Democrats Hope Morris Flap Will Fade Fast

By Craig Staats/AllPolitics

Morris Resigns

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CHICAGO (AllPolitics, Aug. 29) -- There's no getting around it. When a president's chief political strategist, a man who talked a lot about a "family values" agenda, is accused of consorting with a $200-an-hour prostitute, that's bad.

And the fact that the tabloid reports about Dick Morris broke on what should have been the final triumphant day of the Chicago convention was even worse.

It was the last thing the Democrats wanted -- messy, sleazy news, rather than managed, scripted harmony. But it is unlikely that the Morris flap will be a significant factor in the outcome in November.

First, most people gathered here -- even some of the Republicans -- think the story will be a one-day, or maybe two-day, wonder. In short order, the 1996 presidential campaign will move on to new issues, new controversies and new sparring between Clinton and rival Robert Dole.

More importantly, if voters four years ago didn't care about allegations of Bill Clinton's marital indiscretions, why would they be shocked now about what a campaign consultant does? Most voters don't know or care who runs a candidate's campaign, let alone who he sleeps with.

Still, there could be some effects. The most immediate impact is that the mess managed to step on the Democrats' final message from the convention -- the president's tax initiatives, as he was scheduled to outline them in his acceptance speech.

Instead of a clean crisp account on the evening news and in tomorrow's newspapers, the Day 4 coverage will be mixed and messy -- Clinton speech paired with Morris' embarrassing departure.

If Republicans are adroit enough, they may be able to get some mileage out of the imbroglio by playing up the sleaze factor. They will stress that Morris is the man who breathed new life into Clinton's re-election bid by counseling him to move back to the center and a "family values" agenda, and that looks ever more cynical, juxtaposed against a sex scandal.

Morris also represents another fallen Clinton confidante, if Republicans want to make a "judged-by-the-company-you-keep" argument.

Democrats were in full damage control today, begging for "context" and "perspective" as reporters chased the story. Some in the press wondered again, too, about supermarket tabloids like The Star setting the agenda for the mainstream news media.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said he doesn't think the Morris story will last long.

"I suspect, of course, that the Republicans are trying to figure just how they can give it legs," Leahy told CNN. "But I talked to somebody in my state earlier today and they said, 'Hey, we elect Bill Clinton, we don't elect Mr. Morris.' "

Isn't it embarrassing, though? asked CNN's Larry King.

"Virtually every time, there's somebody who gets fired somewhere during the campaign," Leahy said. "We all wring our hands for a couple days, and you and I would have a hard time, with all the campaigns we've seen, to sit down and try to remember today the names of all those people who got fired from both parties."

Attorney Vernon Jordan, a Clinton confidante, said Morris' departure was a loss to the campaign, but Clinton -- not Morris -- is the issue.

"My concern is that, as I watch this news coverage around here, you would think that Dick Morris was running for president rather than Bill Clinton," Jordan said. "It is Bill Clinton that's running for president."

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