Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign
Al Gore for President 2000 | |
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Campaign | 2000 Democratic primaries 2000 U.S. presidential election |
Candidate | Al Gore 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) Joe Lieberman U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1989–2013) |
Affiliation | Democratic Party |
Status | Announced: June 16, 1999 Presumptive nominee: March 14, 2000 Official nominee: August 17, 2000 Election day: November 7, 2000 Projected defeat: December 12, 2000 Formally conceded: December 13, 2000 |
Headquarters | Nashville, Tennessee |
Key people | Donna Brazile, campaign manager William M. Daley, campaign chairman |
Slogan | Leadership for the New Millennium Prosperity for America's Families[1] |
Website | |
www.gorelieberman.com (Archived – October 29, 2000) |
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Vice President of the United States
Presidential campaigns
Vice presidential campaigns
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Early political career
U.S. Senator from Connecticut
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The 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore, the
On November 7, 2000, projections indicated that Gore's opponent, then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush, the Republican candidate, had narrowly won the election. Gore won the national popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote after a legal battle over disputed vote counts in the state of Florida. Bush won the state of Florida in the initial count and also in each subsequent recount at the time. While a NORC study of uncounted ballots released on November 12, 2001, found that with a full statewide hand recount, Gore may have won Florida under revised vote standards (depending on which standard was used, his margin of victory would have varied from 60 to 171 votes),[2] under rules devised by the Florida Supreme Court and accepted by the Gore campaign at the time, Bush would likely have won the recount.[3]
The legal dispute was ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court of the United States in a 5–4 decision. Bush won the election by 537 votes in Florida, and won the electoral college vote of 271 to 266. One elector pledged to Gore did not cast an electoral vote; Gore received 267 pledged electors. The election was one of the most controversial in American history.[4][5]
Announcement and Democratic primaries
CNN interview
Prior to his announcement that he would be running in the 2000 election, Gore participated in a March 9, 1999, interview for CNN's
In response to the controversy, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn argued that they didn't think, "as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he 'invented' the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet."[12]
Gore would later poke fun at the controversy on the Late Show with David Letterman when he read Letterman's Top 10 List, which for this show was called, "Top Ten Rejected Gore - Lieberman Campaign Slogans". Number nine on the list was: "Remember, America, I gave you the Internet, and I can take it away!"[13] A few years later, on June 6, 2005, Gore was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award "for three decades of contributions to the Internet" at the Webby Awards.[14][15]
Announcement
There was talk of a potential run for president by Gore as early as January 1998.[16]
Gore formally announced his candidacy for president on June 16, 1999, in
Primaries
Gore faced an early challenge by former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley.[17] Bradley was the only candidate to oppose Gore[19] and was considered a "fresh face" for the White House.[20] Bradley, in comparing himself with the current administration, argued that "One of the reasons I'm running for president is to restore trust and public service and confidence in our collective will."[19] By the fall of 1999, a number of polls showed Bradley running even with the Vice President in key primary states."[20] Gore responded by switching his campaign headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Nashville, Tennessee, in an effort to further distance himself from Bill Clinton.[21] Gore then challenged Bradley to a series of debates which took the form of "town hall" meetings.[22] Gore went on the offensive during these debates[23] leading to a drop in the polls for Bradley.[24] Gore eventually went on to win every primary and caucus and in March 2000, secured the Democratic nomination.[25]
Campaign
Running mate selection
- Senator Barbara Boxer of California
- Governor Gray Davis of California
- Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois
- Senator Dianne Feinstein of California
- Governor Bob Graham of Florida
- Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo of New York
- Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska
- Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
- Senator and former Governor Zell Miller of Georgia
- Fmr. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell of Maine
- Fmr. Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia
- Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson of New Mexico
- Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana
- Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa
- Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
- House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri
- Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
- Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
- Governor Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Joe Lieberman and nomination
In August 2000, Gore announced that he had selected Senator
Gore's daughter, Karenna, together with her father's former
Campaign trail and platform
Soon after the convention, with running mate Joe Lieberman, Gore hit the campaign trail. He and Bush were deadlocked in the polls.[33]
During his
Economic platform
Al Gore's platform pledged to "keep our economy strong by building on the careful fiscal policies of the last seven years".[36]
National debt and Social Security
The platform included a plan to pay off the
Medicare "lock box"
Gore's platform involved creating a "Medicare lock box" designed so that Medicare payroll taxes could only be used to strengthen Medicare and pay down the national debt.[36]
Tax cuts
Gore proposed a $500 billion package of targeted tax cuts, "to afford quality child care, higher education and lifelong learning, health insurance and long-term care for an aging or disabled relative".[36]
Trust funds
Gore called for the establishment of "three new trust funds to improve and expand access to affordable health care, dramatically improve education, and clean up [America's] environment". The environmental trust fund would use market-based mechanisms to target the transportation, electric power generation and industrial production sectors of the economy.[36]
Investing in technology
Gore's plan called for increased investment in biotechnology, information technology, a university research ideas "which are later turned into benefits that we all enjoy such as high-speed wireless networks that can provide telemedicine, distance learning, and electronic commerce to remote rural communities; supercomputers that can dramatically increase our ability to predict tornadoes and hurricanes; and computers that are much easier to use, and can 'understand' human language; new research leading to the design of effective drugs and a speed-up of the time it takes to find important new treatments and cures". These investments were considered "a vital element of preserving and expanding America's prosperity".[36]
