Election 2000 Essays - Political Parties In The United States

Election 2000 Election 2000 overview Presidential election cycles are always three-ring circuses, and the 2000 election has become one of the biggest circuses ever. With a two-term president unable to seek re-election, the House of Representatives clearly up for grabs, and Democrats counting on major Senate gains -- even hoping to win control -- there is a lot at stake in this year's elections. Republicans' optimism is based on their view that they will take back the White House after an eight-year hiatus. GOP insiders believe that Americans are tired of Bill Clinton, have doubts about Vice President Al Gore and are ready for change. Republican turnout was down in 1998, which helps account for the party's poor showing in the off-year elections. And even the most loyal Republican will agree that the party's recent presidential nominees, Bob Dole and former President George Herbert Walker Bush (in 1992), failed to excite Republicans and Independents. GOP strategists think that strength at the top of the ticket in 2000 wil l help all Republican candidates. Democrats have reasons to worry about the presidential race. While Republicans held the White House for three consecutive terms from 1980 to 1992, voters often grow tired of one party after two terms. Ethics questions and controversies involving Clinton and Gore have also given Republicans ammunition. And recent history isn't with the Democrats. Only four sitting vice presidents -- John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren and George Bush -- were elected directly to the presidency in the entire history of the nation. Al Gore is hoping to make it five. The GOP presidential nominee, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, recovered after a shaky start during the primary season and tried to establish education as his most important issue. Surveys throughout the summer showed him with an early lead, which grew dramatically just before the GOP's national convention. Those same polls showed voters gave him high marks on his ability to handle key issues, including traditional Democratic ones such a s health care, education and Social Security. Even more important, those same polls showed him with a significant advantage over the vice president in the area of leadership. But Gore changed all that with his performance on the last day of the Democrats' Los Angeles national convention. Whether it was the highly publicized kiss he gave his wife, Tipper, or his fiery, populist speech, Gore changed the public's view of him. No longer was he a political opportunist or stiff second banana. Instead, he was a passionate, loving father and husband who lacked many of Clinton's weaknesses. Public sentiment turned on a dime. Instead of being down double-digits in the polls, as he was going into the Democratic convention, Gore jumped a few points ahead of Bush. Gore's luck didn't change when he left California. He and his running mate, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, began a whirlwind campaign swing, with Lieberman -- the highly regarded Orthodox Jew and critic of the president's personal behavior -- vouching for Gore's integrity, morality and sincerity. Gore's selection of Lieberman was regarded as a bold move. While some liberals and African Americans in the Democratic Party complained about the senator's moderate stands, Lieberman reiterated his support for the Gore agenda and helped the Vice President re-introduce himself to the country. At the same time, Bush's running mate, former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, was fanning the fuels of controversy by delaying a decision about what he would do with certain Halliburton stock options, and Bush was floundering when asked about his tax cut plan and about his charge that the U.S. military was not fully ready. While Gore looked relaxed and energetic, Bush made mistakes, including miscalculating how the debate over debates would play, a much publicized gaffe in front of an open microphone, and his mispronunciation of the word subliminal. Post-Labor Day polls suggested that Gore surged ahead of Bush by at least a few points. Republicans became much less optimistic about Bush than they were in July, while Democrats, who started to wonder about Gore's electability, turned increasingly hopeful. But the race turned again before the end of September, when Bush went on two popular daytime television shows and Gore was hit by the media and his GOP opponents