The city prepped extensively to ensure the safety of thousands downtown. Several streets were shut down. There were some skirmishes, several arrests, and some injuries. Monday police were forced to fire pellet guns to subdue protestors who were throwing rocks. Police mobilized quickly . . . sensitive to criticism that they reacted slowly to vandalism and violence after the recent L-A Lakers celebration.

(( Melissa )) The Republican mayor of Los Angeles fought to bring the convention to his city.It was an opportunity to showcase the city’s strengths and erase past negative images.

(( Melissa  )) The convention was also an opportunity to bring more potential voters into the fold. From women, to Latinos, to  younger Americans . . . the push is on.

While the Staples Center hosted delegates, other election related  events took place throughout the city. At L.A’s “house of blues” there was music and a message  . . getting younger people to vote. MTV is sponsoring this campaign to attract younger voters and keep them up on the issues. Young celebrities in attendance applauded this rock ,roll and vote effort. 

Al Gore’s daughters Karenna and Kristen were also there, urging the packed house to vote. They also stepped in later to help register those 18 and older. )

Though Democrats were on center stage this week . . . Republicans  had a strategy to steal some of the spotlight. The GOP says they took the “high road”, pulling these ads off the air in California during the convention. Democratic ads ran during the republican convention But Some republican leaders were in L-A offering their take on the week.

Governor George Bush and former rival Senator John McCain campaigned thru California last week . . . saying they would not take this state for granted.

((Melissa)) Senator McCain is taking time off the campaign trail now to battle skin cancer. We’d like to know your thoughts about the presidential race so far. Who do you think is doing a better job getting their message out and who is right for California? Drop us an email to capitolweek dot o-r-g or send us a letter the address on your screen . . Jack?

(( Jack )) Many political experts and pollsters say the democratic convention is a significant point in the Gore campaign because he is behind in the polls. For four days, thousands of party faithful tried to re-energize the Gore-Lieberman ticket. The week culminated on Thursday with the Vice President’s speech. He revealed specific policy details . . . setting an agenda to raise the minimum wage, give senior citizens a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, and clean up the environment. Gore vowed to keep the White House in Democratic hands for four more years.

(( Jack )) So how did Al Gore do? Joining me now: Gale Kaufman, Democratic Political Consultant And Republican Assemblyman Abel Maldonado from Santa Maria.

Presidential Race Discussion

Jack: Gale, if we look at it this way, that the Democrats and Republicans in California are spoken for, that the battle is over independent voters and those who haven’t made up their mind yet.  What does this Gore speech mean to those independents?

Gale: Well, first of all, I’m  not sure they’re all spoken for on either side.  I think this convention and the Republican convention were important to kind of lock down base voters for both parties, and I think Al Gore did a very good job of energizing the Democrats last night, but I also think, in terms of your question, that what he did was lay out a clear difference between the Democratic agenda and Al Gore’s agenda and anything thing we might have heard before from the Republican party, and I think on issues like the environment, on handgun control, and on a woman’s right to choose, those are issues where there are clear differences, and I think with swing voters and independent voters, those are important differences in California.

Jack: Abel, you were one of the stars at the convention.  You did a great job.  We saw you back here in California at the Republican convention in Philadelphia.  Same question though.  What does George Bush say to—what’s the message to these independent voters, undecided voters in California?  You know, that area from Riverside to Redding, right up the center of California where the undecideds are.

Abel: Yeah, it’s a big question.  You know, looking at the numbers, George Bush has, I believe, locked up most of the base on the Republican side and is really working on the independent voters.  I spent some time with George W. on a train for two days comin’ up the coast of California.  This man is very charismatic.  He’s a good man, he’s likable, and it was amazing to see how many people were at these train stops, and I can tell you, he’s the real McCoy.  He’s really bringing to the center.  He’s really a person that, I think, can bring those center votes to the Republican side.  We haven’t had a messenger like George W. in a long time, and this is a new thing for the party.

