Posted on 11/18/2002 6:18:53 PM PST by paul in cape
(New Algore pic to caption) WASHINGTON – Two years after his quest for the presidency ended on the steps of the US Supreme Court, Al Gore is back - and he's presenting a whole new side of himself. In a flurry of recent TV appearances promoting his new book on families, the former vice president has been seen:
• Telling talk-show host David Letterman that he's always grown a beard on vacation - it's just that the period after the 2000 election was the longest vacation he'd ever had.
• Driving a rental car through Iowa while singing "On the Road Again," on ABC's 20/20.
• Floating as a disembodied head in a jar on the FOX cartoon show "Futurama," where he's dubbed "the inventor of the environment."
But beyond poking fun at himself, Mr. Gore has also been taking some bold policy positions. At a time when the Democratic Party is reeling from midterm defeats, Gore has garnered new notice as one of the few Democrats who took pointed stands against the Bush administration on issues from war with Iraq to the tax cut.
Last week, he caused an additional stir by telling a New York audience he has come to favor a "single-payer" national health insurance plan, which typically means the government pays all medical bills through taxes - a far more radical scheme than he endorsed in the 2000 campaign, and one that even many Democrats regard as politically risky.
...ALGORE TODAY.................ALGORE IN 20 years!
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