Clinton was talking about Gore's Livable Communities initiative, which purports to curb sprawl and preserve open spaces. It is a proposal marketed to soccer moms while secretly aiding the welfare moms too. Here's the soccer mom narrative. For decades, Americans have moved out of cities for the peace and open space of the suburbs. But as more people move out, suburbs become clogged with traffic and blighted by strip malls.
Suburbanites love smart growth.
If Gore wins the Democratic nomination as expected, he's going to need every suburban vote he can get. So he's working it. In numerous speeches in the last two years, he has felt the pain of parents who have to read their children a bedtime story from their cell phones while stuck in traffic. It is certainly true that sprucing up cities will help suburbanites. With the wealthy moving out, cities have lost their tax base, causing city services and schools to deteriorate.