Let us leap ahead of the news curve. It is only a matter of time before the pundits and reporters start bewailing the puniness of the presidential candidates. They will be shaking their heads at the sad spectacle of a vice president thrashing futilely at the oncoming juggernaut of boredom's prodigy, Bill Bradley. They will grouse about a Republican field that contains no national figure whatsoever aside from a senator from faraway Arizona. They will send up their seasonal lament that politics no longer attracts giants, and besides, voter turnout is a national disgrace.
Truth be known, their complaints are justified.
Of course, the political commentators will be justified in deprecating the presidential field. Its decline has been apparent since Ronald Reagan dominated the 1980s. For that matter, the 1970's did not abound with strong presidential contenders. The 1990s was, however, Death Valley. The most serious contenders in the 1992 Democratic presidential field were retired politicians, Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas, and an obscure governor whose only claim to national fame was that he had spoken at a Democratic National Convention and become a laughingstock.