But can Gore convert access into influence in a Clinton administration? If Clinton wins next month, Gore will arrive with a significant edge over his predecessors. Dan Quayle limped into office as a national joke after a disastrous 1988 campaign. Ronald Reagan openly voiced doubts about George Bush’s backbone before settling for him as a running mate in 1980. Clinton has already promised Gore heavy-lifting assignments in environmental, technological and national-security policy. He’ll also walk point in getting Clinton’s early program through Congress. But horse trading on the Hill is not Gore’s strong suit, and presidential assurances of a substantive role for the number-two man have a long and dreary history. To stave off irrelevance, he will need more than a warm relationship with Clinton.
A top priority will be placing trusted aides in key posts. This may not be easy with hordes of job-seeking FOBs (Friends of Bill) descending on Washing-ton. But Gore will need his own allies to stay in the power loop. Walter Mondale, widely considered the most influential modern vice president, landed two of his Senate staffers in top White House jobs (one as a deputy to national-security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski). He also successfully lobbied for several top cabinet appointments. Gore has a respected Senate staff from which to draw. Foreign-policy adviser Leon Fuerth schooled Gore on arms-control issues and played a major role in crafting his well-received Iraqgate speech last month. Former chief of staff Peter Knight and incumbent chief Roy Neel, who worked with Gore as a Nashville newspaper reporter in the 1970s, are also well regarded. “There’s a line on most Senate staffs–good, bad and so-so,” says a Clinton aide. “His is first-class.”
Gore is bound to pursue his interest in environmental issues if elected. But he might do well to avoid formal “line” assignments of the kind Quayle has taken on with his chairmanship of the National Space Council and the Council on Competitiveness. Such duties can enmesh a VP in capital-consuming turf battles and diminish his stature. Gore told NEWSWEEK that he’s considering a less structured approach that leaves him flexible for a broader role. “The formula will be a very simple one … I think it ought to be free-form,” he said. He’ll also need to continue to earn trust– both that of Clinton and, just as important, that of Clinton’s staff. There was grumbling in Little Rock last week about his failure to aggressively counter Dan Quayle’s character broadsides during a so-so debate performance.
Gore faces the likelihood that he’s already made his biggest contribution to a new administration–a crucial injection of stature for Clinton after his selection in July. Since then, he’s remained popular (the NEWSWEEK Poll shows him whipping Quayle 61-28 if voters picked a veep separately), but still just an opening act. One consolation is that victory would bring him closer to his ultimate ambition–winning the job he ran for unsuccessfully in 1988. Three of the last five veeps have won presidential nominations. “You have to be willing to accept some short-term frustrations,” says University of Minnesota political scientist Paul Light. He suggests that Gore keep his eye on the prize by fashioning a version of the now famous sign in Clinton’s Little Rock war room that distills the campaign to a one-liner, “The economy, stupid.” For Al Gore, it’s “The presidency, stupid.
