Shopping for a Candidate
Once upon a time, "Buyer's Remorse" was all about changing your mind after buying something. But the political world—always eager to become a leading indicator—has now fast-forwarded that idea, adopting a new notion: "Shopper's Remorse." Forget about regretting things after they happen. Why not regret a decision before it's even made? Why should politicians wait, for instance, to critique the president's State of the Union speech until after he gives it? Why not deliver your postmortems prespeech, and get to the country first? The Prebuttal.
So now comes the pre-presidential campaign, which is operating on a similar premise: Change your mind now to reduce the remorse when you finally decide. After all, there are plenty of options in an ever expanding field. No one has been nominated. And no purchase is required until the first primaries eight months from now. So before we really even know the folks standing on the stage, why not look behind the curtain? So far, Republicans are more afflicted with this shoppers' malaise than Democrats: Recent polls show that as many as 57 percent of Republican primary voters are anxious about their candidates, even unsatisfied. And in a reversal from past elections, it's the Democrats who appear much more sanguine—with 63 percent giving a nod of approval to their field.
Ah, but it's early. And if you're Fred Thompson or Al Gore, flirting is fun, particularly when the audience is so receptive and anxious to win. It's also seductively easy: As former Washington Insiders, just run against Washington. The talking points might be in, say, a new book, in which you rail against the "crisis of democracy" (Gore, The Assault on Reason). Or make your points in assorted interviews in which you complain about the "disconnect out there between the people and Washington" (Thompson, USA Today). What's the risk of denouncing the status quo when the president has a job approval rating that hovers at around 30 percent and Congress doesn't fare much better? Besides, while you once served in Washington, you're gone now. And gone is a good place to be when a majority of voters disapprove of the Democratic Congress they just elected.
Consider Thompson, who last week made it clear he's tiptoeing into the race. Weeks ago, he let it be known that he had cancer (in remission). Now that we've digested that news, he's quit his TV show (Needed: a new bourbon-sipping DA for Law & Order!) and hit the stump, "testing the waters" (Alert the donors!). Of course, he intends to go YouTube, spreading his message via blogs and video posts. And, by the way, stay tuned: He will have something more definite to tell us, say, around July 4 (Pictures!). "He can't keep his intentions a secret forever," says Tony Fabrizio, a Republican strategist and pollster not affiliated with any candidate. "He's going to be competing against guys who have been in this seriously for a long time."
Professional noncandidate. But he can remain coy for a while. It's working for Al Gore, the new Zenmaster of Coy. Gore has become a practiced noncandidate, able to look honestly astonished each and every time a journalist asks the obvious are-you-a-candidate question. It's an acquired skill, which he has acquired while happily selling books along the way. But it's not his fault, really. The Gore (non)candidacy is a media creation. For now, at least, most Democrats like their candidates just fine. It's the pundits who are unsatisfied. "There's a buyer's remorse of the media elite" with the Democratic field, says pollster Geoff Garin. "The press just wants to see Gore go up against Hillary." But what about those Democratic voters who worry that neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama can win in a general election? "Well," says Garin, "they could have those same concerns about Gore as well." True enough. Especially after a book tour that reminds us why we didn't much like listening to Gore's lectures in the first place.
Should we be surprised that we're discovering flaws among the candidates? Or that some wannabes (say, Newt Gingrich) are holding back for now, all the while letting it be known that they'll pounce at any opportune moment? Of course not. The real story is that two thirds of the voters believe the country is headed down the wrong track. They don't like the president or the war. They're full of remorse. So they've gone shopping.
This story appears in the June 11, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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