Al Gore (A Better Man)

Al Gore
11th United States Secretary of Energy
In office January 30, 2005 – January 20, 2009
Preceded by	Joe Barton
Succeeded by	TBD
48th Governor of Tennessee
In office January 15, 1999 – January 18, 2003
Preceded by	Don Sundquist
Succeeded by	Phil Bredesen
45th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 1993 – January 20, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Dan Quayle
Succeeded by	Jack Kemp
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office January 3, 1985 – January 2, 1993
Preceded by	Howard Baker
Succeeded by	Harlan Mathews
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 6th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Robin Beard
Succeeded by	Bart Gordon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th district
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Joe L. Evins
Succeeded by	Jim Cooper
Personal details
Born	Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. March 31, 1948 (1948-03-31) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Tipper Gore
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1969–1971
Rank	Private
Unit	20th Engineer Brigade
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Gore was Bill Clinton's running mate in their successful campaign in 1992 and the pair were lost in 1996. In 1998, Gore was elected governor of Tennessee, unseating incumbent Republican Don Sundquist. Gore became the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election. He would lose in a very closely contested election to Bob Dole. After his term as governor ended in 2003, Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist.

Early Life and Education

Al Gore was born in Washington D.C on March 31, 1948. He was the second child of then U.S Representative and future Senator from Tennessee, Albert Gore Sr. Gore Jr. lived in Fairfax Hotel. During the summer, he worked on the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee. Gore attended St. Albans College, a preparatory college and boarding school for boys in Washington D.C. He finished 25th in his class and was accepted to attend Harvard University.

Harvard University and Vietnam War

Gore enrolled in Harvard in 1965, seeking a major in government. Just 2 days into his time in Harvard, he was elected the student government's president. Gore personally opposed the Vietnam War, but disagreed to methods of the protester movement, believing that colleges and private universities should not be used as venues to express anger at the war.

In 1969, Gore became eligible for the military draft. Instead of being drafted, he decided it was best to enlist in the army. Half of his other classmates did not serve in the Vietnam War. Gore was stationed in Bien Hoa with the 20th Engineer Brigade. In May of 1971 he received an honorable discharge.

Upon returning home, he became an investigative reporter, although his parents had hoped he would seek a career in law. Eventually after 3 years as a reporter, Gore took a leave of absence to attend law school. He was unable to complete law school as he suddenly decided to run for the U.S House of Representatives after his father's former seat was going to be vacated. Gore won the Democratic primary with 32%. In the general election, Gore won with ease carrying 94% of the vote, only opposed by an independent candidate.

U.S House of Representatives (1977-1985)

During his time in congress, Gore described himself as a "moderate" or as a "raging moderate". He opposed homosexuality and gay marriage, as well as federal spending of abortion. He served for four terms in the House of Representatives, re-elected in 1978, 1980, and 1982. In 1984, Gore ran successfully for the U.S Senate, for a seat which was being vacated by Republican Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.

U.S Senator from Tennessee (1985-1993)

Gore was considered as one of the Atari Democrats, given this name due to their "passion for technological issues, from biomedical research and genetic engineering to the environmental impact of the "greenhouse effect." While in the Senate, he sat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Rules and Administration, and the Armed Services Committees. In 1991, Gore was one of ten Democrats who supported the Gulf War.

Gore ran for president in the 1988 Democratic primaries, facing against Michael Dukakis, Dick Gephardt, Jesse Jackson, Paul Simon, and Joe Biden. He was largely seen as a long shot for the nomination but at the same time as a nice addition to a presidential ticket as a running mate, being a young senator from the South. Ultimately Gore was only able to win 5 primaries, four of which were from the South.

1992 presidential election

Gore considered another run for president in 1992, but due to his son's car crash, he decided against doing so. He was initially hesitant about being tapped to be Bill Clinton's running mate, but he accepted after disagreements with George H. W. Bush over global warming. Gore being chosen as Clinton's running mate did not offer regional diversity as many had hoped. Both men were from neighboring states and were center-left moderates. Despite this, the choice was regarded as one of the best in 2 decades. He debated the other vice presidential candidates, Dan Quayle, and James Stockdale in the 1992 vice presidential debates. The Clinton/Gore ticket won the election, with 43% of the popular vote to the Bush/Quayle ticket's 38%.

Vice President (1993-1997)

President Clinton relegated an unprecedented amount of power to Gore when he was vice president. Gore and Clinton had regular lunch meetings. Gore became an advisor to Clinton on nominations. Some of Gore's own advisors were given White House staffing positions. Despite this, Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton often competed for influence in the administration.

Gore was also involved in environmental initiatives. He launched the GLOBE program on Earth Day '94, an education and science activity that, according to Forbes magazine, "made extensive use of the Internet to increase student awareness of their environment". Gore also was a strong supporter of the Kyoto Protocol and helped negotiate it.

1996 presidential election

With the advantage of incumbency, Bill Clinton's path to renomination by the Democratic Party was uneventful. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention, Clinton and incumbent Vice President Al Gore were renominated with token opposition. Incarcerated fringe candidate Lyndon LaRouche won a few Arkansas delegates who were barred from the convention. Jimmy Griffin, former Mayor of Buffalo, New York, mounted a brief campaign but withdrew after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary. Former Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey contemplated a challenge to Clinton, but health problems forced Casey to abandon a bid.

Gore helped to campaign rigorously for the Clinton campaign nationwide. In mid-September of 1996, he had to contend with the Monica Lewinsky Scandal, which involved president Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Gore was considered to be potentially chosen by the Democratic Party to replace Clinton as the nominee in the midst of the scandal. This speculation did not ultimately come to fruition.

