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| FULL STEAM AHEAD | |
 August 18, 2000 
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As Gore and Lieberman kick their campaign into high gear, Kwame Holman reports on how the Gore/Lieberman ticket is fairing in the crucial swing states.
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KWAME HOLMAN: Presidential campaigns often shift into all-out sprints to the finish line once the major party conventions end. But Al Gore and Joe Lieberman decided to spend their first post convention days floating down the Mississippi River on a paddle wheeler. Gore and Lieberman flew overnight from Los Angeles and arrived early this morning in La Crosse, Wisconsin...the launch point for a four-day...five city...400 mile campaign cruise on a riverboat named "Mark Twain." Wisconsin traditionally has been a Democratic state, and hundreds of supporters from in and around La Crosse gathered at the riverfront for a sendoff rally. |
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Gore/Lieberman on the move |
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KWAME HOLMAN: While La Crosse rallied, many of Wisconsin's 92 convention delegates prepared to leave their Hollywood Hotel. Delegates from La Crosse watched the rally on TV and wanted to be there. DELEGATE: I would have loved to have been there. I always thought I'd be there if they ever came, but, on the other hand, it was really exciting to be here in Los Angeles for the convention, and it was impossible to get back. KWAME HOLMAN: From La Cross the riverboat campaign will head south to Dubuque, Iowa....Moline, Illinois...Keokuk, Iowa before finally docking at Hannibal, Missouri. Missouri is considered a swing state that could go either way in the presidential election. Show-me state delegates who watched and listened to Al Gore's speech last night believe their candidate went a long way toward swaying Missouri's swing voters. Becky Cook is Missouri's Secretary of State. KWAME HOLMAN: What do you think your fellow Missourians might get out of this speech?
KWAME HOLMAN: That's what they are looking for in the "show-me" state? BECKY COOK: That's what Missourians want. They want performance. They want problems solved. KWAME HOLMAN: Gore took the podium in an unorthodox manner.... from the front....through the crowd...like a popular talk show host. One of the concerns among Democrats was whether Gore would be able to distance himself from the shadow of Bill Clinton. Gore mentioned the President only once.
KWAME HOLMAN: Delegate Gene Oakley is a former college professor. |
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| Delegates delivering the message home | ||||||||||||||
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GENE OAKLEY: What I know about Al Gore and what I read is this is the real deal. This is the kind of guy he is. And I think, you notice Bill Clinton was mentioned, I think, once in the speech, and certainly he owes a lot to him, but it's a new day, and I think he's his own man, and he said that tonight. KWAME HOLMAN: From that point on in the speech it was all about Al Gore's vision of America.
KWAME HOLMAN: Joe Carmichael is chairman of Missouri's Democratic Party. KWAME HOLMAN: Did you feel that he was under intense pressure to deliver very well tonight? JOE CARMICHAEL: Well, if he was it didn't appear that way from the podium. I thought he did a great job. His delivery was superb and he talked about the issues that are important to all the people in Missouri, and particularly our working families. KWAME HOLMAN: Gore needed less than an hour to deliver his speech. He detailed specific solutions to more than a dozen problems and vowed to address them as President.
KWAME HOLMAN: Delegate Tom Campbell is a St. Louis lawyer. TOM CAMPBELL: He is in favor of tax cuts, but he is in favor of appropriate tax cuts, and not the squandering of the great benefit that this economy has given us. And if we can remove the debt of this nation in the next four years, that is a phenomenal feat that no one eight years ago ever thought could ever be attained. KWAME HOLMAN: Gore also dedicated a portion of the speech to family, speaking about his wife, Tipper, his mother, and himself.
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| Delegates not discouraged by poll numbers | ||||||||||||||
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KWAME HOLMAN: Kansas City's State Senator Mary Groves Bland said she isn't worried that the polls show George W. Bush leading in Missouri. MARY GROVES BLAND: I'm only worried if people won't take the time to look at how Vice President Gore will impact our country. I think they should fairly look at the issues, and then they decide. And I believe, if they did that, they would have to decide the Democratic Party is the best party for the people, and I believe that to my heart.
KWAME HOLMAN: Some of these Missouri delegates will be back in their home state in time to catch Al Gore's river tour at its final stop in Hannibal on Monday. These Wisconsin delegates missed their opportunity. They'll go home and campaign for Al Gore and hope he returns. Polls show the presidential race is tight in Wisconsin, but delegate Linda Honal is confident. LINDA HONAL: I think we're going to see a dramatic change from here on out, and Gore is going to pull ahead. We're going to be doing just fine when it comes election day because we're going to win. |
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AL
GORE: We always - remember - always - that our campaign to take the
White House on behalf of working families began the morning after the
convention right here in La Crosse, Wisconsin. 
BECKY
COOK: Well, I hope they got the fact that Gore is really educated, prepared,
experienced and intent on doing the right thing, and that he's not going
to just sit back and try to look good. 
AL
GORE: For almost eight years now, I've been the partner of a leader
who moved us out of the valley of recession and into the longest period
of prosperity in American history. I say to you tonight: millions of
Americans will live better lives for a long time to come because of
the job that's been done by President Bill Clinton. "But now we
turn the page and write a new chapter. And that's what I want to speak
about tonight. This election is not an award for past performance. I'm
not asking you to vote for me on the basis of the economy we have. Tonight,
I ask for your support on the basis of the better, fairer, more prosperous
America we can build together.
AL
GORE: Together, let's make sure that our prosperity enriches not just
the few, but all working families. Let's invest in health care, education,
a secure retirement, and middle class tax cuts. To all the families
in America who have to struggle to afford the right education and the
skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs - I want you to know this: I've
taken on the powerful forces. And as President, I'll stand up to them,
and I'll stand up for you. To all the families - to all the families
who are struggling with things that money can't measure - like trying
to find a little more time to spend with your children, or protecting
your children from entertainment that you think glorifies violence and
indecency - I want you to know: I believe we must challenge a culture
with too much meanness and not enough meaning.
AL
GORE: Not so long ago a balanced budget seemed impossible. Now our budget
surpluses make it possible to give a full range of targeted tax cuts
to working families - not just to help you save for college but to pay
for health insurance and child care - to reform the estate tax so people
can pass on a small business or a family farm - and to end the marriage
penalty the right way, the fair way, because we should not force couples
to pay more in income taxes just because they're married. But let me
say it plainly - I will not go along with a huge tax cut for the wealthy
at the expense of everyone else and wreck our good economy in the process.
AL
GORE: I know my own imperfections. For example, I know sometimes people
say I'm too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy and maybe
I've done that tonight -- but the presidency is more than a popularity
contest. It's a day-by-day fight for people. Sometimes, you have to
choose to do what's difficult or unpopular. Sometimes, you have to be
willing to spend your popularity in order to pick the hard right over
the easy wrong. 
AL
GORE: I know one thing about the job of the President. It is the only
job in the Constitution that is charged with the responsibility of fighting
for all the people; not just the people of one state, or one district;
not just the wealthy or the powerful-- all the people -- especially
those who need a voice, those who need a champion, those who need to
be lifted up so they are never left behind. So I say to you tonight,
if you entrust me with the presidency, I will fight for you.