he presidential primary season is entirely too confusing for this liberal Democrat. Let me see if I've got this straight.
We're voting for John McCain, not because we agree with anything he says (since almost everything he says is anathema to liberal Democrats) but because he makes us smile the way he says it. The man is just so, you know, authentic.
We're writing off Bill Bradley, not because we disagree with anything he says (since almost everything he says is sacred to liberal Democrats) but because he makes us yawn the way he says it. The man is just so, you know, cerebral.
We can't get in line fast enough in Massachusetts to take a Republican ballot on March 7 to vote for a man with whom we disagree on just about everything, except campaign finance reform. Isn't it great to finally have a presidential campaign that makes no bones about elevating style over substance?
Forget McCain's record of antiabortion, antigun control, antilabor, and antienvironment votes. What you see is what you get. The man is a stand-up comic. A straight shooter. A knee-slapping, genuine kind of guy. Heck, he even dubbed his campaign bus The Straight Talk Express! What fun he is!
Forget Bradley's championing of reproductive freedom, gun control, workers' rights, and a cleaner environment. What you see is what you get. The man is a Rhodes scholar. A deep thinker. A temple-rubbing, earnest kind of guy. Heck, he doesn't even have a nickname for his campaign bus! What fun is he?
It is easy enough to understand how the upstart campaign of the Arizona senator became the Republican and Independent voter's alternative to the Big Money candidacy of George W. Bush. McCain has a powerful story to tell, from his five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam to his willingness to take on the GOP establishment in his courageous advocacy of campaign finance reform.
He won hearts and minds by mocking the self-important political pundits who, pre-New Hampshire, tried to undermine his candidacy with whispers of mental instability. McCain is not that easily intimidated.
But his draw among Democrats and liberal Independents is much harder to fathom. No amount of respect for his wartime courage and political integrity can gloss over one of the most conservative voting records in Congress.
More than anything, McCain's crossover appeal speaks volumes about how soft the support is for Vice President Al Gore. Like Bush, Gore has the party establishment behind him, but endorsements by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Senator John F. Kerry no more eased Democratic doubts about Gore than the imprimatur of the senior Bush made junior Bush the dauphin.
Why are Democrats in search of a reformer turning to McCain instead of Bradley? Is it all about personality and campaign theatrics?
If so, we should be mindful that history is still a pretty good teacher. We have been seduced before in Massachusetts by personality. Democrats enamored of Bill Weld's gentlemanly charm and joie de vivre convinced themselves that, all campaign evidence to the contrary, he wouldn't really pander to the haves at the expense of the have-nots. Surprise! As governor, Weld turned out to be exactly who he said he was. His charm was not compensation enough for us having duped ourselves into believing Weld was another Frank Sargent.
No one who has watched political campaigns devolve into the prepackaged, made-for-television affairs they've become in the last 20 years can object to the candor and spontaneity that McCain has injected into national politics this year. Just by being himself, he provides a breath of fresh air.
But the professorial Bradley is no less authentic. He's just not as funny. The day he starts telling jokes on the stump is the day he turns himself over to the consultants who have killed authenticity in American politics.
We need to grow up. Reality, not comedy, is in the job description. Ask the too-few voters who were at the Codman Square Community Health Center in Dorchester the other day when Bradley stopped by to talk about guns and urban violence. They know there's nothing funny about dead kids. It's a good bet none of them will be taking a GOP ballot on March 7 to vote for John McCain.
Eileen McNamara's e-mail address is mcnamara@globe.com
