By Ed Gold
Dick Gephardt paid a visit to the Village last week, once more reaching for the presidential brass ring that he first sought 15 years ago, and with results likely to be the same this time around.
Gephardt at 62 comes neatly packaged, wearing a dark blue suit and blue shirt with red tie, his hair nicely trimmed and showing some gray and with a delivery that reflects the flatlands of Mid-America.
He is clean-cut, sincere, intelligent, knowledgeable and progressive, but has had the misfortune of winding up as minority leader rather than speaker of the House since the Democrats lost the lower chamber in 1994.
Like Joe Lieberman, the piety candidate, who visited our neighborhood some months ago, Gephardt lacks the flair, electricity or pizzazz that can grab an audience.
The crowd at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon where he was hosted gave him a respectful reception, beginning with the introduction by Chamber President Michael Haberman who called him “one of the nation’s distinguished leaders.”
But only twice during his address did he receive what might be considered heartfelt applause. Once, when talking about healthcare, a favorite topic for all Democratic primary combatants, he promised: “I would repeal Bush’s tax cuts and replace them with a healthcare plan for all Americans that can never be taken away from them.”
He received another good hand when, in urging an increase in the minimum wage, he argued that “work should always pay more than welfare.”
Of course, our former president once promised similar health coverage in a State of the Union address, but massive opposition in the private sector prevailed, leaving the promise stillborn.
As for Gephardt’s support for an increased minimum wage, shared by most other Democrats, he has more reason to stress his pro-labor credentials since he is staking his candidacy to a large extent on major labor backing and even an A.F.L.-C.I.O. endorsement.
Getting that endorsement will be a hard nut to crack since the national labor organization has only done it twice: for Walter Mondale in 1984 and Al Gore in 2000 — and both lost.
At the moment, Gephardt has slightly more than 15 percent of organized labor behind him, but winning A.F.L.-C.I.O. endorsement requires a two-thirds majority.
While he leads in union endorsements, the numbers are somewhat deceptive. Only the endorsement of the Teamsters looms large. Major non-manufacturing unions like those representing teachers and municipal workers remain on the sidelines.
At the Chamber luncheon, Gephardt used some old-fashioned campaign techniques in hopes of stirring his audience. For example, a standard for Democrats in particular is invoking one’s humble beginnings. He did so by noting that his father drove a milk truck
He also followed the tradition of mentioning a local hero, but in this instance, though well intended, it didn’t resonate. Given his pro-labor proclivities, he gave special praise to Senator Robert Wagner, of the Wagner Labor Relations Act, back in the 1930s! The audience response gave further evidence that speakers who remind us of the Roosevelt era should only invoke the Roosevelt name and let others rest in peace.
Gephardt plucked another favorite Democratic string: his loyalty to the middle class, which of course includes most Americans. Democrats increasingly use this approach in part for fear that if they show too much sympathy for the poor or rap the rich, they’ll be accused of class warfare. Gephardt by his own count used “middle class” in his speech 26 times.
Only in his strong opposition to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Act, does Gehardt part sharply with many of his opponents. He insisted he was for free trade and only wants trade agreements with developing nations to include improved wage and environmental standards. There is a touch of protectionism in his argument when he opposes “cheap Chinese textile imports” that inevitably take away jobs in the U.S. He is right to ask for improved standards, but he knows full well that there is no possibility of equity in wage levels in the foreseeable future.
Like the professional he is, Gephardt remained upbeat at a brief news conference after his speech, assuring the press that “I will win the Democratic Party nomination and I will replace George Bush in the White House.”
He has of course some huge hurdles facing him, the first of which is to win the Iowa caucus next winter. He won there in ’88 and a loss there would send him back to Missouri.
He faces major candidates in the two Senator Johns — Kerry and Edwards — as well as former Governor Howard Dean, all of whom have raised more money than he has, plus Senators Bob Graham and Lieberman.
Dean has stunned all the others with his extraordinary Web site fundraising. He is the media flavor of the month, making the covers of Time magazine and Newsweek. He opposed the Iraq war and supports same-sex unions so he has become the favorite Democratic candidate of the cowboy in the White House.
It would be helpful if local presidents of the educational variety, John Sexton of N.Y.U. and Bob Kerrey of New School, would invite the other major candidates to the neighborhood since Lieberman and Gephardt have already been on display.
A very high standard has been set in the Village by a former candidate, Bill Clinton, who transmitted energy, increased the pulse and brought audiences to their feet.
Unfortunately, as far as the White House is concerned, he’s been there, done that.
