In the heat of a campaign that has been growing increasingly bitter, with the candidates sniping at each other over personal characteristics as well as policy proposals, there is not a ray of light between Bush’s and Gore’s positions on the startling developments in the Middle East: Both have called for retaliation against whomever is responsible for the blast that claimed the lives of as many as 17 American sailors, and both have laid the blame for the continuing bloodshed in the West Bank squarely at the feet of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
“We have not wanted to do anything to inflame the situation or confuse the actors in that part of the world,” Bush’s running mate, Dick Cheney, told voters at a seniors home in Sun Prarie, Wis., on Friday.
Political Pitfalls
The crises may reinforce Gore’s emphasis on experience and renew concerns about Bush’s comparative lack of the same, but there are potential pitfalls for the vice president as well.
Gore’s access and influence in the White House, for example, is a double-edged sword. If the administration’s efforts to deal with both Middle East situations are seen as weak or inadequate, then any attempts to highlight the vice president’s involvement will have backfired. And, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded Friday after a 380-point dive on Thursday, decline in the markets could diminish Gore’s principal political asset: prosperity.
Finally, although the race for the White House remains one of the closest in decades, following Bush’s strong performances in the first two of three presidential debates, conventional wisdom gives the Republican the edge.
Gore’s advisers concede they were counting on a few days of post-debate spin to hammer Bush for what critics argued was an inadequate defense of his state’s deficiencies in health care and other areas. With less than four weeks between now and Nov. 7, the headline-grabbing developments half a world away may lock in Bush’s gains and deprive his Democratic rival of the opportunity to reclaim the lead.
