President Clinton recently weighed in on the GOP presidential contest, feigning sympathy for Republican candidates for having to run against his stellar record. Let's take a look at Clinton's claim.

"I have a lot of sympathy with Governor Bush and Senator McCain. I mean, it's hard for them to figure out what to run on. They can't run against the longest economic expansion in history or the lowest crime rate in 30 years or the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years." Clinton's implicit point is that for Republicans to recapture the White House they will have to run against the status quo.

Let's get one thing straight. Republicans will not have to run against the strong economy because they deserve more credit for it than Clinton does. And Clinton wouldn't be able to brag about reduced welfare rolls if Republicans hadn't thrice shoved the Welfare Reform Bill under his nose. But is Clinton right that Republicans have no issues to run on?

Because a starker contrast can be shown between Bush and Gore than McCain and Gore, I'll give a thumbnail sketch of some of the differences between a Bush and Gore presidency.

First, consider what would have happened had congressional Republicans not thwarted much of Clinton's wish list. Clinton would have:

-Given us socialized medicine, which would have eventually destroyed the greatest health-care system in the world and bankrupted the budget Clinton takes credit for balancing.

-Ratcheted up federal spending for numerous other pet projects.

-Signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which would have gravely undermined our national security through unilateral nuclear disarmament.

-Imposed draconian restrictions on gun ownership in contravention of the Second Amendment.

-Assumed greater federal control over education toward a nationalized, politically correct and anti-Western Civilization curriculum.

A Gore presidency would also be different from a Bush presidency in that Gore would:

-Appoint activist judges instead of strict constructionists, which would seal the fate of a million and a half babies a year for at least another generation.

-Continue to play political games with the Social Security problem rather than implementing a plan, like Bush's, that would truly protect workers' retirement security by partially privatizing Social Security.

-Be beholden to teachers unions and labor unions.

-Preserve the punitive Clinton income tax rates and retain the inheritance-robbing federal estate taxes.

-Refuse to refund revenue surpluses back to their rightful owners, the taxpayers.

-Possibly seek to outlaw the internal combustion engine as well he should if he actually believes his own propaganda that it is the greatest threat to civilization.

-Further erode the Fifth Amendment by placing at even greater risk the rights of private landowners through government confiscation and choking regulations in the name of benign environmentalism.

-Seek to sponsor legislation to codify his stated belief that "computer literacy is a fundamental right."

-Use his bully pulpit to conduct class warfare and to urge that we move further toward a race-conscious society rather than striving for color blindness.

-Treat China as his favorite political contributor and strategic partner rather than as a competitor and potential menace to Taiwan and world peace.

-Continue to regard the Justice Department as the legal goalie for presidential corruption rather than the nation's highest law enforcement body.

As to character issues, Bill Clinton has given Gore his stamp of approval. "My experience is that he is exceedingly honest and exceedingly straightforward." That's like Bonnie Parker denying that Clyde Barrows was a bank robber.

Even major media outlets are beginning to show concern about Gore's similarity to Clinton in the veracity department. Other than John McCain, no one is questioning Dubya's integrity. A story in Thursday's New York Times documented an alarming litany of Gore distortions. Some of the familiar examples, such as his claim to have invented the Internet, are trivial they say, but others "are substantial parts of his public record and rationale for seeking higher office." Gore has not only adopted and embraced Clinton's corruption, there is every reason to assume he would continue in the same pattern.

These are but a few of the differences between a Gore and a Bush administration. So let's vote smart.

~David Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau is a columnist for Creators Syndicate.