Mr Dick Morris, campaign strategist in chief for President Clinton until early on Thursday morning, was the person most responsible for ensuring that the Democratic Party's convention went off without a hitch. Mr Clinton may not be in the mood to appreciate irony but, in time, he will doubtless concur that Mr Morris's single handed ruination of the convention takes some beating.
Mr Morris was accused, not just of having a year long affair with a prostitute (a charge which might have been weathered), but of letting her in on confidential information. The depth of the relationship may have been exaggerated in the exposing but there would seem to be little doubt that the affair occurred and lasted some time. Mr Clinton, who knows a thing or two about allegations of sexual impropriety, must be bewildered that his closest campaign aide put so much at risk. For some, no doubt, half the excitement lies in the risk.
The Morris debacle should not greatly affect Mr Clinton's re election hopes; it may have been another matter had it surfaced at the start of the convention. As it was, the Democrats, leaving aside the embarrassing soap opera shows, put on a commendable display of being united in disagreement. Die hard liberals such as Mr Mario Cuomo and Senator Edward Kennedy referred to actions of Mr Clinton's with which they disagree (in particular, his unforgivable termination of federal aid for the poor) but then strongly urged the audience to rally round him as the bulwark against even harsher Republican measures.
The delegates will know that the party cannot afford to relax. Mr Clinton leads by at least ten per cent in the polls but he seems certain to score huge (and useless) majorities in states like New York while perhaps losing narrowly in many of the swing states in the Midwest. Mr Clinton won't need reminding that the popular vote (as reflected in opinion polls) does not elect the president, the electoral college does and it is slanted in favour of less populated states. Mr Dole can lose the popular vote by up to three per cent and still win the White House. Moreover, Mr Clinton has a bigger task still if he is to return even one of the Houses of Congress to Democratic control.
With the exception of foreign excursions, notably Ireland and Bosnia, Mr Clinton's presidency, on balance, fails to impress. His biggest achievement has been not just to withstand the Republican landslide in the mid term elections of two years ago, but to flourish in the face of such adversity. In this he was helped greatly by the astonishing political ineptitude of the Republican leadership which, from day one, frightened all but their most devoted followers. Mr Clinton succeeded by adopting their policies but softening them and selling them better. So the voters now know what Mr Clinton is not. He is not a conservative and he is not a liberal. What they don't know is precisely what he does stand for and his speech to the convention wasn't much help. Does Mr Clinton have political goals or is his over riding political priority merely to get re elected?