Mullings by Rich Galen | Issue for December 20,1999

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Do You Have Prince Albert in a Can?

Monday, December 20, 1999

Al Gore is the Arnold Horshack of American politics. His debate with Bill Bradley on Meet the Press yesterday included eye rolls, heavy sighs, sarcastic laughter, interruptions, evasions, everything but shooting his hand in the air and going "Ooh! Ooh!" to get Tim Russert's attention.

Gore's technique is to bury tough answers inside another answer as a throwaway. As an example, Russert asked him if he would support an increase in retirement age:

Gore: Tim, I strongly oppose raising the retirement age.

Russert: Ever?

Gore: Let me tell you�

Russert: Ever?

Gore: Well, in the foreseeable future. Ever? I'll say ever, sure. And let me tell you why. You know, your logic is that since life spans are increasing, the retirement age should also increase �"

How do you think the teachers' unions are going to react to this statement by Gore: "� that means rigorous peer review of current teachers and making it easier within due process to fire the ones that are not doing the job." I want someone to call the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Sandra Feldman; or the president of the National Education Association, Bob Chase, and ask them what they think about this business of firing teacher for "not doing the job."

On campaign finance reform: Al Gore didn't say he invented campaign finance reform, but he said he had been "leading the fight" for campaign finance reform for 20 years. That little effort at the Buddhist Temple must have occurred between rounds.

The stunt du jour occurred when Gore stuck his hand out and challenged Bradley to swear off all commercials and, instead, agree to debate twice a week. Bradley's response? "You must be having trouble raising money."

Ok, so we went to New York City for the weekend to look at the lights and the people and the people and the people.

We went to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. My first thought was that there was something wrong with chopping down a tree which had withstood all the 20th century had thrown at it just for our amusement. But when I saw the thousands of people, most with their kids, who have come from all over the country - the world, maybe - to see the famous tree I decided it had given its life for a good cause.

The windows at Macy's are such a popular attraction there were people lined up just to get to file past them. The number of people inside Macy's would have made Gimbel's jealous if Gimbel's still existed, which it does not.

I was in the elevator of my hotel when a woman and her two young children got on. I allowed the boy to press number 20 for me because I was in full Christmas spirit mode. Then I asked him if he had gloves. He just looked up at me. I assumed they were from overseas so, in the style that has made Americans popular everywhere, I asked the question again, but s-l-o-w-e-r and LOUDER.

His mother said that, as they were from Minnesota, it didn't feel all that cold to them in New York. "Ah," I said as the elevator stopped. "My floor."

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