Houston Chron

May 4, 2001, 6:53PM

The silence of Democrats is deafening

By MARIANNE MEANS

Hordes of pundits, pollsters, partisans and ordinary people have recently had their say about the glories and gaffs of President Bush's first 100 days.

But hardly anyone has uttered a peep about what congressional Democrats have done during that same introductory period. There's not much to say because they haven't done much.

Back in January, the Democratic leadership decided the party's interests would be best served in an evenly split Senate and a narrowly divided House by a strategy of bipartisanship and reconciliation. But that civilized strategy didn't work because Bush refused to play the game.

The new administration has merrily manipulated the political mood with friendly public relations gestures but has been in no hurry to wheel and deal with the loyal opposition. The Democrats have been stunned and stymied by the relentless White House kindness campaign.

So far, Bush has had the advantage of being able to hog center stage while Congress worked through its usual organizational start-up pains. Except for Senate passage of a campaign finance overhaul, most of the political action on Capitol Hill has taken place out of sight behind closed doors. The public legislative battles in which the Democrats will finally have an opportunity to prove themselves are just beginning.

The early outlook is not promising for them. For instance, the president is likely to get enough of his proposed tax cut to claim a moral victory. He is almost certain to win an education package that he can claim as his own, even though it will not include his controversial plan to force taxpayers to subsidize students at parochial and private schools. His military budget is likely to sail through unscathed.

Predictably, the party out of power is growing crabby. Bush's comfortable 63 percent approval rating frustrates Democratic leaders because it suggests voters don't really care whether he is bipartisan or not.

Furthermore, the Republican-dominated Congress recently won a 58 percent approval rating in a Washington Post-ABC News survey, the highest ranking since 1989. That is presumably a favorable reaction to the lowered GOP decibel level, since not much has actually happened in Congress.

The polls also complicate the ability of the Democrats to suddenly become more aggressive. They could run the risk of seeming obstructionist, a partisan posture voters definitely do not like.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri, held a rally on the Capitol lawn recently to try to pump some excitement into the party's causes. Until now, both men have been more preoccupied with internal party divisions than re-creating the powerful national presence that the party lost with President Clinton's departure.

The two lawmakers, popular within their own party, repeated familiar Democratic themes, accusing Bush of pandering to big business and naming "the most far-right, anti-woman, anti-environment, wealthiest and best-connected Cabinet in a generation."

The two are good men but not yet presidential. What the Democrats need now is one authoritative voice that can be heard above the others.

The basic rebuilding of the party falls to new Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who is a legendary fund-raiser but is barely known outside political circles. He is already countering television commercials aired by special interest groups promoting the president's agenda with DNC advertisements debunking that agenda.

Most polls indicate that a majority of those surveyed like the Democrats' policy positions better than they do Bush's. But without an obvious party leader, the Democrats cannot speak with one voice.

Former Vice President Al Gore, the most obvious heir-apparent, is taking a sabbatical. McAuliffe is not a policy man. Several senators are vying for national attention, but each has his own agenda.

One cheerful spot in this dicey Democratic picture is the fact that Bush's conservative approach has not lured many Democrats away from their roots.

Since all politics is local, an edge in national party identification is no guarantee that the Democrats can retake Congress. But it's better than a sour joke.

After all, as Will Rogers said, "You've got to be an optimist to be a Democrat and you've got to be a humorist to stay one."

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2001