By LEE NL HOWELL
Politically Speaking

It has taken about a month-and-a-half longer than we expected, but Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore now have enough delegate votes to award them the Republican and Democratic Party's presidential nomination, respectively.

When these two men announced their candidacies last year (and even before then when they were unannounced candidates), it was widely presumed that they would be the major party nominees in the November 2000 election.

After all, Mr. Gore was the sitting vice president — and, even though they don't always win elections, they can usually manage to get their party's nomination.

And, for his part, Gov. Bush was rapidly amassing money and endorsements in support of his bid.

So, they each looked unbeatable.

But, of course, that was before former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley and Arizona Sen. John McCain decided to challenge the front-runners.

For his part, former Sen. Bradley always looked like a tougher opponent on paper than he actually proved himself to be.

In fact, that is just what this anticipated tiger turned out to be — paper!

Vice President Gore handily won in the Iowa caucuses (where having the support of the party establishment counted a great deal) and he edged Sen. Bradley out in New Hampshire (despite that state's propensity to be cantankerous).

Once the “Veep” had swept the Super Tuesday primaries, including the big prizes of California, New York, and Ohio (as well as Sen. Bradley's home state of Missouri), the Democratic challenger could easily read the handwriting on the wall.

So, he endorsed the vice president's campaign and graciously bowed out.

Sen. McCain — a real American hero with a wicked sense of humor (he once said he decided to run for president when he saw Angela Lansbury turn over the Queen of Hearts) — proved quite a bit more attractive to voters in the primary states.

He actually won New Hampshire, and was doing well in the days ahead of Super Tuesday (until he ran head-on into the monolithic Religious Right).

But, in the end, Gov. Bush proved that money and organization count for a lot in the battle for the GOP nomination.

So, Sen. McCain bowed out — but, pointedly, did not endorse the man who defeated him!

Now, even though Vice President Gore and Gov. Bush have to wait until this summer to officially accept the nominations of their parties, they are, for all practical purposes, the nominees — and they can begin battling it out for the big prize in November.

Thus, we voters face the prospect of another elongated struggle for the White House — one that will make us all wish that it would just go away before it's over and which by November may leave us wondering why we should elect either one of the candidates.

And, of course, there will be many voters who will simply pick what they perceive to be the lesser of two evils when they enter the ballot box.

But, the two surviving candidates do offer a choice — one which the voters should seriously consider before they cast their ballots.

Now, obviously, one difference is that Vice President Gore is a heck of a lot smarter — book learning and common sense — than Gov. Bush.

(Of course, President Jimmy Carter was perhaps the smartest president to serve in this century, based on his I.Q., but he is also rated one of the worst men to hold the office in terms of accomplishing his goals; and, he was turned out of office by a populace angered at his handling of the Iranian hostage situation.)

And, on the issues, Gov. Bush and Vice President Gore offer some clear differences — Gore is for a woman's right to choose, for instance, and Bush is not.

Ultimately, though, the decision may come down to then-candidate Ronald Reagan's famous question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago?

Each one of us will have to answer that for ourselves.

[Lee N. Howell is an award-winning writer who has been observing and commenting upon politics and society in the Southern Crescent, the state, and nation for more than a quarter of a century.]

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