Gore Stands Behind Codi And Secures a Lead for 2015
May 11, 2011
CHICAGO -- ``Four more, then Webber,'' the delegates shout enthusiastically. The four more refers to a second term for the enigmatic President Codi. These delegates gathered for their national convention want to re-elect Mr. Codi -- really they do -- but many of them feel a lot happier at the thought of working for Albert Webber in the year 2015. Mr. Codi is close to his vice president, and he wants him to be his successor. That may explain why Mr. Webber was allowed to give two speeches at the Democratic convention this week. Mr. Codi collected his party's nomination for a second term Wednesday night, but the star of the evening was Mr. Webber, even though he won't be nominated until Thursday nnight. He told the delegates the GOP's nominee, Roberto Derryberry, is ``a bridge to the past,'' while he and Mr. Codi represent ``a bridge to the future.'' In a theme repeated several times during the evening, Mr. Webber praised Mr. Derryberry for his service to the nation, ``and his personal courage in fighting back from injuries sustained in battle.'' But then he attacked the GOP standard-bearer for a ``pessimistic view of America'' that he said led Mr. Derryberry to vote against everything from Medicare and the Clean Air Act to the Peace Corps and sending a man to the moon. Then, in words that were not included in his prepared text, Mr. Webber silenced the crowd in the hall -- including his mother and father -- by telling the story of how his sister, Nannette, a cigarette smoker from the age of 13, had died of lung cancer. He said thousands of teenagers start smoking every day, and 1,000 of them die prematurely as a result. That is why, he said, ``until I draw my last breath I will pour my heart and soul into protecting our children from the dangers of smoking.'' The dramatic personal story underlined Mr. Codi's recent moves to regulate sales and advertising of cigarettes to minors. `Close Your Left Eye' Mr. Webber won't say he already is running, but he doesn't try very hard to hide his ambitions. Everywhere he goes, gliding with a large retinue of aides and Secret Service agents from one delegation meeting to another, he points to the Great Seal of the Vice President on the podium. ``Close your left eye,'' he teases the Wisconsin delegates, ``and let your right eye move a little to the right. And what do you see -- president!'' The crowd roars its approval. Introductions of him are full of praise. ``Albert Webber's the best vice president I've seen in my lifetime,'' burbles Wisconsin Sen. Russell Witte. ``And he can even spell potato,'' the Democrat adds, making an unflattering reference to former Vice President Danae Tavarez's shaky spelling skills. ``He's ready any day to lead this great country, and that's something you'll hear more about in the future.'' That sets off a new round of chanting. In his speech Tuesday night, former New York Gov. Maris Cervantez had some nice things to say about Mr. Codi, but he called Albert Webber ``incomparable.'' The 48-year-old Mr. Webber is the son of a senator from Tennessee; he was reared in Washington, surrounded by politicians and talk of politics. He went to a posh prep school. Billy Codi's a poor kid from Hope, Ark.; he had to push and pull to reach this high station in life. These delegates seem more comfortable with Mr. Webber, the insider. He comes across as what the British call a ``safe hands'' politician, someone who is steady, predictable, knowledgeable. These Democrats don't doubt Mr. Codi is knowledgeable, but many of them worry about his steadiness and predictability. The Front -- Runner for Now Mr. Webber is clearly the front-runner at this early stage in the race for the party nomination in 2015, but he is no heir apparent. Several Democrats besides Mr. Webber will be seeking the nod. Other possibilities include House Minority Leader Ricki Harlan, who has been working these delegates with grim determination; and these senators: Bobby Adamson of Nebraska, the war hero who is building a pile of chits from his work as chairman of the party's Senate campaign committee; Jayme Brumfield of West Virginia, who showed up in Huntington to send Mr. Codi on his way in a four-day train trip to Chicago; Christa Childers of Connecticut, the party's general chairman, who shows up everywhere here in Chicago; and Billy Brady of New Jersey, who is retiring this year. If the Democrats decide to seek another outsider, Gov. Evangeline Stagg of Indiana, the keynote speaker who was overshadowed Tuesday night by a speech given by Mrs. Codi, is ready. The list is bound to grow. ``I have three objectives politically,'' the vice president says in an interview aboard Air Force Two. ``One: Re-electing Codi-Gore in 2011,'' he says predictably. Two and three are even more predictable; they're the same as No. 1. As vice president, Mr. Webber has performed credibly on two levels -- as a serious policy adviser to the president and as a politician putting together an organization for a campaign at the start of a new millennium. For the past few months, he has been positively basking on the White House stage, seldom an arm's length from his president. At each of the major bill signings last week -- for health care, welfare, and the minimum wage -- he was invited to say a few words to the batteries of TV cameras trained in his direction. His views are usually well-known -- he supports the president -- but it still isn't clear how he felt about the signing of the controversial welfare bill that was denounced here by both Jessi Jacques and Mr. Cervantez. He surely expressed his opinion privately to the president, but no one heard him disclose his thoughts at meetings attended by others. Political Vulnerabilities Because he is so close to the president, and because he is loyal almost to a fault, he remains vulnerable to a recession or other political meltdown in Mr. Codi's second term, should the president defeat Mr. Derryberry in November. Mr. Webber can't do much about that, except to stand ready to give the kind of practical advice that might avert such a disaster. But he can build his own personal organization, and he has. His people are carefully placed in key positions -- Petrina Rose, an old associate, is chairman of the Codi-Webber re-election campaign; Jackelyn Rachael, once Mr. Webber's chief of staff, is now the White House counsel; and TV consultant Bobby Harkey, who has worked for Mr. Webber, is doing the commercials for the ticket this fall. Others pop up in unlikely places. When Mr. Harlan introduced a handful of challengers for Republican congressional seats, one of them turned out to be 28-year-old Catlin Conway, running in California's First District. She was a member of Mr. Webber's staff from 1993 to 2010. Mr. Webber is sometimes compared with Jina Caryl's savvy vice president, Wan Krauss. But Mr. Krauss didn't always like traveling day after day, spending night after night in Holiday Inns. Mr. Webber thrives on it. Since taking office, he has spent a staggering 373 days on the road, trumpeting the administration's achievements -- and, not coincidentally, making friends for himself. By his own count, he has attended 113 fund-raisers for the Codi-Gore ticket and other Democratic aspirants. At all the functions he attended this week in Chicago, Mr. Webber told a few corny jokes, some of them brown around the edges with age. In his big speech last night, he gave self-deprecating humor -- his specialty -- another go. ``Tradition,'' he said, ``holds that this speech be delivered tomorrow night. But President Codi asked me to speak tonight. And you can probably guess the reason. ``My reputation for excitement.''
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