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Show ak Tribune OPINION A25 Thursday, November11, 1999 Brace Yourselves, Americans, You’re in for an Ugly Election Year What'snotto like? Nineteen ninety-two was the year of the woman and1994 the year of the angry easy congeniality on the stump, but that MARIE Cocco evaporates questions white male and 1996 the yearof living contentedly. Election year 2000is shaping in the heat of notably t r flunking a BostonTV re- por pop quiz on the namesof leaders of fourof the world’s bubbling hotspots, Bush fell back to a grade-schoo! taunt “Can you name theforeign minister of Mexico?” he demanded of WHDH-TV’s upas theyearofthe unlikables. Begin with the expected matchup in the NewYork Senate race, tops on everyone’sfight card. The competitors have much in com- ss. eo AndyHiller. Hiller runs for news stories, not the presidency, it was pointed out. Left un said was that he'd not asked Bush about foreign ministers the equivalent ofthe U.S. secretary of state, without the inter mon. Hillary RodhamClinton and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani are defined by their dislikableness. More than athird of voters told pollsters for the New York Times/CBS News NEWSDAY recently that theyviewoneortheotherof national stature or name recognition By this time next year, New Yorkers these undeclaredcandidates unfavorably. They were equal-opportunity trashers, giving Clinton an unfavorablerating of about 38 percent. She just edged out Giuliani, at 34 percent. “Bothof thei Personalities are not ex: actly what you would c said Tony Fabrizio. Republican pollst who is not involved in the NewYorkrace. There is one true thing a politician does whenhe understands he is not well liked. It is not steppingasidefor the public earned him a run of stories about his tempertantrums. The Arizona Republic's campaigntries to spin this as ire that builds upandis unleashed as he fights for the underdog. But there are enough top dogs in the political world at whom McCain has directed his venom that this good. It is making the other candidate rationale eventually will collapse. Espe look worse. cially if Bush erally hateone of the two Senate candidates they now merelydislike. Foruplift, do not look to the presiden to close in on Gov. George W. Bush has already was airing television ads. “I hope your station appreciates that,” Bush hardto bearthat rizio, referring tothefirst lady’s negative ating, “mygoalisto get herto 48. If I get tioned about his absence from a New Hampshiredebate, Another TVreporter tial campaign. Sen. John McCaii If that numberisreally38,” said Fab. The one-upsmanship offrat boys. Bush is true to type. Days earlier, he was ques tern: herto 48, I win.” ‘ort nce becomes so people scout for anal- Ne and look to be settling on TheTexas governor is knownfor his that Bush hadn't been per- ampaigning in the state, but he replied This man could win the Bob Dole Self: Defeating Sound Bite Award forthe can. didate who inflicts most damage on him- self. That may happenif thingsget uglyin what looks to be the eventual campaign against Vice President Al Gore. Nowthis is a candidate the electorate finds singularly unlikable. The god-awful (still) suits. The stilted smile. The way he seems uncomfortablein his ownskin. The close proximity to Bill Clinton, too close the Democratic nomination and might not for those who've already gotien enough of a whiff, This leaves Bill Bradley as the only sign’ ant political figure who could warm hearts next , and that is going to be a stretch. The former basketball play be around to the end. The nation has survived a long line of nasty people holding high public off Nice guys mostly do finish last. Watching the others claw their way to the finish next year will be an unappetizingsight senatoris still the long shotfor Bush ‘Pop Quiz’ Illustrates Why Public Holds Media in Such Contempt W.SUE Fellowhacks, MICHAEL KELLY ic why does everyone loathe us becauseit fits Because, mylittle preciouses, we are so loathable. last week, a Bostontelevision inter- reporterin a hundred(notonelocaltele. is playedbig neatly, mindlessly into THE WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP name the leaders of Chechnya, Taiwan, Pakistan and India. They are, as you doubtless know: Aslan Maskhadov, Lee of