Bill Shipp
WINNING WITHOUT WAVES

I watched 10 Republican presidential candidates debate on national TV last week, and for a moment I thought I was dreaming.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stepped right up in the midst of this gaggle of seemingly like-minded conservatives to declare he favored women's abortion rights. Just a year ago this month, Giuliani was in Atlanta raising campaign money for Ralph Reed, just about the most ardent anti-abortionist in the universe.

A couple of weeks ago, Giuliani was in Montgomery,

Ala., telling flaggers that he's on their

side in the battle over the Rebel flag.

I keep thinking somebody is going to catch on. Rudy is for or against everything or anything, depending on where he is and whom he is talking to. When the electorate wakes up, Rudy is a goner. And I'll miss him.

So far, he is the only first-tier candidate, Republican or Democrat, to march out of step, sing off-key and not mutter the same old generalities about every issue.

If the first two primary debates - one Democrat, the other Republican - are an indication of the future, America is in for the longest, dullest national campaign in history.

No one - except Rudy, of course - has been willing to commit to anything.

Democrats were able to retake Congress in 2006 on the strength of their opposition to the Iraq war. Now their opposition is so nuanced and tentative that understanding their opposition is impossible. The debate over funding the war has turned into a wellchoreographed play, the outcome of which is certain. The war goes on, and so does the funding.

Remember when Republicans said they were determined to fix the immigration mess? Well, it is still not fixed. Before listeners can pin down any ranking Republican on immigration, they must understand what "is" is.

The early presidential rounds and even some of the tentative feelers for state office back here prove to me that we are entering an era of anti-activist politics.

The reason for the national breather: President George W. Bush and his GOP allies turned out to be super-activists. Oh, they called themselves conservatives, but their record on spending and making war is anything but conservative. I have a feeling a lot of conservatives - at least those who are still tuned in - are fed up with Bush. They want a new start on conservatism. They want less get-up-and-go at the top.

In a sense, Georgia may have set the pattern for non-boat rockers. Gov. Sonny Perdue won an endorsement term last year on the strength of attempting little and accomplishing less. He first won the governorship against an incumbent who epitomized the progressive activist.

Gov. Roy Barnes somehow thought voters really wanted accountable teachers, easier commutes and a greener environment. He was wrong. What they said they wanted and what they really desired were entirely different.

To be sure, Georgians have seen a lot of fireworks recently between the Legislature and Gov. Perdue. In the end, the debates centered on process rather than substance. None of the fights involved conflicting visions for Georgia. Because there weren't any.

If it hadn't been for a few mini-scandals, this Legislature could have enacted the Chamber of Commerce agenda and gone home without making a ripple. The only question: Why did it take so long?

Now Gov. Perdue is on the brink of calling a special session to enact a mid-year budget, which most financial experts say ought to be abolished anyway. It is an accounting trick that the state could live without.

Some believe the governor is crossed up with his party's legislative leaders mainly because he forgot to take his medicine.

If ever there was a fight over nothing, this is it.

The sad part is that mainstream voters on both the national and state scene don't seem to care. The crude foibles of Don Imus are viewed with greater alarm than the forgetful underhandedness of Alberto Gonzales. A K Street madam in Washington attracts more interest in Atlanta than lawmakers chipping away at the Gold Dome gild just two blocks from Five Points.

Let's hope that the epidemic of apathy doesn't last past the next cycle of elections.

That a lethargic nation may choose another W. and a shortattention span state select a second Sonny are possibilities too painful to contemplate.

You can reach Bill Shipp at P.O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, GA 30160.