Paris, Wednesday, September 20, 2000 Gore (as Theodore Roosevelt) Set to Hit Big 'Interests'
By Mike Allen Washington Post Service
LAS VEGAS - Vice President Al Gore compared himself with trust-busting former President Theodore Roosevelt as he began a weeklong pillorying of industries that he contends are threatening American families. Mr. Gore said Monday in an interview from Air Force Two that although ''this day and time is unique,'' he sees parallels between his efforts and the period in the early 1900s when ''the Progressives and Teddy Roosevelt spoke up against too much concentrated power that was being used to the disadvantage of the average citizen.''
Mr. Roosevelt, acting on public alarm about industrial interests that were resulting in steadily rising prices, moved to dissolve a railroad monopoly, took on the Beef Trust and then brought cases against oil, tobacco and other monopolies.
Taking an industry a day, Mr. Gore plans to go after managed-care companies, other health insurers, drug companies and oil companies, arguing in each case that he has a plan to protect Americans from forces to which he contends Governor George W. Bush of Texas is beholden.
''It's not a question of them being targets - it's a question of them targeting the American people,'' Mr. Gore said in the interview. ''The absurdly high prices for prescription drugs, the rising price of gasoline, the demands by HMOs to overrule the medical decisions that are made by doctors - these are unfair efforts by powerful interests to take advantage of the American people.''
Strategists for Mr. Gore said the new drive was a way to sully the image of Mr. Bush without attacking him directly, and should have broad appeal to the middle-income, middle-of-the-road voters who are likely to decide the election. But Mr. Gore has worked to promote the technology economy and hopes to be the heir to the warmer relations Democrats have developed with business under President Bill Clinton's moderate New Democratic policies. So Mr. Gore's heated rhetoric means he could face the risk of being seen as anti-business.
Mr. Gore began the weeklong effort Monday calling for additional protections for women who belong to health maintenance organizations, including a requirement that the insurers cover breast cancer screening tests and doctor-recommended hospital stays after mastectomies. Women have largely fueled Mr. Gore's rise in the polls, and a study last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 61 percent of undecided voters are women.
Mr. Gore has been styling his campaign as ''the people against the powerful'' since shortly before the Democratic National Convention last month and the theme has been so successful that one young aide got carried away and referred to the race as ''the people versus the plutocrats.'' Mr. Bush has criticized the approach as ''class warfare.''
Mr. Gore said he does not fear being viewed as an anti-corporate crusader. ''I have been a part of shaping policies over the last several years that have resulted in the best pro-business environment in American history, so I view myself as someone who fights for middle-class families and someone who supports business as well as labor,'' Mr. Gore said.