Monkey See ...

• Author: BEGALA, PAUL
• Position: George W. Bush's campaign copies Bill Clinton's

How the Bush campaign copies Clinton's

THEY OUGHTA BE PAYING US ROYALTIES. For a veteran of the 1992 ClintonGore campaign, watching the 2000 edition of George W. Bush is like watching a cheesy cable-movie version of a great novel. The basics are there, but it's a pale imitation of the real thing.

From the moment he secured the nomination, in a ruthless, vicious, amoral butchering of John McCain straight out of the Book of Atwater, George W. Bush has tried to reinvent himself in the image of the man he most despises: Bill Clinton. It must gall Bush to no end; it must tear at his soul and torment his mind to know that his best shot at replacing the man who trounced his father lies in copying the very tactics and techniques of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign.

This is not a case of grudging admiration, not at all like the scene in "Patton" in which George C. Scott stands in the desert and shouts at Rommel's tanks, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!" No, while Bush clearly read Clinton's book (or had someone read it to him), he would never call Clinton "magnificent," nor would he acknowledge the debt he owes Clinton. How does he flatter Clinton? Let me count the ways.

Most fundamentally, Clinton's ads and allies ceaselessly proclaimed him to be "a different kind of Democrat" back in 1992. Today, we hear Bush supporters endlessly extolling him as "a different kind of Republican."

Back in 1992, Clinton decried the excessive partisanship in Washington, calling for "an end to the brain-dead politics of both parties in Washington." In June, Bush outlined his governing philosophy (such as it is), saying, "There is too much argument in Washington and not enough discussion. Too much polling and not enough decision-making. Too much needless division, not enough shared accomplishment. Not enough final acts and resolutions, and lasting achievements" Kind of wordy, but it's the same thought.

Clinton never missed a chance to pose with police officers or meet with businessmen--just to prove he was not the old soft-headed kind of Democrat. Bush never misses a chance to take a photo with a minority child, a woman, or a senior citizen--just to prove that he is not the old hard-hearted kind of Republican.

Clinton strolled back to the press section of our campaign plane, endlessly jawing with reporters, charming them, inquiring about their families, and debating arcane aspects of public policy with the wonkier reporters. Bush does the same thing...