residential nominee-in-waiting Al Gore has succeeded in stopping the conversation with his surprise appointment of Joseph Lieberman to the Democratic ticket. Now Gore needs to take a deep breath and redirect the discussion to highlight his own advantages at his party's convention in Los Angeles this week.
Before Lieberman, the story line for campaign 2000 was shaping up nicely for the Republicans, who in a masterful convention yoked Gore repeatedly to President Clinton, complete with ethical baggage. The Lieberman appointment was artful enough to create a pause and allow Gore to regroup. But the Democrats should stop reacting to Republican baiting now and present an agenda for the future.
A good place to start would be the economy, which by any measure has shown terrific performance during the Clinton-Gore years. Some 22 million new jobs have been created, dwarfing even Clinton's own campaign pledge of 8 million, made in 1992. In that year - the last time someone named Bush was in the White House - the national unemployment rate was 7.7 percent; today it is 4 percent. Budget deficits have been alchemized into record surpluses, keeping interest rates low and spurring investment. The Congressional Budget Office reports that, for all but the richest Americans, the federal tax burden is at its lowest point in 40 years.
But there is still plenty to do. Real wages have not kept up with the booming economy. Too many Americans work full time and still fall below the poverty line. Many are holding down two or three jobs, adding to family stress. Gore's tax plan, which purports to benefit ''working families,'' does nothing about the Social Security tax, the most regressive of all. And the most stirring inclusive rhetoric doesn't change the fact that legal immigrants are being cruelly denied basic needs, like food stamps, under the Clinton-Gore welfare reform.
The party out of power in the White House always gets to hold its convention first, and Republicans used this position to advantage by framing the debate their way. Gore needs a clear, strong voice to turn the tale around.
