From Orlando, Florida
Florida Democratic State Convention
Al Gore spoke here Saturday to the 2,500 or so delegates to the Democratic State Convention.
The delegates were largely focused on the Democratic primary which is principally a race between Florida attorney, Bill McBride and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. But a fair number of national reporters showed up to see what kind of reaction Al Gore would get from the only remaining people on the planet who believe he won the 2000 Presidential election.
The morning did not begin well for Gore. The headline across the top of the front page of the Orlando Sentinel - the local paper which every delegate tripped over coming out of their rooms read: "Gore Needs More than Polite Applause from Party."
The writer, Sentinel Political Editor Mark Silva quoted Gore's Florida 2000 chairman as saying, "I assume that if Bush was (sic) running today he would win."
With that as a backdrop, there was a fair amount of anticipation to see whether Gore could provide any kind of spark.
He did.
Senator John Edwards (D-NC), who is desperately trying to make himself into a legitimate candidate for President, spoke first and got a pretty good response. To my ears he sounded too defensive about being a plaintiff's lawyer, although he attempted to turn that into a metaphor for working on behalf of the little guy against the big special interests.
His appearance WAS impressive until Gore showed up.
Not only did Gore have entrance music (U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name") but there were plenty of signs ("This is STILL Gore Country") for people to wave, which they did for a full five minutes.
Tipper Gore thanked the crowd for their help during the election and recount; then Gore took to the podium, pulled off his jacket, and tossed rhetorical red meat to this largely union crowd.
The general themes were the same as Edwards' speech: The little guy vs. the big special interests, but Gore, with a quarter of a century of practice, was better at it.
Gore had a lavaliere mike so he could drift away from the podium which he did once (to his left); didn't like it out there; walked back behind the podium, and stayed put.
Some points about the Gore speech:
-- This audience was composed entirely of the people who bussed voters to the polls on election day; then counted the ballots and marched in the streets during the five weeks that followed;
-- As this was the first opportunity for Gore to thank them in person, if Gore couldn't make his speech work here, he would not be able to make it work anywhere;
-- The small v. big theme is a metaphor for what is going on in the Democratic party. The party elders clearly want no part of a Gore candidacy; the people who were in the hall here would like nothing more;
The recent Gallup poll had the George W. Bush job approval at 76 percent with five percent undecided. We now know where the remaining 19 percent are: Sitting in the hall at the Florida Democratic State Convention in Orlando.
In fact, the exact themes, and the very language patterns which brought the delegates here to their feet cheering and waving signs are exactly the themes and language patterns which, according to poll after poll, are being received with a resounding clang by voters around the country - even Democratic voters.
So the problem that confronts the Democratic party is this: The Democratic elites and the party workers are not on the same page; the party workers and regular Democratic voters are on yet a different page.
The Democrats will have to rewrite this story. In Florida, where they are desperate to defeat Governor Jeb Bush this November, they will have to rewrite it very quickly.
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