The unsurpassed intelligence of himself, his inexhaustible ardor for every form of culture, every leisure pursuit, every virtue and noble thought. Mr. Gore's distending autobiography is rapidly becoming a work of the most grotesque fiction since Rabelais. The press snickered. Obviously democratic primaries have to play a more exalted role in public life than this. Now Mr. Gore's opponent for his party's nomination, Bill Bradley, is demonstrating the true value of primaries.
Primary campaigns are a way to ventilate issues worthy of the electorate's concern.
Bradley has brought up the ethically questionable way Gore and his boss financed their 1996 re-election. On this occasion he brought up only campaign finance, but he would provide a service to the Republic if he reviewed wider instances of corruption by Clinton-Gore. He might even enhance his chances for gaining the nomination. Many Democrats must know that Clinton-Gore's record of corruption is deplorable and a natural target for Republicans. There is the question of illegal technology transfers to the Chinese.