Al Gore's recent surge in the polls was at least partially the product of the free ride that he hitched from the media in marketing his "fight for the people" shtick.
You know how it works. Gore says he will help working families while opponent George W. Bush hands out money to rich people — and the liberal-leaning media report it as the Gospel according to St. Albert.
But what happens when Bush sets out to explain why his plan is the one that's really geared to helping the middle class?
Wrong gospel, of course.
It's sad but true: A conservative Republican candidate has to run against the other candidates and also against the media.
Which is why the Bush campaign must be grateful to Gore for inventing the Internet. Any industrious citizen who is interested in cutting through the media slant on the campaign can simply log on to Bush's Web site (georgewbush.com) and study his "Blueprint for the Middle Class," which offers in-depth explanations of Bush's proposals on education, health care, tax relief, Social Security . . .
The site goes into more detail than you can find in most media reports and offers point-by-point comparisons of Bush's proposals and Gore's.
The site also refutes some of the unfair and derogatory claims made by Gore about Bush's record as governor of Texas — including the patently false accusation that the Bush administration has failed to promote health care for poor children in Texas.
"If Vice President Gore wants to complain about health care in Texas," a Bush spokesman says in one of the Web site's issue papers, "then he ought to be complaining about the situation in America under his watch because it's worse. Texas is doing a better job than the nation as a whole does when it comes to providing health and dental care to children enrolled in Medicaid."
The site cites facts and figures.
Curious voters can browse the site and learn that Bush's Social Security plan would guarantee the benefits of current recipients — but would also make it possible for a young worker earning $20,000 per year to accumulate a $100,000 nest egg — beyond Social Security benefits — by privately investing a small portion of his payroll taxes.
Voters can learn how Bush would raise standards and improve the quality of teaching in America's schools — and how Gore would not.
How Bush would reform Medicare and assist senior citizens who need help paying for prescription drugs.
How Bush's tax plan would help families by reducing marginal tax rates; doubling the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000 per child; cutting the marriage penalty that requires married couples to pay higher taxes than their single counterparts; ending the "death tax."
Bush's tax plan, the Web site says, would "provide the biggest percentage cuts to low and middle income taxpayers. Middle class families will receive significant tax relief — for example, a typical family of four making $35,000 will get a 100 percent income tax cut, worth about $1,500 a year. . . .
"A two-earner couple earning $50,000 a year with two children will receive a 50 percent income tax cut under the Bush plan. This means a savings of nearly $2,000. . . .
"A family of four with one earner making $40,000 a year will receive a 70 percent income tax cut under the Bush plan. This means $1,600 cash back."
And the Gore plan?
"No tax relief for 50 million Americans."
Sure, this is the Bush-eye view of the issues. But it's a view that's virtually invisible amid the "risky tax scheme" and "tax cut for the rich" propaganda that the media disseminate on behalf of the Gore campaign.
You don't have to believe what you read on the Bush Web site, but if you're a fair-minded voter who wants to know everything you can about the candidates and their ideas, you owe it to yourself to check out Bush's side of the story.
Oh, all right. Go ahead and check out Gore's Web site, if you must. Just don't tell them I sent you.
Bill Thompson is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Readers may contact him by e-mail at billthompson@star-telegram.com