After The Riots, Politics As Usual

AFTER MONTHS OF PENNY-ANTE POSTURING, THE stakes in the presidential campaign moved sharply higher as Bush and Clinton blew some rhetorical smoke over the volatile issues of race, class and domestic neglect. So stark a reminder of the challenges facing the nation might have helped focus an erstwhile inchoate campaign. But neither candidate seized the opportunity to demonstrate much leadership; instead they bickered about the Great Society and settled for scoring some political points.

Both men trounced their pesky primary opponents in North Carolina, Indiana and the District of Columbia to move one step closer to this fall's matchup. Arkansas Governor...