By John Burl Smith

Turnout 75%: This election presents slave descendants the option of voting for flawed policy choices or protesting. Headed to the fall election cycle with less money than Republicans, Al Gore is faced with the "big battle syndrome." Having actually served in Vietnam, although not actually trained for combat, Dien Bien Phu should represent more than a military battle for Gore. A great strategic contest, Dien Bien Phu is the preeminent lessons about adapting tactics to one's limited circumstances. An unknown, Ho Chi Mien led an army of peasant farmers who defeated a far superior French army. Ho understood the value of supply and logistical support for conventional campaign.

The "Battle of the Bulge" is a more familiar contest in the West. Driving toward Berlin after D-Day, buoyed by several big victories, the Allies were caught totally by surprise when the Germans counterattacked. German strategists believed one big victory could turn the tide of battle in Europe. They gambled on speed, mechanized power and deception to trap the Allies. As the French at Dien Bien Phu, the Nazis overlooked the crucial rules of supply and logistics. Cutting off German tank access to fuel, allied commanders watched the bold move grind to a halt within miles of victory.

Seizing the high ground, Ho Chi Mien avoided needlessly sacrificing the people he was fighting to save. His policies relied on day to day battles in small hamlets and remote jungle outposts to keep their hope of freedom alive. Like Ho, occupying the high ground Gore's would-be army of poor and powerless people need real support fighting poverty, racism, discrimination and other vestiges of slavery. Unlike Ho however, Gore's plan buys into sacrificing the poor in the battle for corporate welfare.

Strategically, mirroring the allies, Gore has to withstand ferocious negative media attacks, a resurgence of Clinton-haters, and racial bigots trying to re-segregate America. Following the Nazis battle plan, "compassionate conservatives" hope to storm American voters with a blitzkrieg of inclusion. Avoiding the "big battle" in the media, Gore must rapidly re-deploy to respond to new demands on families trapped in the criminal under class and in the nightmare of execution. If Gore truly understands Dien Bien Phu, he knows promises do not move ground forces responsible for keeping the opposition bottled up or spread out fighting on all fronts. Having ducked the dialogue on race, Gore must address issues of slave descendants head-on, if he hopes to put the real Democratic army in the field.

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