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Bob Dole still carries the duties of Republican Senate minority leader while campaigning cheerfully every spare moment; to him politics has been vocation and avocation for decades. Governor Michael Dukakis divides his week, not quite so cheerfully, between the road and the Massachusetts statehouse. One Sunday night in Knoxville, Iowa, he wistfully told two dozen citizens how Sunday used to be his sacrosanct family day. But there he was at yet another coffee hour, fresh from a debate in which his record had been attacked, and he wondered if he might have some pecan pie with ice cream before the interrogation started. It arrived in due course, but Dukakis watched the ice cream melt while the impatient voters grilled him about Central America.
Laxalt, like Nunn, seems to lack the gene that ignites the requisite fire in the belly. He got into the race reluctantly, never having admired George Bush much and believing that true-blue Reaganauts would rally to him rather than to Jack Kemp. Instead, he found only a trickle of supporters and contributors -- and realized he is a reluctant presser of flesh.
Laxalt also discovered the Shrinkage Phenomenon, a mysterious effect that diminishes prospects' stature as soon as they enter the race. As Cuomo observed last week, "The minute Bradley or Nunn or Cuomo or Bumpers or Celeste actually run, they become dwarfs like everyone else. The press will see to that." There is also the obverse effect, an optical illusion called the Sidelines Magnifier. When the Cuomos and Bradleys and Nunns stay out, wrapped in the dignity of duty or humility, they seem so much grander than those scurrying after votes and donations.
Despite the wealth of contenders, the sighs of unrequited love are likely to linger, especially among Democrats. Dreamy scenarios will be spun about luring one of the reluctant warriors into the fray, though it is already too late for a new entry to organize for the early primaries. Those could of course transform one or two of the active dwarfs into giants. But if that does not happen, the murmurs about Nunn or Cuomo or Bradley sweeping in and brokering their way to victory could start up anew.