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Gore says no to bid in 2004 - Ex-VP says he probably won't have another chance at White House
The Dallas Morning News ^ | December 16, 2002 | By CARL P. LEUBSDORF / The Dallas Morning News

Posted on 12/16/2002 1:58:51 AM PST by MeekOneGOP


Gore says no to bid in 2004

Ex-VP says he probably won't have another chance at White House

12/16/2002

By CARL P. LEUBSDORF / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Al Gore threw the Democratic presidential race wide open Sunday night, announcing he won't run in 2004 and noting that many Democrats didn't want to see him in a rematch with President Bush.

"I personally have the energy and drive and ambition to make another campaign, but I don't think it's the right thing for me to do," said Mr. Gore, who in 2000 lost one of the nation's closest presidential races. He said he was "sensitive" to the view of many Democrats who felt "I don't want to go through that again."

His announcement, in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes, seems certain to bring his 2000 running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, into the Democratic field and increases the likelihood that Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota will run, analysts said.

Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont has already said he plans to run. Outgoing House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts are considered likely candidates, and others may also enter.

Mr. Gore's announcement came several weeks before the year-end deadline he had set for himself and produced a range of reactions from Democratic leaders, analysts and candidates weighing a race against Mr. Bush.

Democratic contenders
With the withdrawal of Al Gore, here are Democratic contenders for the 2004 presidential nomination and the status of their campaigns:
- Vermont Gov. Howard Dean: Running for the nomination
- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry: Has formed an exploratory committee; says he will announce a decision after the new year begins
- Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Mr. Gore's running mate in 2000: Interested in running for president; previously has said he would not seek the nomination if Mr. Gore decided to
- Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota: Interested in running; says he'll announce plans after the holidays
- Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt: Interested in running
- North Carolina Sen. John Edwards: Has sent strong signals that he is likely to run; will announce plans after the first of the year
"That's amazing," said Tom Henderson, the Democratic chairman of Polk County, Iowa, where the presidential race will formally begin with caucuses in January 2004. "It opens things wide."

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said it transforms the Democratic race from one in which the candidates would each be seeking to topple Mr. Gore to one "that will be almost completely undefined within the Democratic Party."

Stuart Rothenberg, a political analyst and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, said the decision will produce "a collective sigh of relief from Democratic operatives."

"They just thought he was a loser," Mr. Rothenberg said. "They couldn't imagine him beating George W. Bush, but they understood that the [presidential nominating] calendar was an asset for him and he could have been the nominee."

Similarly, the announcement produced some disappointment among Republicans who had hoped for a Bush-Gore rematch.

"If he had gotten the nomination, that would have been a bounty for Bush beyond his wildest dreams," Texas GOP strategist Dave Beckwith said. "It appears that Bush will not be lucky enough to have him again."

On the Democratic side, former President Bill Clinton issued a statement saying: "Al Gore was the best vice president America ever had. He would have been a fine president had history taken a different course two years ago."

Several likely Democratic candidates also issued statements praising Mr. Gore. Mr. Dean called it "sort of a bittersweet day," noting that "Al Gore faced a very difficult decision and he exhibited some real courage in making the decision he did."

Similarly, Mr. Kerry said, "I know this was a very difficult and personal decision for Al Gore and his family and I respect the choice he has made."

Though Mr. Gore said that, as a result of his decision, "Lieberman will now run," an aide to the senator said that he had no immediate comment. The Connecticut senator has said he would only run if Mr. Gore bowed out.

In explaining his decision, Mr. Gore indicated that he understood the widespread concern his potential candidacy had raised within the Democratic Party.

While he said he believed he could defeat Mr. Bush because his economic policies "do not work," he acknowledged that the campaign he narrowly lost when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Mr. Bush's 537-vote margin in Florida "was an extremely difficult one."

"And while I have the energy and drive to go out there and do it again, I think there are a lot of people within the Democratic Party who felt exhausted by that, who felt like, OK, 'I don't want to go through that again,' " he said. "And I'm frankly sensitive to that, to that feeling."

He also said that a rematch "would inevitably involve a focus on the past that would in some measure distract from the focus on the future that I think all campaigns have to be about."

He said he understands that, by not running in 2004, "it probably means I will never have another opportunity to run for president." But he said that he plans to remain politically active and that "there are many other exciting ways to serve."

