Gore undecided on new presidential bid

Reuters | 11/16/02

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Vice President Al Gore has not yet decided whether to run for president again in 2004, and admitted he could have done better in the 2000 campaign.

"The needle is straight up in the air," Gore said in an interview with ABC's "20/20" television show on Friday night -- meaning he could lean either way in deciding whether to run.

Gore said he accepted responsibility for his 2000 loss.

"I have to take some responsibility for that myself. I think I could have been a better candidate," Gore said. "I think I could have communicated much better, more clearly and forcefully."

In the interview, among his first since losing the 2000 election, Gore said he was "absolutely" certain he was going to win after the Florida Supreme Court ordered a recount of the state's disputed ballots.

He was shocked, he said, by the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stopped the recount and ended his campaign.

Gore, who also appeared on Friday on David Letterman's CBS "Late Show," has said he will decide by the end of the year whether he will make another presidential run in 2004.

Gore said he had not ruled out any possible vice presidential candidates if he did run again, including his 2000 running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, now a senator for New York.

Lieberman is considering his own run for the presidency but has said he will not challenge Gore if he runs again. Gore said Lieberman has never said that to him and "if he wants to change that, that's his prerogative."

Gore, who won the 2000 popular vote but lost the electoral tally to President George W. Bush, said of the U.S. Supreme Court verdict, "I just did not think that decision would come."

Asked if he felt cheated, Gore said, "It's kind of like a sporting event, where the referee makes a crucial call and the instant replay doesn't govern and you disagree with the call, but you have agreed to play by the rules of the game.

"I'm not saying it was easy for me emotionally. It wasn't easy," he added. "My attitude was that you win some, you lose some, and then there's that little known third category ... You flip a coin and it lands on its edge."

Gore said he was hurt by the debates with Bush and he wished he had not sighed so audibly during the first debate, but "I was exasperated by some of the things, a lot of the things, he was saying."

But it was not a mistake that he did not have former President Bill Clinton campaign with him, he said.

"I felt that I had to sell myself," Gore said, adding the two were "comrades in arms" and he might welcome Clinton's help in a 2004 campaign.

The interviews kick off a four-week tour by Gore and his wife, Tipper, to promote two new books on the American family. Gore has scheduled a series of interviews and public appearances during the tour, with a decision on a White House run expected after that.

[KeyBored]

Interesting parallels:

There once was a candidate for president who'd served as Vice-President under a popular president for eight years.

He lost his run for president in a controversial, close election.

He was not a gifted speaker - he was wooden, odd-looking, uncomfortable in front of large crowds.

His political obituary was written by his opponents two years after his presidential run.

You've probably guessed the person of whom I'm writing is Richard M. Nixon. But it may be instructive to look at what happened. Yes he ran for governor of California in '62 and lost badly. His political obituary was written at that time. In '64 and '66 he campaigned tirelessly for GOP candidates (all the while collecting political IOU's). Then, in '68, the man who's obituary had been written a mere 6 years before, was elected president.

There are, of course, contrasts too. Nixon conceeded the '60 election gracefully; he ran for office two years later; he was ABSOLUTELY LOATHED by the press; he didn't have a HILLIARY figure in his party; etc.

But the points that should be gleaned from all this are:
1. Don't underestimate your opponents, especially when the press is ON their side, and
2. Don't write off anyone or anything prematurely, and
3. Never underestimate the STUPIDITY of the electorate (Xlinton's two terms)

Remember, the DEMS always start out with a guaranteed 41-43% of the vote. It's not too difficult to build from there.

[over3Owithabrain]

I'd tell Gore to put a sock in it, but he already tried that...

[Jack of Clubs]

Gore acts like he's undecided. He isn't. He's running and running hard...Good God, he's going to be host of Saturday Night Live next month. What further proof do we need that he's running?

Prissy Al has transparent ambitions for the Oval Office. That's OK. But what is it about 5 or 6 recounts -- all with the same result -- that he doesn't understand?

[bushfamfan]

It's pretty obvious he's going to run for it again. And I don't underestimate them as candidates when they've got the media to cover up all the things concerning the facts of the economy under ClintoonGore, their bungling of international situations like Iraq getting out of control to where it is now and Osama Bin Laden. They just thought it was one big power trip, party. They're liars and if Gore gets the Dem nomination I hope President Bush will finally bring to light the economic facts prior to ClintoonGore taking office and the facts of how they left office with a recession. How they dare criticize our great President about his handling of terrorism when there is so much that they refused to deal with and let continue to be a threat. Gore is more of Clintoon, though with his trademark wooden style and I will say I can tell he studies Bush's easy manner and tries to copy it, but it's obvious he isn't real or sincere and the slumlord fails. We should be ready for him in 2004 because he's going to run. The question is if the Demonratic party will nominate him. I think they will.