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Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009
George W. Bush takes a page from President Clinton's playbook and woos the youth vote.
Jun 5, 2000 | In 1992, Bill Clinton rode to the presidency on a promise to revive a failed economy and bring change to Washington after 12 years of a GOP-controlled White House. The Arkansas governor masterfully cast himself as a "New Democrat," more moderate than past Democratic nominees and presidents. To polish this image of newness, Clinton, like John F. Kennedy 30 years before him, ran as the first president of a young generation of leaders. He even appeared on "Donahue" and "Oprah," and fought a political donnybrook on MTV on the issue of boxers or briefs.
The themes of newness and change, central to the Clinton campaign strategy, were reinforced by Clinton's choice of a running mate. Like Clinton, Gore was a young, centrist, Southern Democrat. But now it is George W. Bush, the first boomer presidential nominee from the Republican Party, who is using a Clintonian strategy to try to transform his party's image and recapture the White House after eight years in exile.
Oh, sure, Gore is doing his share of youth outreach as well. Daughter Karenna is playing a prominent role in the campaign, basking in that portion of the limelight that Tipper Gore seems to shy away from. And in February, Gore proudly touted the all-important endorsement of hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean.
Neither candidate will win subtlety points for efforts to play the youth card. Bush unabashedly promotes the fact that he represents a new generation of leadership for the GOP. "I'm a strong candidate because I come from the baby boomer generation," he said on a recent appearance on the "NewsHour." He continued that theme when he revealed his Social Security plan in California. "When I am elected, this generation and this president will solve Social Security."
Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said the stark generational difference between Bush and his GOP predecessors -- namely Bob Dole and Bush's own father -- has helped revamp the image of the Republican Party, which was suffering from being perceived as the party of aging, vituperative, white men. Bush has consciously softened his rhetoric on the stump, peddling what he calls "compassionate conservatism," and has touted his success at attracting Latino voters during his two runs for governor. It is all part of making Bush into a different kind of Republican, and the youth card plays into that image, Hughes said.
"Governor Bush doesn't usually pander to a specific group, but his message is resonating with people that want a different kind of politics. I think young voters particularly are turned off by the partisanship and bickering that goes on in Washington. They like that Governor Bush has been able to work with Democrats. It's the new style. The politics of the past is to demagogue issues and call new proposals risky and fight to maintain the status quo. It's trite. Governor Bush represents something different."
While Bush's advisors say there has been no conscious decision on their part to appeal directly to young voters, it is obvious that they have tried to conjure up a transformative sense of youth and rejuvenation around the 53-year-old Bush.
"Governor Bush is the first Republican standard bearer from the baby-boom generation," said Hughes. "It's pretty hard to separate the individual from his generation."
Hughes points to two recent Bush policy speeches -- one on Social Security, the other on nuclear arms reduction, which she says help differentiate Bush from Gore, and which seem to be resonating with the Gen X set. Bush's Social Security pitch, unveiled in California last month, would allow baby boomers and Gen Xers a chance to invest some of their Social Security funds in the stock market.
"It looks like Gore is looking for the older voters and Bush is looking for younger ones," said Richard Thau, president of the Washington-based nonprofit Third Millennium, a group focused on issues that effect Xers. The group has endorsed partial privatization of Social Security.
Even groups opposed to the Bush plan concede that it may play well among younger voters. "We conducted a poll which found that young people are more inclined to support private accounts," said Hans Riemer, director of 2030 Action, a nonprofit focused on keeping Social Security from privatizing. "This is all very well-done and well-crafted by Bush. The strategy here is to paint Al Gore as a vicious partisan who will pander and play to fear. And in the process, he's trying to gloss over his own plan."
