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One of the nation's top political analysts, Stuart Rothenberg, dissects politics at the congressional and statewide levels. |
Stuart Rothenberg: McCain, Bradley employing similar themes, languageBy Stuart Rothenberg/CNN
January 30, 2000
Web posted at: 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT)
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) - "I will always act on principle. I will always, always tell you the truth. No matter what," Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) told an overflow crowd on Saturday at the Windham Middle School in Windham, New Hampshire.
"Bill Bradley wants to get democracy back for the American people. There has never been any question about his integrity or trustworthiness," said former Clinton Administration Labor secretary Robert Reich in introducing the former New Jersey Democratic senator to a standing room-only crowd Sunday at Franklin Pierce Law School in Concord.
In a strange twist to bipartisanship, both McCain and Bradley -- political outsiders who are running against their own party establishment and the establishments' favorite candidates -- find themselves employing the same themes, even, at times, using eerily similar language.
The two presidential hopefuls, who decry the influence of money in the political system and the power of "special interests," say they believe that politics is a "noble profession," and they talk about their desire to run "different" campaigns that avoid "negative attacks" on their opponents. They express concern that young people in particular are "turned off" by politics, and promise to inspire a generation of Americans to do good. And they insist that they want to talk about what they stand for, not their opponents' weaknesses.
But McCain and Bradley have been forced to take on the front-runners, knowing that the only way now to stop Bush and Gore is to draw comparisons with them. And the comparisons inevitably include criticisms of the national front runners.
For Bradley, the issue of choice has become Al Gore's integrity; for McCain, it is Bush's tax cut proposal and the Texas governor's defense of the status-quo of the campaign finance system.
McCain insisted in Windham, as he has elsewhere, that he'll be in a better position than Bush to take on Gore on ethics and campaign finance. And Bradley turned around that argument in Concord to try to convince undecided voters to support him in Tuesday's primary.
"Unless we clear up our own house, the Republicans will clean up in the fall," said Bradley, adding that the vice president needs to give the country a better explanation about his fund-raising activities leading up to the 1996 presidential election.
Strategically, the two insurgents have a problem. While there clearly is pro-reform, anti-establishment sentiment in the electorate (and in New Hampshire, where Independent voters can participate in the primary and are often inclined to support insurgents), it is now divided among two candidates. That's particularly a problem in New Hampshire. But is there enough of an anti-establishment vote to support two anti-establishment candidates?
Maybe. And maybe not. But whether or not Bradley and/or McCain win on Tuesday, it should be clear by now that their reform-oriented message against special interests, entrenched power and big money has found an audience even in a time of prosperity and voter contentment.
"I'm running for president of the United States because I want to reform the government," said McCain in Windham. Bill Bradley could say -- and has said -- the same thing.
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