Abrams Tries to Tailor a Message for All Venues, Audiences and Moods
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Ever the nervous student, Robert Abrams scanned a yellow legal pad moments before addressing a group of about 30 Democratic Party faithful on a recent afternoon. Scribbled at the top, a timeless reminder: “Say nice things about the party.” Great idea. He did. Everyone clapped. On to the next stop. Sometimes using charts and graphs, the New York State Attorney General stands before the cameras, his smudged glasses shining, his hands waving and his Bronx-tinged voice spinning tales of woe about Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato’s voting record, the state’s poor economy and the many scandals that have swirled in the Senator’s wake. Stop after stop, the words repeat in an endless loop, tailored to fit the venue, the audience and the mood. The Standard Fare For weeks, his standard fare has droned on without providing him with an increase in the polls. Day after day, racing from one unlikely locale to another, Mr. Abrams pounds away, telling older people that their needs should be met, Jews that Israel is important, blacks that civil rights matter and hospital administrators that health care in New York is in a state of crisis. His messages are well framed and well meant. Hitting His Stride He repeatedly attacks Mr. D’Amato’s involvement in everything from lost Housing and Urban Development grants to lost jobs, the high cost of health insurance and threats to abortion rights. But as he moves toward the final stretch, he may have begun to hit his stride. Sunday, standing first before Local 3 of the Jewish Electrical Welfare Club in Flushing, Queens, and later before about 1,000 congregants at the First Baptist Church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Mr. Abrams suddenly hit a groove, winning passionate applause from audiences hungry for change in Washington and better prospects for their future. At the Baptist church, he spoke of his fight against housing discrimination and his deeply held belief in civil rights. He condemned Mr. D’Amato for casting “the decisive vote” against the 1992 civil rights act and almost brought the congregation to its feet when he promised to “pay Al D’Amato back Nov. 3.” Even when he ran through his customary litany of the 500,000 jobs lost in New York State, the $117 billion sent to Washington never to return, and his complaint that New Yorkers have suffered from deep cuts in education, health care and other essentials, he seemed almost spontaneous. “We’ve got news for this administration,” he said, his voice rolling over a carpet of bowed and nodding heads. “They have turned their backs on us over these last 12 years and we are going to turn our backs on them this Nov. 3.” In closing, he leaned on his only laugh line. “Al D’Amato says he’s bringing home the bacon,” he said in a voice that tends to rise and fall like the tides. “But we know that’s a lot of ba -low- ney! New York is hurting! New York is in pain ! New York has lost more jobs than any state in the nation under the Bush-Quayle-D’Amato years.” More : query.nytimes.com |