Investing in communities
Gore's platform included measures aimed at "revitalizing distressed communities". This included creating and funding more empowerment zones and enterprise communities (EZs and ECs), tax credits and grants as part of the New Markets Initiative, and $35 million increased funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.[36]
Trade
Gore called for opening markets to "spur innovation, speed the growth of new industries, and make [American] businesses more competitive", but also stressed the need to "negotiate worker rights, human rights, and environmental protections", stating: "we should use trade to lift up standards around the world not drag down standards here at home".[36]
Defense
Gore's economic platform also contained a section entitled "Keep Our Defense Strong and Protect Americans Abroad", in which he stated his intention to "use part of the surplus to make reasonable increases in military spending - targeted to improve benefits and quality of life for servicemen and women, improve force readiness and provide the most modern equipment".[36]
Debates
Gore and Bush participated in three televised debates. A Gallup debate-reaction survey taken right after the first debate found that viewers felt Gore won the debate by 48% to 41%.[37] Media analysis focused on the presentation style of each of the candidates. Issues of style and presentation would continue to be a theme throughout the election. Stuart Rothemberg analyzed the debate and declared that Bush appeared to be a "'deer in the headlights' in the first debate. But the governor was relaxed and authentic, and he seemed at ease on the same stage with the sitting vice president ... Gore may have been more aggressive on issues, and he surely was more detailed. But the vice president also looked and sounded about as appealing as a case of the flu. His makeup was terrible, and his comments sounded canned. Gore has always had problems sounding natural, and his first debate performance made him look like a phony politician, not a sincere leader."[38] After three days of such analysis, support for Gore went from a pre-debate lead by 8 points to a tie of 43% for both candidates.[37] After the second debate, Gore was criticized as too "reticent" while Bush was "relaxed and self-confident."[38] Finally, critics argued that Gore's performance during the third debate was too aggressive.[39]
Florida recount and Bush v. Gore
On election night, news networks first called Florida for Gore, later retracted the projection, and then called Florida for Bush, before finally retracting that projection as well.
Gore strongly disagreed with the Court's decision, but in a widely praised concession speech, co-written with his chief White House and campaign speechwriter Eli Attie, Gore said, "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."[45][46][47]
In the introduction to his global warming presentation, Gore later
Transition planning
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Planned transitions
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A presidential transition was contingently planned from President Clinton to Gore.
Months before the election, transition planning began, with Al Gore appointing Roy Neel to lead the planning effort.[51]
On November 9, Neel announced that all transition planning would be paused by the Gore team.[52] With the result of the election remaining in flux, for some time, Gore would keep this pause on transition planning. Contrarily, Bush proceeded with his transition efforts.[53][54] Gore's camp criticized this as Bush's team rushing to declare a victory before the election result had even been decided.[51]
Unlike Bush, who would have to start from scratch to form an administration, Gore had many top-aides for which he had had input in hiring already in place in Clinton's White House.[51] A Gore transition, unlike a Bush transition would be a "friendly transition", with the same political party remaining in control of the executive branch.[55]
In late November, with the inauguration day ever nearing, Gore began resuming work on his transition effort.
Gore's transition effort ended when Bush became president-elect after the Bush v. Gore decision.
Aftermath
Theories
There were a number of theories connected to Gore's loss. Gore, according to a 2002
Another theory suggests that Al Gore attempted to run a populist campaign but failed to separate himself from the abuses of the Clinton presidency. The public was not able to forget the Campaign fund raising controversy at the Hsi Lai Temple 1996 United States campaign finance controversy. There is also a theory concerning Al Gore's first campaign interviews on CNN.[62]
However, it has been acknowledged that Gore's decision to distance himself from Clinton—whose Gallup approval ratings were well above 50% throughout the year[63]—was a costly mistake for his campaign.[64][65][66]
Television appearances
A few years later, Gore began to make a number of television appearances in which he displayed a willingness to poke fun at himself, such as in episodes of Futurama and Saturday Night Live.[67][68] Some argued that this was evidence that he was "presenting a whole new side of himself" to contradict the perception of a persona "often associated with stiffness and caution." There was further speculation that it was indicative of a 2004 presidential run.[67]
HBO film
The election is the subject of a 2008
See also
- 2000 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- 2000 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
- 2000 Democratic National Convention
- 2000 United States presidential election
- George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign
References
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- ^ Finkelstein, Seth (April 28, 2006). "Al Gore "invented the Internet"-resources". Archived from the original on May 22, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2007.
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- ^ a b c d Skinner, Richard (October 7, 2016). "Bill Clinton set a bad example with his transition". Vox. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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- ^ a b c d Burke (2004), p. 30
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- PBS. Archived from the originalon November 11, 2012.
Nader captured 2.7 percent of the national vote -- many of those votes that may have otherwise gone to then-Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee. In two states, Florida and New Hampshire, the number of votes that gave the states' electoral votes to George W. Bush was smaller than the number of votes cast for Nader.
- ^ Gromov, Gregory. "Al Gore's Pileup on the Information Superhighway". NetValley. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
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- ^ Weisberg, Jacob (November 8, 2000). "Why Gore (Probably) Lost". Slate. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
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Sources cited
- Burke, John P. (2004). Becoming President: The Bush Transition, 2000-2003. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1-58826-292-8.