TH \' IialkingAmerican ;. Thecrucial first step in taking back the White House

BYDAVID KUSNET

NOW THAT DEMOCRATS DESPERATELYWANT A PRESIDEN. Eisenhowerpresided over a laggingeconomy and a Soviet "get tial candidatewho speakspassionately, speaks to the point, headstart in space,John F.Kennedy promised to America andspeaks like a normalperson and not a politician,one con- moving again."lnr976, after Vietnam and Watergate,Jimmy "l "a tender answerstheir prayers. Carter said, will never lie to you" and promised gov- Too bad his target is his own party. ernmentas good as the Americanpeople." ln1992,when the FormerGov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) beginshis speechesby nation had just won the Cold War and the Gulf War but "What asking, I want to know is why the Democratic lead- seemedto be losingthe globaleconomic competition, Clinton ershipsupported the president'sunilateral attack on Iraq?" offered a detailedbut down-to-earthexplanation of how we "What "put Continuing his I want to know" litany, Deandemands, could peoplefirst" by investingin education,training "Why arethe Democraticleaders supporting tax cuts?"and and health care. "voting why arecongressional Democrats with the president Thesespeeches rallied the party activiststhe candidates 85 percentof the time"? neededto get nominatedwhile reachingout to the swing vot- Now, if only Dean-or one of the eight other contenders- ersthey neededto get elected.Instead of throwing rhetori- had a speechthat makesthe caseagainst George W. Bush as calred meat to their party'smost intense supporters, winning "speaking effectively as he basheshis fellow Democrats. candidatesare conversantin what Clinton called Dean'semergence from Democraticdark horseto top-tier American"(something he'd goadme aboutbecause he'd hired presidentialcontender shows the importanceof a goodstump me asa speechwriterafter reading a book I'd written by that speech-the basicremarks where candidatesexplain who they name)-using everydaylanguage that links national issues are,what they believe and what they would do as president. to people'sdaily livesand deepestvalues. i:- A compellingstump speechis essentialfor winning the Comparedwith Clinton,Kennedy or evenCarter, none of T\ nomination becausecandidates have to appealdirectly to the current Democraticcandidates is consistentlyspeaking major donors,delegates to stateparty conventionsand union Americanto voterswho are anxiousabout the future but not conferences,and activistsin statessuch as Iowa and New yet angrywiththe president.To beat Bush,the eventualnom- Hampshirethat hold the first caucusesand primaries.But a inee needsto start from the three eventsthat define our convincingstump speechis alsoimportant for winning the times:the Septembert 1 terrorist attacks,the corporatescan- generalelection because it makesthe basicarguments and dals,and the economythat's shedding jobs andshrinking in- contains the trademark turns of phrase-such as Bill comes.Then offer alternativesto Bush'stax cuts for the I :'. "end Clinton's pledgeto welfare aswe know it"-that the en- wealthy and going it almostalone in the war on terrorism. a-. tire electorateends up hearing in TV spots and network And explain how Americanscan shapea world where they'll L'. news coverage. have lives that are securein every senseof that word. The best stump speechesspeak to the aspirationsand Sofar, none of the nine Democraticcontenders is giving l:, anxietiesof a historic moment. ln r96o, while Dwight more than bits and piecesof a winning speech. Fr

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"a call for great American restoration"-a sloganthat pre- Stokingand strokingaudiences for whom supposesa longing for a pastwhen many suffereddiscrimi- Bush'sbadness is axiomatic,Howard Dean nation and exploitation? claimsthat only he opposesthe president on everlthing: the lraq War, the tax cuts TI{E COUNTERPUNCI{ER and even the No Child Left Behind Act, Sen.John Kerry (D-Mass.)is gropingto- which most nationalDemocrats supported. ward a themethat couldcarry a Democrat "the Beforepresenting himself as part of Democraticwing through the generalelection: In a time of of the DemocraticParty"-a phrasehe borrowedfromthe late crisis,all Americans-especiallythe most Sen.Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.)