Gore in 2004

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Gore in 2004
by James Hall, Associate Editor

April 17, 2002

"Leaning Left"

James Hall ORLANDO -- Here at Florida's State Democratic Party Convention, 2,500 delegates were treated to a number of good speeches this past weekend from potential presidential hopefuls including Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, John Edwards, and Chris Dodd. But the biggest applause from the party faithful came when Al Gore gave a rousing speech attacking the Bush administration's mistakes and unfulfilled promises. While Mr. Gore appears to have been written off by party regulars inside the beltway, he still has a following with rank and file--and perhaps the best chance to defeat George W. Bush in 2004.

Former Vice President Al Gore (AP) Gore (right) did not declare his intention to run in 2004 here--he said he was in Orlando to support Florida candidates for office. But his speech sounded a lot like a stump speech, and the reactions of the Democrats at the convention--the applause, the standing ovations, and the mob scene after Gore's speech, with Gore shaking hands and working the crowd--appeared distinctly presidential.

Many party regulars still blame Gore for losing a "sure thing" election in 2000 and would rather see a fresh face appear to campaign for the 2004 election. But Gore may have the best chance to beat a candidate who like Bill Clinton before him is attempting to steal the major centrist issues away from the opposition party--in this case the economy, education, and healthcare reform.

As the highest former Clinton administration official capable of running for president, Gore can lay claim to the Clinton administration's record on the economy and its success in balancing the federal budget. He's also in the best position to remind voters of Bush's broken promise not to spend Social Security money on the regular budget and of Bush's unfulfilled promises on a Medicare prescription drug plan and the reform of Social Security.

Gore scored hits with the crowd on these issues and also on contrasting his ample environmental record to Bush's nonexistent one. One of his biggest applause lines came when he contrasted the Bush administration's lack of support for a right to medical privacy for average Americans with the administration's own tendency to shroud its dealings with industry lobbyists under a cloak of secrecy. And Gore can juxtapose his administration's active role in the Middle East with Bush's failed hands-off approach there.

Yes, Gore has to overcome the wishy-washy campaign image he created when he kept switching campaign themes in mid-race. He must overcome his famous wooden stiffness. He must not run away from his passion for the environment or from his connection to Clinton, as he did in 2000. Most of all, Gore must run to win, not try to play it safe to avoid losing.

Maybe it's best this time that Gore--or any other Democrat--runs from behind rather than ahead of Bush. If Gore runs on the issues he's passionate about, if he goes on the offensive rather than playing it safe, then he can win.

Best of all things going for Gore are the 50 million votes he garnered in 2000--half-a-million more than for Bush--and the perception by half the electorate, even in recent, post 9/11 polls, that he actually won the election in 2000. That in itself is enough to energize Democrats, and history records that in the three other cases where a sitting president was elected with fewer votes than his opponent, the opponent returned to boot him out in the next election. ***

Photo of the author courtesy of staff files
Photo of former Vice President Al Gore courtesy of Associated Press