After 28 Years, Democrats Return

CHICAGO (AllPolitics, Aug. 26) -- When Democrats open their four-day Chicago convention today, it will be a party and a coronation, but it will also be a journey back in time to when America split apart over the Vietnam war.

Just don't expect a lot of big decisions. President Bill Clinton skated through last spring's Democratic primaries with no opponent weightier than fringe candidate Lyndon LaRouche, and Vice President Al Gore's place on the ticket was never in doubt, either.

A "unity" platform was wrapped up weeks ago, so ideological wrangles also were much less of an issue for the Democrats than they were for Republicans in San Diego.

At least some of the focus -- unofficially, anyway -- will be remembering 1968, when a deeply divided Democratic party gathered in Chicago to nominate Hubert H. Humphrey.

It was one of the rawest years in the nation's recent past, marked by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. More violence erupted between police and anti-war demonstrators and the conflict became one of the indelible memories of that convention.

Some of the protestors have returned, including California State Sen. Tom Hayden, who is a delegate this year.

In the absence of making any actual decisions, there's nothing mysterious about the Democrats' goal in Chicago: This is a show designed to make the case that Clinton deserves another four years in office and that Democrats deserve another chance to control Congress.

For tonight's opening session, the Democrats are using a tactic that the Republicans used in San Diego: giving "average people" speaking slots in prime time, rather than an endless succession of politicians.

Delegates will hear from Chicago policeman Mike Robbins and Toledo plant worker Todd Clancy, as well as gun control advocate Sarah Brady and disabled activist Christopher Reeve.

Even without any real drama and suspense, though, there are some questions that should be answered between now and Thursday night, when the last balloon falls:

Will Democrats be as successful as the Republicans were earlier this month in presenting a unified, harmonious image to swing voters who could determine what happens in November?

What sort of second-term agenda will Bill Clinton lay out, as he travels by train across Ohio and Michigan and finally speaks to delegates and a national television audience on Thursday night?

On the stump Sunday and today, Clinton has been down-home and partisan but on Thursday night, administration officials expect a polished, "State of the Union II"-style speech, laying out accomplishments and looking into the future.

Will the party's liberal wing, upset at Clinton's approval last week of restrictive new welfare legislation, bite its lip and stay silent, or let its discontent be known?

An Associated Press survey found much unhappiness about Clinton's support for the welfare legislation. One of the opponents, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), is set to nominate Clinton on Wednesday night and Dodd has said he hopes people will talk about the welfare legislation.

What kind of bounce will the president get off his pre-convention train trip, the convention itself and his post-convention bus trip into Missouri and Tennessee? Some voter preference surveys suggest the president already is regaining some of the lead that Republican nominee Robert Dole managed to erode after San Diego.

Can the 15,000 reporters, editors and anchors stay awake for four days of "news lite"? Analysts grumble at the stage-managed nature of modern-day conventions and wonder what declining viewership will mean for coverage in 2000 and beyond. Conventions have become just another stop on the campaign trail, only longer.

After 28 Years, Democrats Return

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