I've always been infatuated by listening to Democrats but have never been able to put my finger on exactly why. A psychologist might argue that deep down I am struggling with some sort of repressed socialistic tendencies; however, I think my fascination with listening to members of this party is largely due to the raw entertainment value they provide every time they open their mouths.
And this election year, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles has not disappointed. But with Bowles, the things he says are not nearly as amusing as the things he fails to mention.
The former White House chief of staff and UNC alumnus paid a visit to campus Monday evening and, as he has done throughout his campaign, made little mention of the fact that his White House service occurred during the administration of President Bill Clinton.
In fact, Bowles spent nearly four years working with Clinton not only serving as his chief of staff but also as deputy chief of staff and as an administrator with the Small Business Administration.
Now, being the astute political observer that I am, I realize that there is a simple explanation for Bowles' behavior: Clinton is highly unpopular among N.C. voters and never once carried the state in either of his presidential bids.
Given that, it seems only politically savvy that Bowles might want to downplay his association with Clinton. However, his efforts to erase "the Clinton years" from his past have gone far past simply ignoring them.
For example, in one of Bowles' initial campaign ads that aired earlier this summer, he not only omitted any video clips of himself and Clinton together but assembled an ad that included a scene with him and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., chatting. The campaign eventually pulled the ads after Lott publicly expressed chagrin for them.
But the Clinton bullet isn't the only one Bowles has been dodging lately. He has also made little mention of the fact that he did a complete 180 on whether to grant President Bush "fast-track" trade negotiating authority.
"Fast-track" authority, which passed Congress earlier this year, will expedite trade negotiations between the United States and foreign nations by forcing members of Congress to vote trade agreements either up or down instead of modifying them as they were formerly allowed to do.
