espite falling behind in some polls, Vice President Al Gore could still become president - especially if he gets a little more help from conservative Republicans.
Democrats could retake the House of Represenatives with the same help, however unintended it may be.
The GOP right - by calling for a probe of the raid that seized Elian Gonzalez - has refocused public attention on its procivlity for drawn-out, expensive, and unnecessary investigations into actions by President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno. In so doing, Republicans have made it clear that they favor pointless probes over much-needed legislation that would benefit millions of Americans.
Polls show that voters agree with the Democrats' view that the Republicans would rather investigate than legislate. That is, the Republicans would rather waste taxpayers money on conducting personal vendettas against the Clinton administration.
The Republicans further bolstered the Democrats' argument when the GOP decided to further investigate Gore's 1996 fund-raising activities, particularly involving his visit to a fund-raiser at a Buddhist temple. Some Republicans no doubt hope such a probe might still turn up some illegality that would derail Gore's campaign.
Republicans hope that, in a subcommittee hearing this week, a former Justice Department official will reveal a July 1998 memo in which he stated that Gore's fund-raising activities should be investigated by an independent counsel - and that Reno rejected the idea and sought to keep the memo secret.
Despite those hopes, continuing this investigation may prove more harmful to the Republicans than to Gore - because it reminds voters that, after two years of trying, the GOP has thus far failed to turn up a single Gore fund-raising violation.
It's true that some Republicans are beginning to be wary of the political fallout from more investigations, specifically on the Gonzalez case. They have stepped back a bit from their demands for a quick probe. But they still can't resist trying to find something that will stain Gore's campaign for the White House.
The GOP should try legislating rather than investigating. There is still a need for overhauling health care, education, and tax structures. There is need for gun control, and for ensuring Social Security for the future.
By going after Gore rather than after these issues, the Republican-led Congress, which strongly indicated that there will be no important legislation enacted in this election year, has earned the label of a do-nothing Congress.
But the GOP's pursuit of him has helped overshadow Gore's own stumblings on the campaign trail, particularly his ill-advised pronouncement that Elian should stay in the United States rather than return to Cuba.
Since that misstep, which angered most of his Democratic constituency who felt that Elian should be returned to Cuba with his father, Gore's campaign has been fairly low-key on the domestic front. Meanwhile, Bush's campaign appears to be picking up steam, and supporters, as he edges slowly ahead in the polls.
In the short term, Bush may be benefiting from his embrace of certain positions set forth by the moderate Democratic Leadership Council.
But some of the DLC's ideas come with a political risk attached. For example, the organization has proposed a partial privatization of Social Security. Gore has thus far resisted endorsing such a proposal. He is wise to do so. Millions of voters, particularly the ones who now, or soon will, receive Social Security may view it as tampering with the system in a way that will ultimately reduce their benefits.
In the long term, Bush embraces Social Security privatization at his own political risk. He needs support from the same independent voters that Gore needs.
Gore, of course, still must find his way out of the political corner he put himself in with his stance on Elian. And he needs to push an agenda that connects with essentially the same voters that connected with Bill Clinton during his two successful campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Republicans appear to be hard at work helping Gore offset his early mistakes and, at the same time, helping Democratic Representative Richard Gephardt to become the Speaker of the House by helping him gain a Democratic majority in November.
As history has shown, candidates who win the White House rarely do so solely on their own strengths; rather, they are also helped by the mistakes of their foes.
For Gore and the Democrats, history, with a little help from the Republicans, may once again repeat itself.
Robert A. Jordan is a Globe columnist.