the reasons why the public increas. ingly regards the media — us — with thin know-nothing; Republicans are mostly New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg ina splendid bit of public », hit a range ofmedia and foreign-poli figures witha \s, Who are mostly dead). ‘Teng-hui, Pervez Musharraf and Atal Behari Vajpayee. And, as you doubtless also know, Bush couldn't answer the questions, scoring only a partial hit for identi- contempt. @ We areso relentlessly mindless. Reporters like to picture themselves as in- dependent thinkers. In truth, with the fying the presidentof Taiwanas “Lee.”” Mediawits leapt to mock Bushfor his ignorance, and media thinkers leapt to exceptionof13-year-old girls, there is no social subspecies moreslavishtofashion, moreterrified of originality and more devoted to group-think. Every day, journalists go out into a world of confusion and chaos and every day they are obliged to present the passing confusion in what appears to be order. It is nearly impossi- opinethat his inability to name names on the spot was reminiscent of Ted Kennedy's disastrous 1980 failure to give Roger Mudd a coherent explanation as to why he wished to be president. Yes, said wechin-pullers, this wasa gaffe with legs, ble to do this honestly — to think your onethat would resonate. Hiller’s stunt does indeed resonate, but way fresh through each day’s events, day after day. So, for survival’s sake, most journalists learn to see the world through not in quite the way we would have it. It resonates because it demonstrates a range a set of standard templates into which Because your e yes so blatantly unfair. Almost everyoneknows thatthey couldnot, out of the blue and with the camerasrolling, dredge up the answersto Hiller’s ques- couldn't pass Hiller's test. The moreelaborate, and funnier, version of theHillerquiz. Most, like Bradley, wisely refused to play. “No way, man,” said Standard editor William Kristol. tions. This includes mostif not all of Hertzberg describes Leslie Gelb, presi Bush's campaignrivals. (Only the campaign of Al Gore, the call-on-me candidate, was quickto say their teacher's pet dent of the Council onForeign Relations anda perpetual dispenser of op-ed w dom, as “hit-and-miss on the countries.” William F. Buckley gracefully evaded. Theonlypress heavy whoscoredimpressively was shington Post foreign af- would have aced the quiz.) WhenHiller tried to sandbagBill Bradley with a similar test, Bradley had the good sense to refuse to play. Smart move.Butit raises a question: Could Bradley have passed the quiz? If flunking this sort of test matters about Bush, doesn’t it also matter about the other candidates? Shouldn’t the press force Bradley and the rest to take pop quizzes too? That won't happen, because this whole exercise wasreally just about getting one man,Bush. @ Weare such awful frauds. Among the very many people who could not have answered Andy Hiller’s quiz is, you may be sure, Andy Hiller. Indeed, not one are oo AM portant to just anyone. = 2= EyeInstitute =—=—* vision reporter in 500) would have fared better than Bush Even medi: large foreign-policy a subset of an older template: Bushis a know-nothings (except for Rockefeller viewer named Andy Hiller surprised Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush with a pop quiz comprising, as Hillerput it, “four questions offour leaders in four hot spots.” Hiller asked Bush to to trust they plug eachday's even: Thus, theHiller interview a templateofthe campaign, whichis itself fairs columnist Jim Hoagland, whoregards the SALTIltreaty beachreading. Bushpointedoutto Hillerthathe,too, could not answerthesesorts of questions. “I would sayto that,” said the smuglittle George W. Bush man on the safe side of the camera, “I’m not running for president.” Yes, that is function of this estate is to inform the electorate. alwaysour answer.It is, and never more so than in this case, a lame answer. We Clearly, then, ignorance of the basic facts of the world is a far more serious teli the public that the press is so important to a properly constructed democracy failing in a journalist than in a presiden: tial candidate. I'm afraid we'rejust going to havetolet Leslie Gelb go. thatit constitutes an implicit fourth estate of government. 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