Some Gore Info

Friends say he's not running:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/12/politics/campaigns/12GORE.html

<i>WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 —In a notable shift of sentiment, several associates of former Vice President Al Gore said today that they were becoming increasingly convinced that he would not run for president in 2004 and would instead announce in early January that he was stepping aside to allow a new face to challenge President Bush.

These associates emphasized that Mr. Gore had not told them his intentions and that in fact he had not made up his own mind. Given his bitter loss in the presidential election of 2000 and his frequent criticism of Mr. Bush, they cautioned, he could still "wake up one morning and decide to run," as one put it.

But in interviews, a half-dozen friends, advisers and other close associates of Mr. Gore, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity and many of whom expressed a wish that he would run, said his demeanor and actions since Election Day had convinced them that this was becoming increasingly unlikely.

That assessment was starkly different from those previously voiced by Mr. Gore's friends, who had said they expected a run.

In the latest interviews, the associates said that in private conversations in recent days, Mr. Gore had been strikingly more animated when talking about the private life of teaching, writing and speechmaking he has built than when contemplating another two-year race for the White House.

They noted that even as he had taken steps that stirred speculation that he would run — he said over the weekend that he would deliver speeches next month on the economy and health care — he had not cultivated contributors and political leaders, as would be customary for someone about to undertake a campaign.

Many of Mr. Gore's associates said he had been disturbed in the last month by what one described as "the baggage he has with the media." Mr. Gore is distressed, one associate said, by a new round of news reports, echoing questions from the 2000 race, about whether he is reinventing himself for a presidential run. This associate described Mr. Gore as convinced that Mr. Bush could be defeated in 2004 but wondering whether another Democrat might be a stronger challenger.

His spokesman, Jano Cabrera, said tonight that Mr. Gore "has not made up his mind as to whether or not he is going to run for president."

"He is currently on a book tour," Mr. Cabrera added, "and he will turn his attention to this question in a serious and focused way at the conclusion of the book tour."

Mr. Gore's decision will have a huge effect on the early dynamics of the Democratic primary campaign. Some advisers said he would be a prohibitive favorite should he decide to run; they pointed to early polls showing him as the leading choice of Democratic primary voters.

But strategists for other Democratic presidential aspirants have welcomed his entrance. They say that should any relatively little-known Democrat defeat him in an early primary, or even come close, that candidate would immediately leap to the head of the pack. Thus, a decision by Mr. Gore to sit out the race could prove disappointing to candidates like Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

At the same time, though, it would open the way for Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Mr. Gore's running mate in 2000, to join the race. Mr. Lieberman, who informed Mr. Gore long ago that he would not run if the former vice president decided to, has spent much of the last month building the foundation of a presidential campaign in the event Mr. Gore skips the run.

Not that Mr. Gore is the only big-name Democrat whose deliberations are being closely watched. The Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, has told others in the party in recent days that he is strongly considering entering the race. An adviser to him said today that he would decide by the middle of next month.

And added to the mix of lesser-known prospects today was one from the military: national Democratic leaders said Gen. Wesley K. Clark, former NATO commander, had told them he too might be interested in running.

In trying to assess Mr. Gore's intentions, some associates described him as content with a life they described as interesting and lucrative. He has a new home in Tennessee, is doing university teaching and paid speechmaking, and works for an asset management firm.

In addition, the associates said, he is well aware of the anti-Gore sentiment, both inside and outside the party, that lingers from the 2000 race, and is reluctant to proceed with a candidacy if he believes it will diminish the Democrats' chances of winning back the White House.

"He is really sort of assessing whether he is the best person to take on Bush and whether the rest of the party and other people in the country would respond better to somebody new," one close associate said. "He really, really feels that the country is heading in the wrong direction. He certainly has the energy and appetite to do it. But if there's someone else who would really carry the mantle and really be who the party wants, then he's not going to stand in the way of that."

Further, while Mr. Gore has never been much of a traditional political player, he has, by every account, not made the kind of preparatory telephone calls a candidate for president might typically place in anticipation of an announcement.

For example, Donna Brazile, his campaign manager in 2000, said she had not offered him any advice on what he might do, because she had not heard from him in months.

"I haven't reached out to talk to him, because my number is listed," Ms. Brazile said. "I haven't heard from him. I've been talking to Gephardt. I've been talking to Lieberman."

"In the long run, he will have to fight for the nomination," she said. "It's not a done deal. The party is hungry for new faces."</I>


http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2002-12-11-campbell_x.htm

Excerpt
<I>That's not the same as saying he has a good chance at winning the White House — no Democrat does unless the war on terrorism backfires on George W. Bush. But Gore would start the race with the best credentials for winning. He not only received more popular votes in 2000 than any Democratic nominee in history — almost 4 million more; he won 543,000 more votes than the Republican now residing in the White House. In fact, <B>only one man in history — Ronald Reagan in his 1984 landslide win over Walter Mondale — has won more popular votes in a presidential race than Gore.</B></I>

 

You hate politics, yet you click on a political thread. Must be bored.

 

Whatever. Yawn.

 

Yup. He knows he has a slim and none chance of winning in 2004 and he also knows he has one more campaign in him.

A little smarter than he's given credit for.