WASHINGTON -- I saw it coming. Tony Coehlo, chairman of the Gore 2000 presidential campaign, was reported to be hospitalized for some form of unidentifiable stomach problem and his aides are reporting that he is suffering from fatigue. Yes, his end was coming.
Vice President Al Gore announced last week that he was appointing Secretary of Commerce Bill Daley to be the chairman of the presidential campaign, replacing Coehlo. Coehlo took over a bloated, unfocused, top-heavy presidential campaign a year ago. He reformed it and led it to an impressive sweep of the nominating primaries. In the process, he alienated the candidate and his wife, all of the old-line Gore insiders and many of his associates in the campaign, including the campaign manager.
Some say that this latest course correction for the Gore campaign is more evidence that the vice president, himself, is not well focused and not well prepared to provide political leadership. That could be, but it also is evidence that the Gore campaign is just like many of its predecessors -- a caldron of intense activity that creates enormous competitive pressures among its leaders and creates antagonisms that cripple the operations of the campaign. It happens every campaign year -- at every level of politics.