"I think I'll run to the store for some more beer..."
Posted on 06/30/2002 10:19:33 PM PDT by HAL9000
MEMPHIS, Tenn - Move over Adlai, here comes Al.
Not since Adlai Stevenson ran against Dwight Eisenhower back to back in the 1950s - and lost both times - has a losing presidential candidate won his party's nomination a second consecutive time.
But Al Gore is getting ready to run for president again, pondering whether he can defy history, reclaim the Democratic nomination and this time grab the prize that eluded him two years ago.
Gore, 54, is poised to enter the race a front-runner for the nomination with formidable strengths: he won the popular vote in 2000, knows the issues inside and out, and could raise plenty of money.
He also has glaring weaknesses that explain why a large field of Democrats is itching to challenge him: He made critical mistakes in 2000, has alienated many party insiders, and strikes many Democrats as old news.
"He is the 800-pound gorilla in the race," said one Democratic strategist who supported Gore in 2000. "But as usual he hasn't figured out who he is or how he's going to run."
Although he won't decide officially whether to run until after Jan. 1, Gore sent a strong signal that he is gearing up by summoning about 60 of his top financial supporters to Memphis last weekend. In private sessions, he acknowledged mistakes in his 2000 campaign and won a standing ovation when he promised a different approach if he runs again.
"If I had to do it all again, I'd just let it rip," he told a breakfast meeting Saturday, according to participants. "To hell with the polls, the tactics and all the rest."
To friends like Chris Korge, a Democratic fund-raiser from Miami, it was just the right message from a man often criticized for frequently reinventing himself with poll-tested messages and new wardrobes.
"There was too much strategy, too many consultants giving too much advice," Korge said.
Gore's family wants him to run and believes he could win.
"I would love to see my husband run again," Tipper Gore told the Memphis Commercial Appeal on the eve of the weekend meeting. "If he chooses to do that, I am right there."
She revealed that she consulted a doctor after the 2000 election, fearful she was suffering from clinical depression as she did when her son was injured in an auto accident more than a decade earlier. Reassured that her feelings were normal, she said she is raring to go with another campaign . That is likely a critical factor for Gore.
Moreover, family sentiment is driven by a sense of what-might-have-been each time talk turns to what President Bush is doing on issues such as the economy, the environment or health care, according to Gore's eldest daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff.
"It makes your heart sick about what he could do if he were in that job. It makes me think he should go for it again," she told reporters outside the weekend gathering. "I definitely think he can win in `04. He would be an exciting candidate. He would run a race with the benefit of experience from the last race."
Insiders in both parties agree that Gore would start with valuable experience, money and a national base.
"If he chooses to go, the financial support will be extremely strong," said Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic fund-raiser from New York.
And many Democrats credit him with winning more votes than any candidate in history except Ronald Reagan. "He outperformed Bill Clinton," said Mitchell Berger, a fund-raiser from Miami. "The base of the party saw what Al Gore did in 2000."
Indeed, said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist who ran Bob Dole's campaign in 1996, Gore starts as the clear front-runner.
"Around the country, this is still Gore's race to lose," said Reed. "We're headed toward a repeat. That's clearly where it's heading."
Still, there are doubters in the party. And a crowded field of challengers is already emerging. They include Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, John Edwards of North Carolina, and John Kerry of Massachusetts. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut wants to run - but only if Gore does not.
There also are signs that Gore has not patched up problems at home or in other parts of the party.
Gore lost his home state of Tennessee and its 11 electoral votes in 2000, a fact that cost him the election. He promised to regain his political base, and recently bought a $2.3 million home in a Nashville suburb where he plans to live when not residing in his suburban Washington D.C. home.
But Gore has not reached out to independent voters in the state who hold the key to election victories. And a new poll released by the Republican National Committee underscored that his fledgling efforts have not yet paid off in Tennessee. It showed only 42 percent of likely voters in Tennessee approve of Gore while 49 percent disapprove. At the same time, 77 percent approve of Bush while only 18 percent disapprove.
"He's got a lot of work to do," said E.C. Jones, a Democratic city council member in Memphis. "He's got to get around and talk to people. He's doing it, but he has more to do."
And it has not yet paid off in some other parts of the country, most notably in South Carolina, a pivotal state that likely will hold the first Southern primary.
"I don't know whether a repeat is what we need as a party," said South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Richard Harpootlian. "I think Al's performance in 2000 leaves big questions about whether he can put together the organization with the political skills to beat George Bush in `04."
And Harpootlian noted that all the other candidates have visited his state but he said he has not heard from Gore since March 2000.
"If Gore is going to engage in this race," said Harpootlian, "he better get his almanac out and figure out where we are."
He should be grateful that he can appear in public without being pelted with tomatoes. He should be grateful that as he does not know who he really is, neither does half the nation — yet.
Albert should quit while he is behind.
"I think I'll run to the store for some more beer..."
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