Jack: How much of this is about charm?  We don’t have the massive inflation.  Unemployment is under control, the economy is booming, the crime rate is lower than it’s been in twenty years, so there’s really no issue that’s screaming at us there, other than regular issues.  How much of this is charm?

Gale: I think a good deal of it is charm.  I think there is a combination of things, all personality related, and I think Gore and Lieberman together put together a fabulous combination, which is based on trust.  It’s based on looking to the future, and who do you really believe will carry us through this prosperity in the best way, and, I think, on  the Republican side George W. is banking, clearly, on his personality, but where he has a problem is you have to look at personality and substance, and I think voters on both sides of the aisle look at that and make a choice how do they feel four years down the line?  Will they really be comfortable with their choice?

Jack: What about specifics and issues?  I mean, Mr. Gore did a very good job about being specific.

Abel: He did, and I think that opens up a good point on specifics, and I think we need to go back and take a look at the record of George W. Bush in Texas under the education system.  The Latinos, eight graders, African-Americans are doing very well in math and reading.  Governor Bush has made it clear, you need to raise the standards to get more accountability from teachers.  He’s made it very clear.  He’s doing a great job in Texas on the education system.  I believe Hispanics, I believe Californians want a good education; he’s done a great job.  We sent our education committee to see what he’d done in Texas here is California, and, uh, I tell you, when you get down to specifics on education, the state of Texas is doing very well.  Governor Bush has done a very good job.

Jack: How much do voters respond to charm, to get back to this personality issue, when we are selecting the person who is going to be President of the United States.  Isn’t it someone we feel comfortable with?  I’m thinking of Ronald Reagan when I see Governor Bush; it’s a very non-threatening, warm, friendly personality as opposed to Gore, uh, I get the sense that he’s a tactician.  He’s very much a policy person.

Gale: Well, I think that voters want to feel comfortable with their choice, and they want to like the person who’s going to be the next president, there’s no question.  Unlike other offices where they might not know so much, so they look at the name and they try to make a judgement on any number of variables, for President, a lot of it is about the man.

Jack: Would the voters then be willing to give up some of their principles on some issues because they like the candidate from the other party?

Gale: No, I think that’s where you draw the line.  As long as there’s a comfort level where you say, “Well, you know, they both have strengths, they both bring things, but I feel very strongly about a couple of things,” and where the two come down on those issues, that’s where, ultimately, in October you will see the polls shift, and in California in particular because there are major differences on major issues in the two parties.

Jack: Abortion is one of those issues, and how does Governor Bush handle that?

Abel: You know, we’ve had some troubles in the past in the Republican Party, and we need to move forward.  Obviously, that’s an issue that’s going to keep coming up.  Uh, Governor Bush is talking about education, he’s talking about lowering the taxes.  He stopped in a small town called Guadalupe, California, and I got to tell you, to see eight-six percent of that town come out—eighty-six percent are Democrats—come out and look him in the eyes and say, “Governor, thank you for coming to my town.  Thank for not leaving anyone behind.  We’re with you.”  They’re sending a message that charm really does work, that he is a person that will unite the party, unite the country, and, you know, I think that we need to forget about this divisiveness, and not worry about who gets the credit.  Let’s let the American people win, move forward, and I think Governor Bush is that person.

Jack: Does that mean-does that charm of Governor Bush mean that there’s the possibility that California could be in play, whereas in the past, it’s been a Democratic state?

Abel: I think California is in play, and I think the Democrats on the other side have taken the Latino vote for granted.  It's a big voting block that’s coming out.   I think Governor Bush is paying attention, and I think that we’re going to do very well.  I mean, it’s in play, we know we’re the underdogs in California.  We know we’ve got to get thirty-five percent of the Hispanic vote to get California.  We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re going to continue to work very hard.

Jack: Abel is working very hard to do that—to get the Hispanic vote, the Latino vote for the Republican Party, but is it a traditionally Democratic vote?