-Dean resembledthe socially fortunate-should contribute to their liberal but fiscally conservativePaul Tsongas,the former country.Kerry exploredthis ideaeven be- Massachusettssenator whom Clinton defeatedfor the party's fore the September11 attacks,drawing on his own military nominationint99z. When Deantalks, as he hasin Iowa and servicein askingAmericans to answerthe nation'schallenges "citizen New Hampshire,about his recordinVermont (where he built as soldiers."Using martial metaphors,he found a a budget surplus,cut debt and improvedbond ratings),his freshway to maketraditional Democraticvalues of sharing crispcertainties sound like yet anotherNew Englander:the and caring sound tough-mindedas well as tenderhearted. "The party'sr988 nominee,Michael Dukakis. Army saysthey never leavetheir wounded," Kerry has "The But Dean'sformal announcementspeech inJune revealed said. Marinessay they neverleave their dead.It's time that he doesn'twant to join Tsongasand Dukakis-and we all joined together-all of us as citizen-soldiers- Morris Udall,Eugene McCarthy and Adlai Stevensonbefore committedto a causegreater than ourselvesto ensurethat them-in the pantheonof beautiful loserswho appealedto no Americanis left behind." affluent liberalsbut not workadayvoters. A physicianby pro- Kerry hasfurther developedthis theme to propounda pop- fession,Dean saidthat when he first started campaigning,he ulismbased on patrioticvalues of serviceand sacrifice. Using wantedto emphasizeissues such as health care,early child- the senseof national emergencythat Bushhas encouraged as "fiscal hood developmentand stability."But, he now says: ammunitionagainst the president'seconomic policies, Kerry "Something "For changedalong the way asI listenedto Americans declares, the first time in this nation'shistory, the most aroundthis country.For me,the long journey of a presiden- privilegedamong us get enormoustax breaksin time of war." tial campaignhas begun with the people I have met affect- Counteringthe stereotypethat liberalsare soft, Kerry con- ing me far more than any effect I may have had on them." veys his toughnessby referring to his work as a prosecutor Deansaid he was movedby Americans'sensethat they have and his experiencedealing with the problems of crime, ter- Iost control of their country'sdestiny, from the decisionto rorism and drug trafficking. He also draws upon his military wagewar in Iraq to the dominanceof special-interestlobby- serviceto bondwith audienceswithwhom hewould otherwise "What ists. Instead of I want to knoq" Dean offered a new have little in common.Addressing the National Hispanic "You "The litany, telling listeners, have the power" to changethe LeadershipAgenda, he recalled, draft discriminatorily, DemocraticParty, the presidencyand America. without regard for the fairnesswe talk about in America, Dean'snew speechis in the oldestpopulist tradition, warn- grabbedthe kids out ofthe barrios and rural and urban cen- ing that self-governmentis threatenedby the melding of ters of Americaand putthem in uniform." His bestline iswhat economicand politicalpower. He's also added new populist he hints he would sayif the Republicanswere everto question points, attacking companiesthat send American jobs off- his patriotism. As he told the Building TradesDepartment of "1 shoreand warning that corporationsnot offering employees the AFL-cIo: fought for and bled for and earnedthe right health insurancewill losefederal contracts and tax breaks. myviews inthis pick Z to express country.If theywantto a fight, But how will disadvantagedDemocrats respond to Dean's they've picked a fight with the wrong guy."

THEAMERICAN PROSPECT 23 Tr.rF I N-TnUCl{ lNsl DER work at regular jobs during the schoolyear, as he himself Seekingthe presidentialnomination in did,because it makesthem taketheir studiesmore seriously. r988,Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.)attacked Lately,Edwards has been making a more pointed casethan wage-cuttingcompanies, merger-man iac in- his rivals againstBush's economic policies. Criticizing the bankers,job-destroying trade cuts in taxeson dividend income,large inheritances and the vestment "This deals and trickle-down economicpolicies. highest income brackets,Edwards explained, crowd As he recited each abuse,he shouted, wants a world where the only peoplewho have to pay taxes "Enough is enough!" At the end of the speech,he declared, are the oneswho do the work." Using similar rhetoric, "the "lt's your fight, too." Edwardshas attacked cult of the ceo," with its exorbi- Sinceresigning last year as House Democraticleader, tant executivesalaries and stockoptions. Gephardthas reintroducedhimself asa pragmaticpopulist. Beginningwith either his own biographyor a set of bro- More than any other contender,he offers an array of pro- mides ("America is not a nation of kings and commoners, gressiveprograms: portable pensions,incentives for new mastersand servants"),Edwards'speeches suffer from not teachers,an international minimum wage and the center- being situatedin any current context.(lmagine how effec- piece candidacy,universal health carefinanced by re- tive his speecheswould havebeen last year if he had begun of his "reg- pealingBush's tax cuts.He explainshis initiatives in terms by sayingthat he was running for presidentto protect of his own family'sstruggles: His father earneda decentpay- ular people" againstcorporate criminals like Enron.) Yet, checkas a Teamster.His motherworked too manyjobs to ac- while Edwardsis unlikelyto be nominated,the eventualnom- cumulatepension credits. His son survivedcancer because ineewould do well to studyhow he presentsissues in plain- the Gephardtshad health coverage.And his daughteris strug- spokenparables. gling to survive on a teacher'ssalary. Explaining that even hardworkingfamilies like his can't alwaysmake it on their own, he concludesby quoting the Rev.Martin Luther King Formervice-presidential nominee and cur- "We Jr.,who said, areall tied togetherin a singlegarment of rent Sen.Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.)is also destiny"-a rare instanceof a white politician quoting a black addressinggeneral-election voters. But he leaderin a nonracialcontext before multiracial audiences. usesmoderation and moralism,rather than "We Like Clinton, Gephardtpresents a comprehensivepro- populism.Declaring, must riseabove "tell gram to help peoplemake their way in the churning global partisanpolitics" and promising to my economy.Unlike Clinton,however, he doesnot presenthis friendswhen they'rewrong," he presentshimself asa figure program in the larger context of how it would benefit the en- aboveboth parties. "values" tire economyas well as individual households.By midsum- Although he usesthe word asoften asKerry repeats "Vietnam," had not delivereda major speechdescribing Liebermanoften doeslittle more than moralize.ln mer, Gephardt "business his proposalfor an international minimum wage and de- a remarkablyrestrained speech last year about ethics fending his oppositionto trade agreementswithout labor in the post-Enronera," he substitutedpreaching for policy,de- "We standards. claring, cannot put the business-ethicspolice on every and environmental "many cornerthat might be cut" and expressingthe hopethat businessleaders have been moved to askwhat the right bal- A former trial lawyer, freshman Sen.John anceis between shareholdervalue and moral values." Edwards (D-N.C.)speaks populist better pf than anyonein the field. He presentshim- sumEs wrrHour RATToNALES self as a working-classhero who worked Bring up the rear,Sen. and former Gov.Bob Graham (D-Fla.) "the his way through law schoolto defend offers an impressiver6sum6 but no rationalefor his candidacy peopleI grew up with" againstcorporate other than the hint that, as former chairman of the Senate wrongdoers.His invocationof"regular people"sounds less Committee on lntelligence,he's onto something about "ordinary patronizingthan the more familiar phrases people" September11 that the other Democratsdon't know and that "average or people." Bushwon't admit. Former Sen.Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) While Edwards'campaignis lesssubstantive than mostof alsohas considerable experience but is campaigningmostly his rivals',he hasa knack for translatingpolicy into populism. on her gender.And Rep.Dennis Kucinich (R-Ohio),a former In a speechabout higher education,he attackedearly- Clevelandmayor, has had a hard time making himself heard. "legacy" admissionspolicies as well as preferencesfor Meanwhile, the Rev.Al Sharpton has avoidedthe dema- favoring youngsters from wealthy families. Most speeches goguerythat characterizedhis careerin New York and has abouteducation mix proposalswith platitudes,but Edwards contributedone of the best argumentsfor the generalelec- offered a populist insight: When the privileged enjoy op- tion, telling a forum in lowa sponsoredby the American portunitiesthey don't deserve,most Americanslose out on Federationof State,County and Municipal Employeesthat opportunitiesthey do deserve. Bush isn't cutting taxesbut rather is shifting them to the Edwardsis appealingto swingvoters with conservativeas stateand locallevels. well aspopulist impulses.Unlike any contenderexcept Kerry, he adopts Clinton's approachthat those who benefit from PIITTINC IT ALL TOGETHER public programsshould shoulder new responsibilitiesin re- To beat and not just bashBush, Democrats need to explain Lr turn. Edwards'higher-educationspeech took the unortho- the American condition, discredit Bush'spolicies, present F dox tack of admitting that it's good for collegestudents to answersof their own and sayit all in everydaylanguage. l-r'

WWW.PROSPECT.ORC 'r,: L.egirrswith culling the best of what they've al- first, go-it-alonementality is distortingthe administration's :-1, :dlt1. current and future actionsin lraq and elsewhere. .:.ir t n irh rhetoricaljujitsu. UseBush's claims of national Kerry and Edwardshave offered someof the best argu- r" : qencvagainst his complacentdomestic policies. If mentsagainst offending allies,acting unilaterally and wag- '. rr'.errcAreally is in a new ColdWar againstterrorist groups ing preventivewars. America is strongerand safer,not ,:'.;1 r'ogue nations, every American needs to contribute,start- weakerand morevulnerable, when we acttogether with our :':.n'ith the most fortunate companiesand individuals. alliesand lead,not leave,international institutions. When If Arnericais vulnerable to attack,Democrats should keep we really face imminent threats, we do have the right to act .rllingfor strengtheningour first linesof defense.Identify immediatelyto defend ourselves,but this hardly requires :rrefighters,police officers and health-careworkers as fancy words and frightening doctrines,such as preventive \merica'sfrontline