07/08/2002 Archived Entry: "RON KIRK, THE NEW TEXAS STAR"

By his own account, Mr. Kirk says he's a different kind of black Democrat.
"George Bush got elected by saying he was a different kind of Republican," said Mr. Kirk, not at all hesitant to invoke the name of his state's favorite GOP son in his race against Mr. Cornyn, the attorney general.... "Henry Cisneros had the same model when he became mayor of San Antonio. George Bush used it when he first ran for governor to reach out to Hispanics. They both were able to cross over." ...participants at the Democratic Party meeting in Las Vegas said it shows Mr. Kirk has mass appeal and star power.

"People want someone who represents a cross-section of all the issues," said Clark County Nevada Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who is chairwoman of the DNC's Black Caucus. "He can represent the business person and the working person. When you have that kind of global candidate, you have to be excited."

It's interesting that the Green Party's nominee for the US Senate in Texas is also black. While the GOP might think that this would serve to siphon of votes from Kirk, blacks have not shown an inclination to vote for the Green Party at all, anywhere. In fact, it actually works to Kirk's advantage, and portraying him more in the middle, moderate range, the centrist candidate.

Kirk doesn't have to beat George Bush, so he can afford to invoke him and compare himself to Bush all he wants. It leaves the GOP with the low road, which is where they've been in this race thus far. We'll see gyrations in the poll numbers, due to the differing sample methods, but as long as Kirk is taking the positive centrist note, we'll know he's feeling good about his chances of winning. Bush kept this gig (centrist, bipartisan appeal) up for nearly six years while in Texas. Kirk shouldn't have any problem with this appeal working for the next four months, particularly because it's authentic, given his Dallas record as Mayor.