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Bush and Gore: Same Target, Different Policies BY SHIREEN FAHMY
Any candidate for presidential office in the United States should take this cultural heritage into account, for he would be mistaken if he ignored this aspect that dominates the mentality of the American voter and explains, even if only implicitly and partially, the behaviour and actions of that voter. Therefore, we can claim that the real objective that both George Bush Junior and Al Gore are after at present is to court the pride of the American voter. Each of the two candidates may follow different approaches towards achieving this end, but they would be speaking the same language in the end. While George Bush believes that achieving strategic dominance is the only appropriate way to reach this end, Al Gore is of the opinion that economic dominance is the best and most appropriate way. Bush believes that the slogan of full dominance for the United States, whether it is achieved through the revival of Star Wars or opposition of a full ban on nuclear testing, will appeal to the pride and sense of distinction and uniqueness of the American voter, while Gore thinks that the slogan of American economic dominance and keeping the American citizen as the owner of the highest income in the world is more important. Bush and the Strategic Dimension In his electoral campaign, George Bush has promoted the notion of a Great America that possesses the best and most sophisticated weapons. He focuses on several points in his campaign, as follows: Star Wars, which was adopted by former president Ronald Reagan, opposition of a full ban on nuclear tests, making deterrence the first line of defense against nuclear attack, having a giant nuclear defense scheme and the reduction of a large number of nuclear warheads that Moscow would need to implement for economic reasons. Here, we find George Bush Junior is reviving the Cold War atmosphere in the United States, putting the American people once again in a state of apprehension, anticipation and challenge towards China and Russia as the representatives of the "red danger" that symbolized the communist threat in the past. Evidence of this can be found in Bush's "violent" attitude towards these two countries, which he listed among the enemies of the United States. Bush makes no secret about his loyalty to the issue of defense as the first topic on his scale of priorities. As prospective president, he does not aim only at defending the United States, but also at defending the United States allies and interests overseas. He also makes no secret that all domestic issues, including education, health, environment and social care, come second after defense. When it comes to talking about the defense policy, we find Bush unhesitatingly pledging to allocate billions of dollars to it. George Bush does not hide his wish to make American weapons a predominant factor in the battlefields of the future, so that America may become, and remain, the only country qualified for peacekeeping from its own point of view and also that it may become the only nation capable of redefining the concepts of war and peace. This stand was quite obvious when George Bush Junior denounced President Clinton's decision of 2 September 2000 that he would not forge ahead with the Anti-Missile Defence System program, whose costs were estimated at $60 billion. Bush described the decision as reflecting a general failure in the field of security, adding, "As a president, I intend to develop and deploy an effective anti-missile defence system as soon as possible, so as to protect American citizens against collateral damage caused by missiles or extortion by these outlaw states. President Clinton's announcement will leave this unresolved issue to the next president, which reflects the failure of the Clinton-Gore Administration in reinforcing American defences over the past seven years," continued Bush. Unlike George Bush, Al Gore stated that he was convinced of the president's view, calling for careful action and more tests of the system. Gore And The Economic Dimension Al Gore may strike hard at Bush's strategic campaign by accusing him of naivete and lack of depth with regard to foreign issues. He may also accuse him of irresponsibility and abysmal ignorance of foreign policy. Of course, the Gore electoral campaign will penetrate through this hole in order to achieve its ends. So, it might be said in the Gore campaign that "the agenda of George Bush does not reflect any sense of responsibility," that it "apparently lacks the depth of experience that would protect America's security" and that "George W.Bush's knowledge of foreign policy starts with Slovenia and ends with Slovakia." However, the point of difference between Bush and Gore is that the latter strongly refuses the "halo" of the Cold War that the former wants to revive; that halo which causes a state of tension and instability. As John Woolf Stahl, an arms control expert in an international peace centre in Washington, says, "The more aggressively you seek defence, the less stable the world security services become." Contrary to the policy of anticipation and challenge advocated by Bush, Al Gore calls for diplomacy, which he sees as the first line of defence for American national security. Gore may deem it fit to show the American people that there is no longer room for isolationism, which is advocated by the Republicans, as it has become void of content after we entered the Third Millennium. Due to his firm belief in diplomacy, Al Gore has placed his first priority on economy. To him, economic dominance comes before strategic dominance. In fact, the economic dimension has gained extreme importance in the wake of the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s, becoming the first criterion of control and dominance. Avoiding Details and Toeing the Centre Line In their quest for coming out victors in the electoral campaign, both candidates have tried to avoid going into detail whenever possible, so as to win as many votes as possible. George Bush Junior has apparently committed himself to this policy in presenting his strategic program, which made Gore and his supporters accuse him of being irresponsible and inexperienced. Similarly, Gore's presentation of his economic agenda was not comprehensive. Toeing the Centre line is also one of the tools that no candidate who has the White House in his sights can do without. Each of the two candidates has been swinging between Right and Left nimbly and smartly, so as to make all voters, regardless of their political orientations, feel that he is their man who shares their beliefs. We see Al Gore the Democrat appearing as a conservative who prays and praises God in his campaign tours, which is certainly a novel appearance that no Democratic Party candidate has ever presented before. Playing the religious tune is as far from the Democrats' agenda as anything can be. It is enough to say that the late president John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first and only, so far, member of the Roman Catholic Church, which is known for its religious strictness, to sit in the Oval Office, and that while he was running for office, he promised to separate religion and politics completely. It is interesting to note that Newsweek has described Al Gore as the "status quo candidate" who will keep everything as it is and will make little change. It is worth mentioning here that the Democratic Party has witnessed a remarkable shift from left to centre under the Clinton Administration, as the Democratic Party has changed its well-known traditional view that supports the poor classes. The question now is: Will Al Gore, if and when he wins the elections, continue to toe the Centre line followed by President Clinton, or he will quickly get out of "Clinton's Cloak" once he makes it into the Oval Office? George Bush himself has toed the Centre line, as he calls himself a "compassionate Conservative." We see him playing with words, with utmost skill and intelligence, so as not to miss the hard rightists on the one hand or the moderate centrists on the other. This was clearly evident in his attitude on the marriage of gays, where he sometimes expresses strong opposition to this issue, while on other occasions showing compassion, as it were, towards gays by saying that they have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. Who Will Win The Casting Vote? American elections are often decided by a candidate's ability to realize the American Dream on the domestic scene, and how such a candidate can reach the American psyche we described at the beginning of this article. So far, it appears that the American voters will favour George Bush Junior for two reasons. First, Bush has charisma, a personality trait that appeals to theAmerican public in general. Second, Americans like change by nature, so they may not stand for a third Democratic Party term in the presidency, deeming eight years of administration of that party as enough. However, George Bush Junior is unlikely to win an overwhelming or sweeping victory over Al Gore. The votes that Gore will win will not be measly, given his party's economic achievements over the past eight years. Therefore, if George Bush Junior is unable to maintain the economic prosperity created by Clinton over the past eight years, the American voters will be greatly disappointed, which would undermine the popularity of the Republican Party among American citizens
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American voters differ from others in the view they have of themselves and their country. Americans grow up as extremely self-centered people who have great pride in their country, which results in non-challenge about what goes on outside their personal worlds or outside the United States.
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