From: AdmrlLocke@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 1998 5:19 AM Subject: GrammNet: My Column from The Des Moines Register 7/15/98 GrammNet Issue 7/15/98 Dear Friend, Following is my column, hot off the presses, from today's issue (Wednesday, July 15, 1998, page 7A) of The Des Moines Register. It represents a coup of sorts: the first column of mine to get accepted since a new person at the Register received the authority to accept and reject columns. The new person doesn't much like me, and it took me 15 months to finally get her to accept a column. The column deals with my impressions of the presidential candidates who spoke at the First in the Nation Presidential Gala in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the night before the Iowa Republican Convention. Subsequently I heard Dan Quayle speak in Iowa City, and am working on a column about him as well. The current column runs in the Register under the title "None of GOP crowd offers as much as Gramm" which is the Register's title, not mine. Sincerely, David B. Levenstam, CPA, MT, MA GrammNet back issues at http://www.geocities.com/Capitolhill/3390/ To subscribe to GrammNet, email me at AdmrlLocke@aol.com, with a message to the effect that you'd like to subscribe. Presidential Impressions By David B. Levenstam, CPA, MT, MA In 1996 my choice for president was clear. I'd followed Phil Gramm's career for a decade and a half, and knew he was a smart, honest, well-rounded conservative who spoke his mind and didn't take any guff from anyone, friend or foe. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem likely to run in 2000, and no current candidate has yet demonstrated his stature, integrity, or all-around conservatism. So like several thousand other Republicans and several handfuls of media folk, I went to Cedar Rapids to hear and meet (or in some cases, meet again) a bevy of presidential wannabes. Publisher Steve Forbes has improved markedly since his first run in 1996. He speaks better, and more importantly, addresses issues other than the flat-tax, which he still supports. He also addresses social issues and foreign policy, making him a more well-rounded candidate. He's been speaking against Bill Clinton's lack of character, Chinese policies and acceptance of foreign campaign contributions. He's also been an active advocate of a federal ban on partial-birth abortions. Whether a large share of social conservatives will be persuaded remains to be seen, but Forbes sounded fairly good. Radio commentator Alan Keyes was one of those social conservatives not persuaded. Keyes attacked Forbes as a "hypocrite" for addressing social issues. If Keyes were wise, he'd take credit for converting Forbes instead. But Keyes seemed bent on attack: in addition to Forbes, Keyes attacked Newt Gingrich, the Republican Congress, and even the mostly-conservative audience of activists. Keyes seemed to think the words of the Declaration of Independence sound better when yelled. They don't. His supporters tend to be sweet, politically-naive social conservatives who like being preached at on Sunday and think most other Americans do too. We don't. Lamar Alexander managed to dodge the abortion bullet again. In 1996 he dodged it by claiming that abortion was a state rather than federal issue, while not taking a stand on the issue itself. This time he's got an even better dodge: he supports the parents' "responsibility to nurture their children from conception onward" without mentioning whether he thinks the government should defend those children before birth. While anyone that slippery is a potential threat to principled candidates, he doesn't seem likely to do any better in 2000 than he did in 1996. Marilyn Quayle spoke on behalf of her husband Dan, a former vice president. Her soft-spoken talk of an idyllic Iowa, while demonstrating an ignorance of Iowa's drugs, crime, divorce and other misery, still came as a welcome respite from the yelling of some of her husband's rivals. He could be a serious contender if he takes a similarly non-caustic approach to wooing Iowa's Republicans. Above all else Iowans like nice people. John Kasich gave a nice homey speech about summer vacations in the family car. He's bright and attractive, and does well with an audience or small group of admirers. But he gets prickly and dismissive when asked difficult questions. He doesn't listen. His judgement must be called into question because he supported and defended Clinton's big-spending 1998 budget. Still, he's only 46, so maybe he just needs some time to mature. Steve Largent, Bob Barr, Mark Racicot: who? New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith doesn't seem to have a prayer of winning. That's really too bad, because he's intelligent, principled and conservative. He's also the most genuine of the current candidates, and could give Kasich a lesson or two on humility. Missouri Senator John Ashcroft, known primarily as a social conservative, gave a speech surprising for its focus on non-social issues. He may be a well-rounded conservative candidate, capable of uniting social conservatives and economic conservatives like Ronald Reagan did and like Gramm should have been able to do. Unfortunately, his ice cream social seemed hokey and prevented real discussion. Conventional wisdom says he could be the standout candidate in 2000, meaning he probably won't be. Gary Bauer, head of the Campaign for Working Families, gave the most surprising speech of the evening. Often painted as dour and judgmental, Bauer gave a soft-spoken, thoughtful and touching talk. If there's any candidate who feels the pain of the generation which grew up during Vietnam, it's Bauer rather than Clinton. Unfortunately, Bauer discussed only two issues: abortion and China. A president has to deal with a host of other issues, including taxes, spending and regulation, all of which undermine not only our economic lives, but our spiritual lives as well. If only we could merge Bauer and Forbes, we might have a candidate as good as Phil Gramm.