Every Underdog Will Have His Day

Every Underdog Will Have His Day
by Mitch Frank

I love New Hampshire. Having visited the Granite State at least twice a year since I was a kid, I have fallen in love with its scenery and its people. I love the fact this rugged place has produced some of the most independent minded, intelligent, hardy people in this nation. I also love that those people seem to enjoy nothing more than telling presidential front-runners to take their White House aspirations and shove them up their asses.

Ok, maybe I’m being a bit too graphic. But the point is New Hampshire enjoys a unique position as the nation’s first primary state, and it uses that privilege to its fullest potential by never giving a rubber stamp endorsement to a candidate just because polls have put him in first place.

That courage to take a good hard look at candidates and force them to be honest is at work as we speak. The two major political parties in America wanted a simple, two candidate race for president – with some wacko from the Reform Party thrown in for color. New Hampshire is reminding them that voters decide who should be president. And the Granite State is letting every underdog have his day.

Al Gore and the Democratic party establishment didn’t want a primary fight. Every major Democratic player jumped aboard Gore’s ship as early as possible – every player except Bill Bradley, that is. Their rush to endorse the vice president seemed to be an admission that Gore was not the strongest contender – certainly not as strong as his boss. Gore may be one of the smartest men in Washington, but he seems to prove daily that he can’t sell an idea to voters. Bill Clinton could sell ice to Eskimos. Granted, he’d probably sleep with their daughter, but they’d be thankful for the ice.

But despite all of Gore’s problems, no one wanted a primary fight. If the Democrats all pulled together and supported Gore, they could maybe push him past the juggernaut of a George W. Bush campaign. Just keep reminding voters the economy is strong and that electing Bush would be giving the GOP Congress a blank check to do whatever it wants.

When Bill Bradley decided to run, no one worried at first. After all, Bradley has his share of problems. He is an enigma. He is aloof and intellectual. He is not what people usually want from their politicians. I myself didn’t think he had much of a shot. After all, many thought Gore’s greatest weakness was the boredom factor. But when it comes to boredom, comparing Gore to Bradley is like comparing concrete to cement. The only people who seemed to be excited about a Bradley campaign were basketball fans, who for some reason assumed that if Bradley was in the White House, he would immediately appoint Michael Jordan to command the armed forces.

And then New Hampshire voters started paying attention.

They saw Gore – desperate to convince you he’s not Al Gore or Bill Clinton, stuffed full of endorsements from every donkey from Jessie Jackson to Barney Frank, and focusing mostly on how to fight Governor W’s 400 point lead in the polls.

And they saw Bradley – who doesn’t seem to care what pollsters say, who doesn’t currently live in Washington, and who doesn’t speak like politician, in fact doesn’t even speak like he’s ever taken a public speaking class. He kind of speaks to a crowd like tree sap speaks to a crowd.

And New Hampshire voters decided they liked the tree sap from New Jersey.

Now, a race for the Democratic nomination was not expected, but with Gore running for office like a man convinced he accidentally left the stove on back home, a race was probably inevitable.

But no one expected George W. Bush to have to fight anything besides being buried under an avalanche of campaign contributions.

As early as Bush’s inauguration for a second term as Governor of the state with the highest per capita of people saying “Howdy!” regularly, the Republican party made it very clear what their battle plan was for the 2000 election – Nominate the guy who can win.

Bush was their easy choice. He had the best shot of beating Gore or anyone else the Democrats threw at him. And as the primary campaign began and other candidates began cropping up, you could almost hear the GOP powers-that-be quietly whispering, “Just nominate Bush. He’ll win.” W seemed to be avoiding all of the normal pitfalls that GOP candidates run into. He didn’t pander to the right and offend moderates. But the Christian Coalition still loved him. They want a winner. Anyone who can get the White House back from Clinton.

But then New Hampshire looked at W They saw a man with the entire establishment’s backing, a man with a huge pile of cash in his pocket, and a man who has not had to come out and say what he believes in. They see a man who has given the same identical stump speech for six months. And voters in New Hampshire said "Forget it. This guy has to prove to us we should nominate him because he should be president - not because he can be president."

And then they noticed John McCain. The senator from Arizona wasn’t catering to his party. He was not living large with a pile of cash and every Republican’s endorsement. This is mostly because every Republican seems to hate McCain. All the better in New Hampshire’s eyes. McCain was for cleaning up politics. He was a war hero who served almost six years in the Hanoi Hilton. And he was authentic. Just like Bradley in a way.

As soon as McCain started gaining ground, a lot of Republicans started speaking out against him. The press started printing reports that McCain has a temper problem – He’s a loose cannon. But New Hampshire voters are not put off by such attacks. They seem to sense Republicans are trying to discredit McCain to assure a victory for W.

So now, three months before the Granite State’s primary, an actual contest is emerging for both nominations. Gore and Bradley are in a dead heat. McCain is less then ten points behind Bush in some polls. And a lot of voters in other, less frigid states are starting to pay attention to the 2000 campaign.

Now, the primaries are still a good ways away. And McCain and Bradley have not necessarily proven they are the right men for their parties’ nominations. McCain needs to develop a larger agenda than reforming campaign finance and strengthening the military. And Bradley has yet to show clearly what his goals are.

But thanks to New Hampshire, what was once a boring race where primary voters merely ratified candidates the party establishments had already anointed, has become a real battle. All the candidates are having to prove their credentials to voters. And maybe, just maybe, America will get fired up about this election.

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