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THE SCOOP for August 23, 1999
___
The GOP Iowa Poll Winner May Have Had Prior Experience With Straws
And Other Various Stupidity
© 1999 Bob Harris
http://www.bobharris.com
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
At first glance, it seems that George W. Bush could have turned the
cocaine issue on its head, winning millions of votes, simply by uttering
one simple sentence:
"Yes, when I was younger, I did try cocaine. But I didnt inhale."
In one stroke, the issue would be confronted with Tim Allen-style
directness and turned into a reminder of Bill Clintons evasiveness.
Instead, the man the GOP hopes will make voters forget Bill Clinton has
issued his own series of half-tweaked semi-denials, strongly implying but
refusing to confront his widely-rumored past abuse of cocaine.
And this from the leader of the party which claims a monopoly on personal
responsibility.
By way of defense, Bush campaign prefers us to consider such issues as
strictly personal, and therefore outside the bounds of public debate.
To our credit, thats how millions of Americans would like to perceive the
issue. In a recent survey, roughly half said they think Bush should come
clean with his whole story, but an equal number said that past cocaine use
wouldnt affect their opinion of his candidacy.
Which isnt surprising: as the nation merely shrugs at the knowledge that
Al Gore smoked marijuana repeatedly and Newt Gingrich spent the last few
years Renewing America with a congressional aide 23 years his junior, most
sane people realize that, save the odd felony, the citizenry cares more
about public policy than private peccadilloes.
And so the question of Bushs possible drug use is debated as roughly
equal to Bill Clintons sex life: both are framed as personal issues that
may or may not have public implications, and the debate therefore centers
largely over whether or not questions on such issues are even valid.
There is a difference, however.
And its not about honesty or integrity or any similarly rare conceit
among politicians. Both Bush and Clinton, in this example, have
demonstrated a disturbing inability to look America in the eye and say
what they did and didnt do. Both have tried to present this inability as
a strength of character, refusing to bow to such rude levels of inquiry.
And for both, the ploy has plainly failed.
Heres the difference:
Oral sex is not a felony. (Thats not quite true, actually: in a dozen
states, it is; however, the laws are rarely prosecuted. And thank God.
Almost everyone I know would be in prison.)
Cocaine possession is.
The state of Texas alone where George W. Bush is Governor -- locks up
about 15,000 people each year for drug offenses.
One recent study by the Texas Justice Policy Council found that 64%
percent of those convicted of cocaine possession in Texas were holding
less than *half a gram.*
For those of you unfamiliar with drugs: in terms of amount, thats very
roughly comparable to sending someone to prison for a single marijuana
joint.
Leaving aside here any debate over legalization, sentencing fairness, or
other specific aspects of drug policy, and merely looking at the question
of intellectual consistency, lets just look at the amazing position the
leading campaign fundraiser in American history now asks us to accept:
Do the math, and George Bush, in his term as Governor of the state of
Texas, has presided over the felony imprisonment of roughly 10,000 people
for precisely the same activity that he is now increasingly hinting he
engaged in himself.
This is the frame in which the current debate should be properly set.
If indeed, as now seems likely, Bush eventually concedes earlier casual
cocaine abuse, a stronger argument for either
a) George W. Bushs unfitness for office,
b) the insanity of current drug laws, or, arguably,
c) both
could not possibly be made.
___
President Clinton is proud of the 1996 Welfare Reform law. The number of
recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) has fallen by
half, and the number of welfare recipients is down by over 5 million.
But does that mean Welfare Reform has worked? Not necessarily.
Just in time for the laws third anniversary, a new study from the Center
on Budget and Policy Priority looks at income changes for single parent
households accounting for 90 percent of
