Can Gore connect?

By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist, 8/15/2000

LOS ANGELES

The Clinton era ended - sort of - last night. Now it's Al Gore's turn to define an era of his own.

Sure, Bill and Hillary Clinton will be around for quite a while; self-absorbed people always linger longer than they should. But when it comes to victory in November, it's about Gore or it's over for the Democrats.

Can the vice president finally connect with voters?

So far, this convention is not helping him do it. It's not just the irony of the Democrats' search for the political center in a city that doesn't really have a geographic one. It's also the problem of positioning Gore as the leader for the future, during a week that showcases the party's recent, controversial past - the Clintons - and its ancient, controversial past - Jesse Jackson and the Kennedys.

Gore and the Democrats need to get the focus away from history. One way to do it is to encourage voters to make each candidate take the readiness test: Who is more ready to be president?

Readiness can be measured three ways. Who has the personal experience? Who understands issues and policy? Who represents the values of the American people?

Gore should be able to argue that he is more ready than Bush for the top job. But his resume is not working as it might to convince voters he would be the stronger leader. That's because people base their vote on more than paper credentials. Too many voters still don't know who Gore is or what he represents. What they do know is confusing. In the campaign so far, Gore changed his message as often as he switched from suits to casual garb.

Gore's speech on Thursday night is expected to stress experience and policy, to show he is more than ready to be president. But what about values - the turf made slippery by Clinton - that Bush is obviously trying to claim?

Gore and his campaign staff still don't get it, as they showed with their silly reaction to the now infamous fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion. Voters don't expect prudery or censorship from the inhabitant of the Oval Office. They just want a president they can respect.

One of the most effective moments for the Republicans in Philadelphia came when Laura Bush talked about the ordinary people who come up on the campaign trail, displaying photos of their children and expressing their longing for a president they can look up to.

The pundits may do so, but Gore shouldn't underestimate the importance of that genuine emotion. He doesn't have to insult Clinton personally in his speech on Thursday night, but he should explain how his personal code of conduct would be different from his predecessor's.

The second front to the values battle is about policy - where should this country be headed?

Bush vaguely defined the goal as compassionate conservatism, a concept difficult to understand but still with a nice ring to it. Gore, too, needs to define a goal or theme, one that energizes the party's base, but doesn't scare away the Independents.

Campaign 2000 turns on two things: personal values and the politics of prosperity. In Philadelphia, Bush and the Republicans paid lip service to those left behind. In Los Angeles, Gore and the Democrats need to do more. They can rightly take credit for the good economy; now they need to show how they would put it to its highest and best purpose for everyone.

In the midst of plenty, there is quite an unfinished agenda in America, and it affects more than those we think of as ''poor people.'' Issues like education and health care resonate with voters in the center whom both parties are trying so hard to woo. Bush did a good job of speaking to that center in Philadelphia. Gore needs to do a better job here.

It could be much, much harder to accomplish in Los Angeles. In this sprawling world, streaming with celebrities and shiny black Mercedes, the center is easy to overlook. Is Gore ready to find it at last?

Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist.