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Volume 38 Issue 4
October 17, 2000

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Candidates swap jabs, body blows in tight race

BY J.W. WATSON
MESA LEGEND
Submitted October 17, 2000

The 1970s were fortunate enough to see Ali vs. Frazier. In the 80s, it was Hagler vs. Leonard.

And in 2000, prepare yourself for another instant classic... Bush vs. Gore?

What began as nothing more than “The Thrilla in Vanilla” just months ago, the race to the White House between Republican nominee George W. Bush and Democratic nominee Al Gore looks to be a fight to the finish as this year’s presidential election may be the closest in 40 years.

But, just what would happen if these two political heavyweights were to step inside an actual  ring?

“Gore would win, definitely,” said Michaelet Salam, a 19-year-old boxer who works out in downtown Phoenix’s Madison Boxing Gymnasium. “I could see Bush walking into the ring and suddenly forgetting everything he had trained for during the past six months.

“Gore would destroy him.”

A Haitian immigrant in1992, and recent graduate of Maryvale High School in Phoenix who has been training at Madison’s for the past three months, Salam believes it’s not just Gore’s size that gives him the advantage, but also Gore’s much-talked-about plan to make as much as $10,000 per year in college tuition tax-deductible.

“I just graduated from high school this past May. But I can’t go to college right now because I just can’t afford it living on my own,” Salam said. “But I think that creating a better system for education will be Gore’s first priority.”

While he agreed there are many issues Gore has emphasized throughout his campaign that appeal to voters 18-25, Dr. Alex Avila, a MCC political science faculty member, doesn’t believe a knockout is likely for either Gore or Bush among any age bracket.

“Just a few short months ago, Gore was so far behind that I don’t think anyone believed that he would ever gain any type of a lead over Bush,” Avila said. “But now that he has, and also now that he’s starting to slip again, just like in a boxing ring, Gore has to find some way to confuse his opponent.

“Gore has to make Bush appear to those judges, the voters, that he is undecided on issues. And Bush will have to handle that situation.”

The power to mentally control the opponent in the ring won’t be nearly as important, according to Avila, as the perception that voters have of the candidates, regardless of their stance on the issues.

“Anymore, politics is basically the image you project,” Avila said. “Voters will have to think about, ‘Is this person going to be an infighter and play partisan politics, or will this person simply dance around and dodge tough issues?’”

The involvement of two third-party candidates in this year’s election makes for an interesting undercard bout, as well, between Green Party nominee Ralph Nader and Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan. While both have hovered anywhere from one-to-six percent in most public opinion polls around the country, Avila believes Nader supporters likely to jump ship first, rather than take a chance at giving Bush the election.

“The one thing about Green Party supporters is that their decisions are mostly intellectual in nature. And Reform Party members, being a little more emotional, will tend to be more stubborn in their ways and beliefs.

“So, while Nader is currently throwing a wrench in Gore’s campaign, I think those who support Buchanan will probably be the stronger voice on Election Day.”

Keith Govan, a 27-year-old corrections officer from Chandler, also gave the nod to Gore in a real battle in the ring against Bush.

“Gore’s a little younger, and he looks like he works out a little bit,” said Govan, a boxer who represented the United States in the 1998 Goodwill Games, and is 7-1 since turning pro last year.

“I guess Gore hanging out with Bill Clinton did something for his conditioning,” Govan said, laughing.

Just how each candidate shows their political might in dealing with the Middle East could also become a factor in the remaining weeks before the election, said Avila.

“There’s a risk that the Mideast could hurt both of them,” Avila said. “The present administration, with Gore, could increase their involvement in Israel, and they may succeed.

“But if they don’t, Bush could come back and say publically, ‘They interfered where they shouldn’t, and the people didn’t want them there.

“So, this crisis could determine a lot of votes among those undecided.”

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