--- title: Candidates on Parade description: You almost certainly didn't notice, and you may shudder at the preposterous prematurity of it all, but most of the would-be presidents in the Democratic... canonical: https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/ author: James Carney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 1998-12-04T05:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-22T15:26:18.644Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Candidates on Parade og:description: You almost certainly didn't notice, and you may shudder at the preposterous prematurity of it all, but most of the would-be presidents in the Democratic... og:url: https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Candidates on Parade twitter:description: You almost certainly didn't notice, and you may shudder at the preposterous prematurity of it all, but most of the would-be presidents in the Democratic... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) # Candidates on Parade by [James Carney](https://time.com/author/james-carney/) Dec 4, 1998 5:00 AM UTC by [James Carney](https://time.com/author/james-carney/) Dec 4, 1998 5:00 AM UTC You almost certainly didn’t notice, and you may shudder at the preposterous prematurity of it all, but most of the would-be presidents in the Democratic Party trekked to a hotel ballroom last week to take part in the first, unofficial scrimmage of the 2000 campaign. The occasion was the [annual conference of the Democratic Leadership Council](http://www.dlcppi.org/conferences/98conference/98post%5Fconf.htm), the organization of self-described “New Democrat” centrists that Bill Clinton used both as a springboard to the nomination in 1992 and as an idea factory for such once un-Democratic proposals as reforming welfare and balancing the federal budget. Back then, the DLC was the home of malcontents frustrated by the party establishment’s leftist orthodoxy — and by its tendency to put forward sure-loser candidates like Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis. Now, thanks to Clinton’s success as an Oval Office two-termer, DLC thinking has become the party’s de facto theology, and its annual conference has developed into a station of the Democratic cross — the place where, two years out from election day, all but the most liberal candidates must come to prove their mainstream appeal. [Al Gore](http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/html/GORE%5FHome.html) was there, of course, in his role as Goliath. He was granted the prime speaking slot, and drew the biggest audience. And he arrived with an entourage so large and so befitting an heir to the throne — complete with communications aides, speech writers and press secretaries, image consultants, policy experts and Secret Service agents — that it seemed a deliberate effort to taunt his Democratic rivals, a dare to take him on. In his speech, he ignored them completely, choosing instead to tangle with [Texas Gov. George W. Bush](http://www.bush98.com/), upon whom Republican hopes for victory in 2000 have quickly come to rest. Without mentioning him by name, Gore derided Bush as a cheap convert to centrist politics, dismissing Bush’s brand of “compassionate conservatism” as empty sloganeering. “Compassion is more than a pretty word,” Gore monotoned. “It is the highest of all disciplines.” Gore is nothing if not disciplined, as he proved by giving a 30-minute speech filled with rhetoric that was both eloquent and deliberately devoid of any new idea or proposal that might ruffle a single Democratic feather. “We’re not taking on other Democrats,” boasted one Gore aide. “We’re going straight for the Republicans.” It was an indication that from now until the party’s primaries early in 2000, the Vice President plans to play it safe, to ride his awesome built-in advantages as Clinton’s chosen successor all the way to the nomination. But safety is not what DLC “New Democrats” live for; it bores them. After Gore had finished speaking, two DLC donors stood outside the men’s room, rubbed their eyes and yawned. “I _literally_ fell asleep,” said one. No one fell asleep during Bob Kerrey’s speech. The Nebraska Senator has managed to refashion his reputation for flakiness, a legacy from his failed 1992 presidential bid, into a positive: he is now the party’s favorite truth-teller and iconoclast. Kerrey used the forum to make an aggressive sales pitch for his proposal to save Social Security by partially privatizing the system — an apostasy that enrages the old left wing of the party but thrills the DLC crowd. And he did it while tweaking “practical idealism,” the [oxymoronic campaign slogan](http://www.dlcppi.org/speeches/98conference/98conf%5Fgore.htm) Gore test-marketed for himself. “Practicality is not America’s highest ideal,” Kerrey chided. “In America, shrinking from a challenge, settling for less than our dreams, [taking the easy route away from tough problems](http://www.dlcppi.org/speeches/98conference/98conf%5Fbkerrey.htm) — these are impractical.” Kerrey gave every sign he intends to challenge Gore, and the week ended with whispers that he had made up his mind and would announce before New Year’s. On the verge, too, is Kerrey’s near namesake in the Senate and fellow Vietnam veteran, John Kerry of Massachusetts, who demonstrated New Democrat credentials with a plan to reform public education that would reduce the power of teachers unions. “Accountability is a word that Democrats have shied away from,” said the tall and rugged-faced Kerry — who if nothing else /looks/ presidential — to nods from the crowd. Afterwards, Kerry confided that he would make his decision about running over the holidays, after consulting with his family. “It feels good,” he added, just in case there was any doubt. The most inspired performance was by the participant least appealing to centrist New Democrats, and least likely to dip his wingtips into the Presidential pool. Richard Gephardt, the Democratic leader of the House, actually co-founded the DLC back in 1984\. But he broke with the organization long ago as he veered into the embrace of traditional party constituencies, especially Big Labor. And yet the DLC has endorsed Gephardt’s idea for a radical tax reform that would lower income rates to 10 percent for 3/4 of Americans and eliminate most loopholes and exemptions. [His speech on the topic](http://www.dlcppi.org/speeches/98conference/98conf%5Fgephardt.htm) drew a standing ovation from the thinning DLC crowd. Once considered a sure bet to challenge Gore, Gephardt came so close to re-taking the House for the Democrats in this year’s elections that he now appears likely to forego a Presidential bid and try for the Speakership in 2000\. Conspicuously absent from the conference was the challenger some Gore advisers fear most: former NBA star, and retired Senator from New Jersey, [Bill Bradley](http://www.washspkrs.com/speakers/b%5Fbradley/b%5Fbfr.htm). Out of office since 1996, Bradley [announced on Friday](/time/printout/0,8816,16576,00.html) he has formed a campaign committee to lay the foundations for a run. He has positioned himself as the candidate with a conscience, the one with enough distance from the process to condemn the vulgarities of modern campaigning — and criticize Gore’s role in the Clinton fundraising scandals — without seeming too much like a hypocrite. DLC insiders say Bradley, a self-proclaimed moderate and centrist, wasn’t invited to the conference because he didn’t have a bold policy idea to push. “Ideas are the price of admission,” said one. For Gore, the price was waived. His status as Clinton’s vice president relieves him of having to prove he is a New Democrat. Al From, the president of the DLC, says that Gore’s task is to show that he can stand on his own, that he can continue “Clintonism without Clinton.” Gore can probably meet that challenge, which is why the odds that he’ll win the nomination are so overwhelming. Kerrey, Kerry, Gephardt and Bradley all know it. But most of them will run anyway. — James Carney ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/"},"headline":"Candidates on Parade","datePublished":"1998-12-04T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-22T15:26:18.644Z","description":"You almost certainly didn't notice, and you may shudder at the preposterous prematurity of it all, but most of the would-be presidents in the Democratic...","url":"https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Carney","url":"https://time.com/author/james-carney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6908430/candidates-on-parade/","name":"Candidates on Parade"}}]}] ```