First Baby Boomer Grudge Match
By Steve Anthony

With the presidential primary this month and the general election less than a year away, I marvel at the current political atmosphere.

Comparing today to the political climate of, say, 6 years ago is truly amazing. So much has happened since then. We have gone from a supposed "revolution" to back-to-back elections in which voter desire for political stability has been clearly demonstrated. It proves once again that predicting political outcomes and trends is more of an art- sometimes involving some luck - more than a science.

This trend, if it is indeed that, has caused several shifts. One of those is the reduced effectiveness of the politics of extremism, from either the right or the left. The race for president has clearly benefited from this. We've come to a point where it seems possible the nominees from the 2 major parties will be George W. Bush and Al Gore, Jr.. Although anything can happen in politics (see above), and even with the appearance of john McCain and Bill Bradley closing in, the smart money is on Bush or Gore. If that is the case, regardless of who wins, the true winners will be the American people.

What kind of candidate do we have in Bush? We have a person who gives the appearance of not being beholden to, or in the back pocket of, the extreme wing of his party. We have someone who has the audacity to call himself a compassionate conservative (what a novel tag for a Republican candidate for president!) If Bush wins his party's nomination, what will that portend? We will have a race this fall that will pit 2 people of virtually the same age (or as Fox pundit Tony Snow said "the first baby boomer grudge match"), both with good family credentials and intact families, who can rightly be classified as coming from moderate wings in their parties. We'll have 2 individuals who do not scare the majority of voters.

If Bush and Gore are the nominees, the politics of moderation will be validated. We will then be spared the type of campaigning that is always present when one candidate promotes the party's extreme thinking. We'll also be spared seeing and hearing the demagogic reaction of those who tell us we must fear the winner. I wonder what will happen to talk radio?

If we can consistently get to a point in this country where the 2 major parties nominate moderates for high office, we'll be giving ourselves the best chance for real progress in more than 30 years. We'll be leaving our children a legacy to be proud of, and we'll be bringing the country closer together rather than splitting it further apart.

Such a situation will probably be a bit more dull, and it might not produce any juicy tattletales, but the nation as a whole would benefit. The occupant of the Oval Office would be free to govern for the benefit of the majority, not the extremists who have catapulted his counterparts to the forefront in the past. His ability to govern would be enhanced because he'd be able to deal with the issues and problems that truly affect our quality of life, not the wedge issues that have done nothing except alienate people.

Issues that are discussed around the dinner table - like taxes, retirement, school performance, job stability, and transportation - are what most people are truly interested in. The president would be free to give his attention to those issues, thus enhancing our standard of living.

Businesses and the people who run them should seize the opportunity and get involved. If Gore and Bush are the nominees, we have every reason to do so. Economic conditions are the best we've seen in decades. If the politics of extremism takes hold again, all of these gains will be washed away.

Elections are not just about winning. Winning at all costs has produces some of the worst episodes in our history. Let's hope the election of 2000 puts the politics of the '90s - the politics of division - behind us.