Gale: It is traditionally a Democratic vote, and I would have to take issue with the Democrats taking it for granted.  I don’t think that’s the case at all.  In fact, the Democrats have been at the forefront of registering many, many new citizens and are strong, I think, in terms of program in continuing along in that way, and once registered and once becoming citizens, to really do a good education process to bring people into the voting process in a way that really makes them feel of the party and their country, and so I would say I think California is in play, and it should be in play because we’ve got a lot of congressional races that are important, but it’ll go Democratic.

End of Presidential Race Discussion  

((Jack)) Now . . . there has been a lot of talk about dwindling coverage and interest in political conventions. As recently as 1976, the three major networks provided more than 50 hours of convention coverage . . . that coverage has dropped to less than 12 hours this year. But the internet is helping cable channels fill that void. Michael Isip examines whether this “unconventional coverage” will forever change the way news organizations cover conventions and gather information.

New Media Convention Coverage Report

1960 . .  the los angeles convention ushers in the information age and the power of television. And welcome to the 21^th century . . . . political pundits and analysts on the internet. . . .   Skyboxes set up for live cyberspace  webcasts  . . Chat rooms galore letting users into the story. News veterans feel like rookies again.

Journalists love the medium  . . it’s looser, they have time to tell the story, and the technology is being taken seriously. but for all the hype . . not everyone is in step with the future. according to PC Data Online, internet traffic was down 14 percent during the conventions . . . even at the most popular news sites like MSNBC.

striking a chord with internet users is even tougher for smaller dot coms  . . . conventions don’t make for good television, so it makes for good information educating and empowering voters . . .  voter dot com bills itself strictly as a political website. . . trying to lure a niche audience away from bigger offline news outlets voters have a hunger for the information  . . . isn’t slick, isn’t spoon fed,  make the choice themselves.

and the business of 24 hour news . .  . post writers are writing and updating stories throughout the day for on politics dot com . . . some even do video interviews . . . the challenge is delivering high quality news around the clock. media outlets are marching towards  . . . and bracing for the future . .  trying to figure out just what that future will look like.

End New Media Convention Coverage Report

(( Jack )) According to the democratic national committee, there were 1500 news outlets, including more than 400 newspapers on hand. 150 of those outlets had some form of coverage on the web. We would like your feedback on the media.  Is there enough coverage of political news and political events? Send us an email to capitolweek dot org or a letter to the address on your screen . .  . Melissa ?

((Melissa)) Jack . . . conventions can be places where history is made, in many different ways. Besides political pundits, party leaders, delegates and media., there is another enthusiastic group in attendance. . .the collectors. They trade and collect memorabilia that can become quite valuable and part of history.

((Melissa)) You can see all of Bob Warren’s 1948 collection at the Gibson Mansion in Woodland, which is just outside of Sacramento. That exhibit runs  September first through the first week in November.

((Jack)) Now for a quick update on a topic we covered last week . . . soaring electricity rates. This week the state faced 2 more stage 2 brown-outs due to high summer temperatures. Legislation to rollback rates in San Diego passed the Senate last week. It now faces a battle in the Assembly. The Public Utilities commission also meets next week to consider a resolution to cap rates or average them out. An investigation by the state attorney general into possible unfair business practices by providers is pending.

(( Melissa )) Jack, we received a lot of feedback on de-regulation and whether or not the state should step in to oversee rates. Kathleen “K” writes: “Electricity needs to be re-regulated. The market has neither the intelligence, nor the heart.”

( Jack)) But Stephen disagrees: “Asking if deregulation needs to be re-examined is like asking if the weather forecasters need to be investigated because the weather is unpleasant.” We thank you for your comments.

((Melissa )) Next week . . . .are hospitals barely breaking even? And are HMO’s to blame? We’ll look at legislation aimed at correcting the problem.

((Jack )) And are vouchers right for California.  The debate centers on whether competition will for improvement in public schools.

(( Melissa  )) That’s all for this week.  I’m Melissa Crowley. And I’m Jack Kavanagh, see you next time.