From: AdmrlLocke@aol.com Sent: Thursday, August 19, 1999 1:02 PM To: undisclosed-recipients: ; Subject: GrammNet: WSJ On Straw Poll GrammNet Issue 8/19/99.1 Dear Friend, I thought you might like to read a clear-eyed, objective analysis of the Straw Poll as a nice antidote for the nonsense the liberal media have been spewing for their chosen candidate. So here's The Wall Street Journal editoral page analysis. Enjoy! Speaking of alternatives to the liberal media, there's a Republican named Charles Muth who runs an online newsletter you might find interesting. Here's what he says about it: "Welcome to our FREE Republican e-mail newsletter - "GOP News & Views" This often irreverent daily briefing contains short, pointed and hard-hitting quotes, stories and opinions that you won't likely find in your hometown newspaper. And unlike other GOP publications, we're not afraid to hold fellow Republicans' feet to the fire when necessary!" I don't always agree with Chuck, but I always find the newsletter stimulating. To subscribe to "GOP News & Views" email him at charmuth@aol.com. Sincerely, David B. Levenstam, CPA, MT, MA Forbes in 2000! GrammNet is an independent newsletter, not affiliated with Senator Gramm. To subscribe to GrammNet, email me at AdmrlLocke@aol.com, with a message to the effect that you'd like to subscribe. GrammNet back issues available at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3390/ Steve Forbes web page (Forbes 2000) at http://www.forbes2000.com The Wall Street Journal Monday, August 16, 1999 p. A14 Review and Outlook A Real Race Bill Buckley once quipped that he'd rather be governed by the first 30 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. That's also our thinking about Iowa Republicans after they showed the good sense to use their straw-poll Saturday to take the GOP Presidential contest away from party elites and turn it into a real race. Poll-struck media had all but declared George W. Bush the nominee. But Iowans gave the Texas governor only a probationary endorsement. While Mr. Bush can claim a solid victory, his 31.3% showing was well below his self-professed goal (and his national poll numbers) of better than 50%. This means that two of three Iowa voters who had a chance to consider him up close preferred someone else. Mr. Bush has work to do if he's going to be our next President. In particular, he'll have to contend with Steve Forbes, the publisher whose second-place, 20.8% finish shows he's learned from his first run in 1996. This time around he had an organization able to deliver nearly 5000 voters to Ames, Iowa, on a single day. His idea-laden message this time also combines both social and economic themes that give him a claim to be the conservative standard bearer. Another post-straw-vote contender will be Elizabeth Dole, whose strong (14.4%) third should allow her to raise enough money to fight on. On the bubble are Christian activist Gary Bauer (8.9%) and Pat Buchanan (7.3%), who finished third in 1995 but fell to fifth this time. Probably out of money, and perhaps the race, are Lamar Alexander, former Vice President Dan Quayle and perennial gadfly Alan Keyes. For cynics who say a straw poll isn't a real election, we only wish you could have been there. Nearly 25,000 Iowans turned out to vote and to listen to politicians on as beautiful as Midwest summer Saturday as you're likely to see. Hundreds drove for hours and then waited in traffic jams for the privilege. We'll take this exhibition in grass-roots democracy over most of our other modern, much more synthetic political rituals. Which is all the more reason for the candidates left standing to heed Iowa's message. Mr. Bush is going to have to put some ideas behind his obvious charisma. The bush backers we spoke to in Ames were quick to attribute their support to his ability "to win." But they and many others also told us they had no idea what he stood for, apart from an honorable family name that they hope would clean up Bill Clinton's moral debris. We'd also like to see Mr. Bush step away from his cloistered campaign and join the political debate. Heavily scripted photo-ops and speeches are nice, but they won't prepare him to take on Al Gore or Bill Bradley. Mr. Bush's detachment from the press and his GOP opposition will make some voters wonder if he and his advisers are afraid he might not be up to the job. Mrs. Dole, for her part, is even more content free. She is getting campaign mileage from the novelty of her gender, which is an honorable political tradition. But voters aren't about to elect the first woman President simply because she's a woman. Maybe she should ask Maggie Thatcher for a tutorial on the uses of political convictions. Meanwhile, Mr. Forbes is going to have to overcome lingering doubts that he can be elected to the White House as his first political office. The only modern precedent here is Eisenhower, who'd merely won a war. Our own view is that if would be liberating to elect a President from outside the normal political class, but Mr. Forbes has to make that case to the country. Mr. Forbes' competitors on the right also have some thinking to do. The publisher will argue, with some cause, that he is the only conservative who can go the distance against Mr. Bush. Mr. Buchanan is on his third run and, while he can still deliver a great applause line, has a message of economic grievance that falls flat in good times. CNN's "Crossfire" needs him back. As for Mr. Bauer, his continued candidacy would have the effect of dividing the right and thus helping Mr. Bush. He has also been espousing economic themes--production quotas in agriculture, protectionism toward China and opposition to Social Security reform--that sound more like Al Gore than Ronald Reagan. The one GOP candidate who avoided the straw poll--Senator John McCain--may want to reconsider for the February caucuses. No candidate has ever skipped Iowa and done well enough later in the primary season to win a major party nomination. And judging from Saturday's burst of common Iowa sense, that's a good thing.