mothers Who Think News  PeoplePolitics2000 Technology - Free Software Project Travel & Food  Columnists - - - - - - - - - - - - Salon People is sponsored by Lexus - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Also Today For a full list of today's Salon People stories, go to the
People home page. - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon - - - - - - - - - - - - Salon Columnists - - - - - - - - - - - - Recently in Salon People Nothing Personal Nothing Personal Brilliant Careers People Feature My Lunch With - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Wake up! Is this Cloud-Cuckoo-Land?
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Feb. 2, 2000 |
On the other hand, Gore is by any standard massively prepared, in command of detail and in knowledge of the federal apparatus, to assume the presidency. That can scarcely be said of the wet-behind-the-ears Gov. George W. Bush, whom the Republican establishment, misreading popular sentiment, foolishly anointed as their candidate of choice. Sen. Bob Dole, party bosses saw, was too old and dried out as he embarrassingly blew the 1996 election to a smart-mouthed hotshot incumbent. But ironically the 2000 race would be a search for Honest Abe "authenticity," not slick glamour. Any number of experienced, mature, even paunchy and balding Republicans -- like Michigan's lively Gov. John Engler -- would have been a much more formidable threat to the preening, epicene Gore in the national election. Camille Paglia Camille Paglia's column appears in Salon People every third Wednesday.
And so the United States will probably be stuck with a fumbling and unseasoned if likable second-generation Bush in the White House, since it's hard to see how Gore can survive the widespread disgust, even in his own party, with the shabby Clinton legacy of lies and hijinks. Many Salon readers have questioned my implacable opposition to Sen. John McCain, whom I have distrusted since I first became aware of him during the 1998 impeachment crisis. David Brannan, for example, protests: You underestimate John McCain. He is the only Republican candidate who has resisted the siren song of the Christian Coalition that has been the downfall of the last two Republican runs for the White House. He deserves some credit for this, at least. Similarly, J.M. Latino writes: I cannot understand your apparent revulsion toward Senator McCain. It seems to me that your reaction is entirely visceral, as I recall your comments amounting to no more than you did not like his eyes and you describe him as creepy. To the contrary I find him genuine and feel that he carries gravitas which the other candidates lack. Though I will probably end up voting for him if he is nominated, Bush merely seems to be a Republican version of Clinton, though perhaps less intelligent (or maybe less cunning is a better description). Bradley seems unfocused and I would not vote for the hysterically dangerous Gore under any circumstances. Yes, it's quite true that my reaction to McCain is "visceral" -- an excellent word to describe pure animal instinct. In this geopolitical era when rapid response is crucial for breaking crises, character is everything for an American leader. McCain has yet to convince me that he is more than a clumsy huckster of pompously self-aggrandizing bromides. The journalists who pack into McCain's office or train car and are regaled by his snappy shtick from the papal red-leather chair have made a major misjudgment about presidential potential. Schmoozing just won't cut it when push comes to shove on the international stage. Week after week, the microscopic TV camera has exposed McCain as a hostile loner and brittle manipulator simmering with chaotic impulses. Salon reader Lisa Roberts seconds my view: I was relieved to see you call Sen. John McCain "creepy." About a year ago, I caught my first glimpse of McCain on some sycophantic press show and experienced a wave of evilness wash over me in response to some pantomime of his. What a strange reaction to a "war hero." I never felt this way before, nor can I explain it, and can only say that I felt a little like Christopher Walken in "The Dead Zone" when he shakes the hand of future presidential candidate Martin Sheen! I appreciate your evocation of "intuition," Ms. Roberts -- a gift crucial not just to the arts, but to every human endeavor from careers to personal relationships. Intuition desperately needs nurturing in an age of reason when science and technology are booming. As a teacher still animated by 1960s ideals, I am always struggling to find ways to encourage students to develop their intuition and to trust it. In short, I agree with your hunch about McCain, whose media-fueled political momentum will eventually run down. I feel sorry for Steve Forbes, a perennial Republican also-ran. Forbes has always come across as a decent, intelligent man with bred-in-the-bone business skills, but he foolishly limited himself to tax issues for many years instead of enlarging his issue base. Foreign policy -- George W. Bush's weakness -- is central presidential terrain that Forbes avoided for too long. And it isn't Forbes' physical appearance that doomed him (he has imposing stature and posture); it's his painful lack of grace and dynamism. A few simple lessons in speech and gesture (as well as new eyeglasses) might have done wonders. But Forbes' reedy voice and blocky immobility may betray a fundamental lack of flexibility, spontaneity and creativity that voters -- yes -- intuited.
| ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Next page |