5.18.00
The New Patriotism

5.15.00
Boxing Out Gore

5.08.00
McCain Endorses — But How Fervently?

5.08.00
Gilligan’s Folly

5.05.00
You Gotta Have "It"

5.02.00
The "Conservative" Gore

5.01.00
A Stray Thot

eorge W. Bush's rising poll numbers in recent weeks, as he's mounted a renewed compassion offensive, probably mean he will be the "compassionate conservative" for the duration of the campaign. But, in the name of persistence, if nothing else, let's revisit once again why this isn't the best theme for him, and suggest an alternative.

First, it is necessary to acknowledge that his recent compassion initiatives have worked. The Bush campaign — to its credit — has learned an important tactic from the Dick Morris/Bill Clinton operation in 1996: the small-scale proposal as a way of branding a candidate. The substance of Clinton's proposals on curfews and V-chips didn't matter so much as the message they conveyed that he shared the values of the middle class. Ditto for Bush's micro-compassion. Forget its merits as policy, it is chiefly a way of symbolically proving that Bush cares about health care, housing, and education. The initiatives really play as character issues more than matters of substance. Just as Clinton wanted to prove himself a nice, normal guy despite the McGovernite cultural excesses of his own party, Bush is trying to prove himself a nice, normal guy despite the (supposed) Gingrichian anti-government excesses of his party.

This is intelligent defense. But the defining theme of a presidential campaign can't be entirely defensive — which brings us to the limits of compassionate conservatism. Bush is never going to out care Al Gore. He can prove he cares too — and should by all means — but he needs something more. In fact, he does have something more, in a whole raft of innovative ideas and promising rhetoric, but most of it doesn't fit snugly under the rubric of compassionate conservative. When you see a liberal Bush critic gleefully pointing out that Bush Position A or B isn't "compassionate," he's probably right. So what theme would be more encompassing, while continuing to give the Bush campaign a positive, upbeat feel?

I suggest "The New Patriotism" (yes, the "old" patriotism would be even better, but every campaign theme has to be "new"). The idea here would be that there is a great patriotic renewal going on in the country, with unbounded creativity in the economy and old virtues at least beginning to reassert themselves in people's lives (or so say the mildly encouraging social indicators). Taking this line would simultaneously allow Bush to acknowledge all that's right in the status quo — and not cede the "mountain-top moment" rhetoric to Gore — while still running against Washington. Because the chief problem with our national life is that this renewal has not reached the Beltway, where no one is creative (witness the federal bureaucracy) and the old virtues get short shrift (witness the Clinton scandals). Bush's mission should be, as an outsider, to deliver this movement of renewal to the nation's capitol through an ambitious agenda of reform.

What are the advantages of "The New Patriotism" as a theme? First, it will help emphasize Bush's strength over Gore, which is not compassion, but "leadership." Arguably, every time Bush gets wishy-washy he undercuts his image as a leader; talking about patriotic reform — a tougher-sounding rhetoric — is more likely to enhance that image. Second, if you want to borrow from McCain, this was his single most powerful theme. Third, Gore will not go here. He will co-opt ideas like accountability in schools, but he won't touch patriotism because there is something at the wellspring of it that is inimical to his agenda (no, I'm not calling Gore unpatriotic, but it was somehow significant that there were few, if any, American flags waving at the Million Mom March — I'm open to explanations [click here for my e-mail]). Fourth, that said, no one can openly oppose patriotism. Finally, it is a theme that is the perfect umbrella for everything Bush stands for.

"The New Patriotism" would have three commonsense components (every campaign theme worth its salt is "new" and has three parts):

FREEDOM: This would encompass Bush's tax cut, Social Security, and Medicare plans — all of which serve to loosen the grip of government; his opposition to McCain- and Gore-style campaign-finance reform, which offends against the First Amendment; his opposition to gun control; his opposition to federal judges and trial lawyers who change social policy through undemocratic means, threatening self-government.

OPPORTUNITY: This would include all of Bush's compassion initiatives, from helping people buy homes, to improving the education of minority children, to knocking down the tollbooth to the middle class through tax policy. It all goes here.

RESPONSIBILITY: This would encompass, obviously, Bush's emphasis on "personal responsibility," whether he's urging abstinence or tough enforcement of gun laws; his call for holding schools accountable for how they perform; his support of bipartisan solutions to problems politicians prefer to dodge, such as Social Security; and, finally, his pledge to uphold the dignity and integrity of the presidency.

So, there you have it — "The New Patriotism." What's not to like?

Columns / Current Issue / Goldberg File / Nota Bene
Washington Bulletin / Subscribe / Ad Info / Home