The degree to which Mr. Gore would have dominated the opening stages of the Democratic race has been reflected in polls showing him far ahead of his possible rivals. Such polls, taken well before the public focuses on an election, often reflect the degree to which the candidates are known.

The same polls also showed him running well behind Mr. Bush.

His dominant position within the party was also reflected in a series of polls that were taken recently in states with early nominating contests and released last week by The Hotline, which provides a daily summary of political news.

The polls showed Mr. Gore leading by a 2-to-1 ratio over his closest rival in Iowa and by 5-to-1 in South Carolina.

But in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary eight days after the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Gore trailed Mr. Kerry, who may have been helped because he announced the formation of an exploratory committee just before the surveys were taken.

Still, analysts predicted that Mr. Gore would have faced a stiff challenge from Mr. Gephardt in Iowa, where the Missouri Democrat won the 1988 caucuses, and from Mr. Kerry in New Hampshire.

"They all had their places picked out where they thought they could beat Gore, and they probably could have," Mr. Sabato said. "I think he was ripe for the plucking."

Without Mr. Gore in the race, the polls showed Mr. Gephardt was the leader in Iowa, Mr. Kerry in New Hampshire and the race in South Carolina was muddled.

Iowa Democrats said that, without Mr. Gore in the race, Mr. Gephardt will likely gain most of the backing of the state's politically influential unions. But they predicted that Mr. Daschle, from neighboring South Dakota, would also be a contender if he runs.

"You're going to see Gephardt and Daschle probably be front-runners because of their proximity to Iowa and the people here. The issue is probably going to be who comes in third," said Rob Tully, a former Iowa Democratic chairman who backs Mr. Edwards.

Mr. Henderson, who is not committed in the race, said that Mr. Kerry, who came in second behind Mr. Gephardt in the Iowa poll, could also be a player in the state. "He has picked up some supporters who are absolutely committed to him," he said.

And he noted that Mr. Dean "is trying to follow the Jimmy Carter model" by spending more time in the state than his rivals. "He's leaving office, so he'll be available to campaign full time," Mr. Henderson said.

The poll showed that Mr. Lieberman would inherit much of Mr. Gore's Iowa support.

One key to the race, longtime Democratic strategist Mark Siegel said, is that many states are planning to take advantage of a change in party rules that allows them to move their primaries into February, right after Iowa and New Hampshire. He said that will increase pressure on them to raise enough money to compete on TV.

While other candidates might be tempted to enter now, he said, "the calendar is very difficult and the new rules make it very difficult for a dark horse candidate to win." He predicted that Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Lieberman and Mr. Kerry would have the best chance of raising enough money to compete.

Mr. Gore's decision means that he will not attempt to emulate Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, who won the White House four years after they lost the presidency on electoral votes despite winning the most popular votes.

But the last three candidates who ran four years after losing - William Jennings Bryan, Thomas E. Dewey and Adlai E. Stevenson - also lost the rematches.

Mr. Sabato speculated that may have influenced Mr. Gore.

"In the end, he decided to go out as the popular vote winner in 2000, someone who's going to look pretty good, rather than someone who might have gone out as an ignominious loser the second or third time," the Virginia professor said.

E-mail cleubsdorf@dallasnews.com


Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/nation/stories/121602dnnatgore.9f45a.html


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: algore; bubyeal; dontletthedoor; gore; hityouinthearse; irrelevantgore; lockbox; loser; lostarkansas; lostdebates; lostflorida; losttennessee; norunfor2004; pathetic; riskyscheme; runslikeagirl; soreloserman; tipperkiss
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Head to Head with ALGORE

1 posted on 12/16/2002 1:58:51 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
Golden moments...

Remember during the 'debates' when algore's handlers programmed him to do the physical intimidation thing?

Big Al shuffled over to W like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster... I thought he'd slipped off the deep end and was going to take a poke at Bush.

Sigh...

It's all gone now Al...

The dream... The labor of a lifetime...

It's over...

At least you've got ole Tippy.

Ummm... You DID clear this surrender announcement with Tippy... Right Al?

2 posted on 12/16/2002 2:14:00 AM PST by DWSUWF
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To: DWSUWF
Al can kick back and relax on his tobacco farm...


3 posted on 12/16/2002 2:18:07 AM PST by Las Vegas Dave
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To: Las Vegas Dave
LOL!

If I cut my hair, shaved my beard and took up smoking again that could be a photo of me.

