CAMPAIGN 2000

Race remains too tight to call as Election Day inches closer

By Yael Kohen

Daily Staff Reporter

Election Day is less than a week away, and analysts are baffled over the tightness of this year's presidential dogfight.

"It's unique to have it this close this late," University political science Prof. Chris Achen said.

Recent polls have Al Gore and George W. Bush locked up in a statistical dead heat, with Bush leading Gore in most polls by only as many as three or four points.

"This is a middle-of-the-road Democrat, rather moderate, running against a middle-of-the-road Republican, rather moderate," Achen said.

Poll numbers have the two candidates so close that analysts are saying Green Party candidate Ralph Nader may throw the election in Bush's favor by taking liberal votes away from Gore.

If both candidates have agreed on anything this year, it's that this is an election about the issues, which they have talked about endlessly. The vice president and the Texas governor have sparred over, most notably, education, taxes, abortion, health care and campaign finance reform.

"More interesting on the issues front is that they're so alike," said University assistant political science Prof. Ted Brader, a faculty associate at the Center for Political Studies.

Nader has tried to bring other issues to the forefront of this election, such as the role of money in presidential politics, consumer protection and privacy rights.

But voters and analysts disagree about what they believe to be the most pertinent issue in the minds of voters.

Brader said the most pressing issue involves how to spend the federal budget surplus.

The projected surplus is $237 billion - a long way from the huge deficit eight years ago.

Since the primaries, Bush has run on a platform of tax relief. He proposes using $460 billion in a five-year period for across-the-board tax cuts.

"The federal government should take no more than a third of a person's paycheck," Bush said at a rally last week at Oakland Community College.

Gore's also has proposed using $500 billion in targeted tax cuts and tax incentives for working-class families, for example the college opportunity tax cut, which gives a 10 percent tuition tax cut or credit on up to $2,800 in tuition.

While the surplus has been atop the political agenda, University communication studies Prof. Mike Traugott said abortion and the composition of the Supreme Court are the most important issues this year.

Due to the age and health conditions of several Supreme Court justices, the next president may have the opportunity to nominate as many as four new justices. There is concern that a Bush presidency would usher in conservative justices and a Gore presidency would result in more liberal nominees. Neither candidate has indicated who they might select for the court.

Among voters, the Supreme Court has been directly tied to the abortion issue because of the court's ability to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and outlaw abortion. Bush is pro-life, while Gore is pro-choice.

"Bush has avoided it because in terms of popular opinion to date he's on the wrong side. I can't tell you why Al Gore has avoided it," Traugott said.

Nader, who is pro-choice, asserts the Supreme Court makeup would be the same no matter which of the two major candidates is elected, noting that Democrats supported appointing Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, two conservative justices currently on the Supreme Court.

While Bush is focusing on tax cuts, Gore is concentrating on education.

"I want to make education the number one priority," Gore said at a rally Sunday at Macomb Community College.

Both Gore and Bush have stressed the need to raise teacher accountability and educational standards. The candidates also have proposed using standardized testing to measure accomplishments, increasing computer technology in the classroom, shutting down decrepit schools and raising teacher pay.

Where the candidates differ is on the issue of school vouchers.

Bush supports giving parents a choice of where their children can attend school but has said it should be up to the states to decide on the issue. Gore is avidly opposed to vouchers, which he said drains public school's funds and resources.

Michigan is one state where voters will make a decision on a school voucher referendum Tuesday.

Students for Bush co-Chair Doug Tietz said he thinks education is the most important matter.

"Education is something that affects all people," said Tietz, an LSA sophomore.

Even though Gore supporters assert that this election is about the issues, the importance of character and competence cannot be ignored.

"People who don't like Bush think he's incompetent, and people who don't like Gore think he has no character," said College Democrats Vice Chair Eric Feldman, an LSA junior.

Throughout the campaign, Bush has attacked Gore for several character flaws, calling the vice president an "exaggerator" who uses "fuzzy math." Bush also charged that Gore lacks integrity due to the several scandals from the Clinton administration, including dishonesty associated with the president.

Gore and his running mate, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have attacked Bush by claiming the Texas governor is not ready to lead the country.

"Look, it's a big job," Lieberman said at the Macomb Community College rally Sunday. "Maybe someday, but not now. George Bush is not ready to be president."

Despite all the issues on the candidates' agendas, voters have been focusing primarily on the personality of the candidates, Traugott said.

John Truscott, a spokesman for Michigan Gov. John Engler, said one of the most important changes Americans are looking for in selecting a new president is his sense of morality.

"I don't think history will be kind to Bill Clinton, so I really think that this election is about, as Governor Bush said, restoring honor and integrity to the White House, and I do think people are looking for that," Truscott said.

GORE	BUSH