defenders.Ask why Bush'srecession or preemptivewars. .rndfederal budget cuts,fueled by the top-brackettax cuts, Now that Americais occupyingIraq and our soldiersare .rreforcing the layoffs of so many firefighters, police officers dying by the day, we should do what we should have done "What arrdheaith-care workers. And askwhy (and here'sa from the first: Sharethe burdensand the decisionswith as I n'ant to know" for physicianDean) America'sdefense many alliesas possible.Here, too, somerhetorical jujitsu is .rgainstbioterrorism-our public-healthsystem-has been in order: comparingthe Iraq War aswaged by the younger allorvedto decay. Bush with the Gulf War-where we actedwith allies and Then turn to the continuingrecession and the corporate paid only 15 percentof the cost-waged by the elder Bush. crimewave that arecosting millions of Americanstheir jobs, Finally,Democrats need to recallnot only the prosperous their incomes,their health coverageand their retirement economy and solvent government that Clinton bequeathed savings.Let Bushadministration officials Bushbut alsothe vision that Clinton pre- rrv to explainthat the recessionis over, sentedof an America preparedfor the that corporatewrongdoing is a thing of the global economy.Long before terrorism past and that the best answer is cutting toppedour anxieties,we were fearful, with taxeson corporatedividends, huge inher- goodreason, of being plungedinto a new itancesand high tax brackets. worldwide economy that was sweeping Bushwill try to define the debateas a awaysecure jobs with rising incomesand choicebetween those who want to cut stablebenefits. taxesand those who want to raisethem. While he couldn't orwouldn't fulfill his Democratsneed to present moral and entire vision,Clinton did presenta program practicalarguments and avoid being to prepareAmericans for internationalcom- mired in complexity. petition through public investmentsin ed- Edwardsdraws the distinction between ucation,training and technology.Clinton's taxes on most people's earnings that critics on the Democraticleft, including "taxes amount to of work" and taxes on Gephardt,also called for Americatotake the largeinheritances, large corporate dividend earningsand the lead in making new rules to governthat economyfor the ben- "taxes highest incomes,which amount to of wealth." efit of working people as well as investors.Otherwise, they "a Democratsshould attack Bush for wanting to tax wealth at warned, international competition would become race to lower rates than he taxes work. Together with calls for all the bottom" (a phraseGephardt repeated this summerin Iowa). Americansto contributein a time of crisis,this populismhas As only Gephardtamong the major contendershas done, a moral dimensionand cannoteasily be dismissedas class Democratsshould presentprograms-such as universal warfareor tax-and-spendliberalism. health coverage,portable pensions, and job training and re- Similarly,Democrats should further explorethe argument training-that easeAmericans'transitions at a time of that Bushisn't cutting taxes,just shifting them. As the fed- wrenching economicchanges. eral government-burdened by tax cuts, budget cuts and Democratsshould also make clearthat the only way to growing deficits-dumps new responsibilitieson stateand maintain and expandsuch socialinsurance programs is to local governments,middle- and low-incomeAmericans are makeand enforcerules for the nationaland globaleconomies, beinghit by higherstate and local income, sales and property not to take the copsoff the corporatecrime beat here at home taxes,as well as cuts in their public schools,state universi- and go it alone in the world arena. "To ties,public health care,and policeand fire protection. havethe kind of America we want, we need the kind Turning to national security-supposedlyBush's strong of world we want," Gephardtdeclared six yearsago in a speech suit-Democrats needn'ttear one anotherapart over whether criticizing Clinton for failing to carry forward an economic "put membersof the Houseand Senateshould have voted to au- policy that would peoplefirst." lt's more important than thorize the presidentto take military actionagainst Iraq. A everto makethat point-that Americanleadership can help debatewhere Deanattacks his rivalsas spineless supporters people improve their lives at home and abroad-now that of a senselesswar and Liebermanattacks the other candi- we're facinga presidentwho puts everydaypeople last. r datesas soft on nationalsecurity is one whoseonly winner :-' will be Bush.lnstead, Democrats should join togetherto crit- DAVI D KUs N E r w asthe chiefsp e e chwriter f or Pre sident Bill icize the thinking behind - the heavy-handedways in which Clintonfrom ry92 through t994. He is the author of Speaking Bushhas treated the world Z community.And, evenmore im- American:How the DemocratsCan Win in the Nineties and portant, they can explainthe ways in which Bush'sshoot- is avisitingfellow at the EconomicPolicy Institute.

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