4 posted on 12/16/2002 2:32:12 AM PST by DWSUWF
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To: MeeknMing
What's with this picture on Drudge !! ??


5 posted on 12/16/2002 2:33:15 AM PST by The Raven
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To: Las Vegas Dave
LOL !!



6 posted on 12/16/2002 2:37:00 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: Las Vegas Dave
Oops ! I forgot the link with that pic....

Check out Al Gore's REVIEW of Cast Away

7 posted on 12/16/2002 2:38:52 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: DWSUWF

The Kiss: A Real Liplocker.

8 posted on 12/16/2002 2:45:59 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
Darn. I was hoping the Democrats had become the Stupid Party and would put him up again.
9 posted on 12/16/2002 2:51:06 AM PST by Roy Tucker
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To: MeeknMing
"...The Kiss..."

Yeah, 'The Kiss'!

Another great algore moment in the 2000 campaign.

It was a miracle that she didn't panic and begin to struggle.

Maybe algore's staff hit her with a little horse tranquilizer before she went on stage.

10 posted on 12/16/2002 2:52:34 AM PST by DWSUWF
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To: The Raven
What's with this picture on Drudge !! ??

Looks like

The Gore Unit (tm) has encountered a problem and needs to close. Fatal Runtime Error. Stack Dump. Warning. Warning. Error.

11 posted on 12/16/2002 3:20:17 AM PST by Gorzaloon
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To: Gorzaloon
 
 
Yah - they were trying to re-boot him and somebody forgot to bring the boot disk.
 
(Hate that when that happens)
 
 

12 posted on 12/16/2002 3:41:33 AM PST by DeBug=int13
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To: DeBug=int13
Stop and think about it, it was the CLINTONS that did not want him to run, Hill-o-ree, as the story goes, would not let Terry the terrible release any monies to him, ever. The CLINTONS own the democractic party lock, stock and barrel. Isn't it great? look want a great job the did during this last election, the CLINTONS touch something, it turns to 'stuff'.
13 posted on 12/16/2002 4:07:08 AM PST by gulfcoast6
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To: DWSUWF
All we have left is John Kerrey with his Republican wife and her big mouth. And as Steyn wrote so well recently, his record as a Viet Nam veteran throwing someone else's medals on the steps.

Ho Ho Ho, Happy New Year, everyone!

14 posted on 12/16/2002 4:09:31 AM PST by Thebaddog
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To: Thebaddog
"...All we have left is John Kerrey with his Republican wife and her big mouth..."

You mean 'Ketsup Boy'?

Do you think, when push comes to shove, that she'll actually let her boy toy come out to play? Don't forget, SHE's the one who has the power here.

And a Presidential Campaign will bother her rather more than she may care to be bothered.

I think this is much less a done deal than is commonly believed.

15 posted on 12/16/2002 4:22:55 AM PST by DWSUWF
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To: Gorzaloon; The Raven
Warning. Warning....

LOL ! And good graph, TR. Thanks.....


Warning ! Warning !

16 posted on 12/16/2002 5:41:42 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: Roy Tucker
Darn. I was hoping the Democrats had become the Stupid Party and would put him up again.

Maybe they are finally figuring this stuff out. This clears the way for LIEberman now. Lookin' like him and Kerry at this point. Maybe they haven't figured it out and they'll take a real Hard Left and stick this one in there? LOL !

Run, Nancy, Run !!



17 posted on 12/16/2002 5:47:59 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: DWSUWF; maxwell
LOL !!
18 posted on 12/16/2002 5:54:20 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
Check out Al Gore's REVIEW of Cast Away

The funny thing is that a few days ago a literary agency contacted me about doing a book consisting of those Algore movie reviews ("Al Gore At The Movies"), with LOTS of comix and illustrations to accompany the text. Their idea was that since Gore is prominent in the news, it would help to publicize such a book. However, now that Gore announced that he isn't running for Prez, this sort of hurts that rationale. I am now trying to think of a way to assure them that such a book is still viable. I just don't think Gore will DISAPPEAR from the news due to his ego. I wonder if that is enough to convince them?

19 posted on 12/16/2002 6:13:35 AM PST by PJ-Comix
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To: PJ-Comix
I agree. Go for it !

OwlGore is the Morphing Politician. He can turn into anything. But of course. He invented the Internet, you know? Also this.....



20 posted on 12/16/2002 6:19:53 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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