Gore would attend the first and only vice presidential debate of the 1996 election cycle with Jack Kemp. Kemp and Gore were longtime friends and avoided personal attacks. Kemp did however bring up the topic of Bill Clinton's sex scandal and said bluntly to Gore, "If you don't condone it, then why are you still running with him". Although Kemp was aggressive during the debate, he looked at times terrified or confused, which hurt his performance in the eyes of voters. Gore also offered strong counter-attacks against Kemp's arguments, which Kemp fell short in offering a substantive defense against.

On November 6, 1996, Clinton/Gore ticket lost re-election, with 42.1% of the popular vote and 266 electoral votes.

Post Vice Presidential Activities (1997-1999)

Al Gore was considered a favorite for the Democratic nomination in 2000, despite the now disgraced Clinton presidency. His prospects for president rose after Larry King hosted a debate in 1997, similar to the one on NAFTA between Ross Perot and Al Gore, between Al Gore and Jack Kemp on the balanced budget amendment. Gore had a strong performance in the debate while Kemp seemingly floundered. The debate had an effect on public opinion of the amendment as well. Approval of the balanced budget amendment went down by around 4 points after the debate.

Shortly afterward, on October 8, 1997, he announced he would run for governor of Tennessee, running against Republican incumbent Don Sundquist.

1998 Gubernatorial Election

Gore won the Democratic primary with 84% of the vote, defeating attorney John Jay Hooker. In the general election, Gore was attacked by Sundquist for his connection to president Clinton. Gore at the same time distanced himself from the Clinton presidency and stated he was his own man. Sundquist led in early polls by 2-4 points. Gore trailed for most of the campaign until early October, when he pulled ahead by 1 point. On November 3, 1998, Gore was elected governor of Tennessee with 50.3% of the vote to Sundquist's 48.6%.

Governor of Tennessee (1999-2003)

Tenure

During his first term, Gore enacted a number of measures aimed at improving education. In 1999, the state established the Tennessee Lottery to fund college scholarships for the state's high school graduates. Teachers' pay was raised above the average salary in the Southeast, and Tennessee's pre-kindergarten initiative was expanded to include a statewide program for four-year-olds.

His administration launched other initiatives including a program to raise awareness about methamphetamine abuse. In 2002, Gore enacted a policy called "TennCare", aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and the uninsured.

Second presidential run (2000)

It was clear during Gore's stint as governor of Tennessee that he had presidential aspirations. On April 24, 1999, he announced he would be running for president. Early polling taken during 1999 showed Gore comfortably in the lead in the Democratic primary, although he appeared potentially vulnerable in the early primary states. Gore won the Iowa caucus by a surprisingly narrow margin and would lose the New Hampshire primary to Bill Bradley.

While Bradley would later win in both Delaware and Connecticut, on Super Tuesday Gore would win landslide victories in California, Ohio, and Colorado. Gore would win every state following Super Tuesday and sweeped the Democratic nomination. After clinching the Democratic nomination, Gore would tap Senator from Connecticut, Joe Lieberman to be his running mate, signaling his move to distance himself from Bill Clinton.

While domestic policy was the center of the election, including social security, medicare, and the projected budget surplus, foreign policy was often brought up by both candidates. Gore criticized Dole's approval of intervention into Kosovo. In response, Dole brought up the intervention into Somalia under Clinton's presidency which resulted in the deaths of 19 Americans. This was apart of a larger strategy Dole tried to use, which was to tie Gore to Bill Clinton and his presidency. During a speech given at Springfield, Ohio, Dole stated "If you want a second term of the man we defeated four years prior, if you want the continuation of policies the American people had clearly rejected, then vote Al Gore for president".

Bill Clinton's sex scandal during the 1996 Presidential Election, cast a shadow on the campaign. Gore studiously avoided the Clinton scandals, as did Lieberman, even though Lieberman had been the first Democratic senator to denounce Clinton's misbehavior. Some observers theorized that Gore chose Lieberman in an attempt to separate himself from Clinton's past misdeeds and help blunt the GOP's attempts to link him to his boss. Others pointed to the passionate kiss Gore gave his wife during the Democratic Convention as a signal that despite the allegations against Clinton, Gore himself was a faithful husband. Clinton and Gore did not attend the same campaign events and instead the former president would attend low key areas that he was popular in.

Bob Dole's age and health capabilities were questioned throughout the campaign. He was 77 by 2000, the oldest president in American history. Dole was unable to effectively respond to concerns about his health during the campaign and multiple gaffes he made exacerbated the issue. At the start of the campaign season, many suspected Dole would not run for a second term but instead allow his vice president, Jack Kemp, run to succeed him. The Gore campaign avoided directly attacking Dole on his age during the election.

The most successful third party candidate in the election had been Ralph Nader of the Green Party. He was known for holding massive super rallies in areas such as Madison Square Garden. Gore's campaign initially ignored the candidacy of Nader until the final weeks of the campaign, where ads were shown made to downplay the differences between Nader and Gore. The GOP would run pro-Nader ads in a bid to split the left-wing vote. On November 7, 2000, Al Gore was defeated by Bob Dole, with 48.8% of the popular vote compared to Dole's 49.0%.

Post-governorship

Potential polling taken for a potential Gore re-election bid for governor in 2002 showed an uphill battle. One poll even showed Gore underwater by 5 points against his likeliest challenger Van Hilleary. Gore decided not to run for re-election and instead sought to "seek new challenges in life".

Presidential run speculation

After announcing he would not run in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Gore endorsed Massachusetts senator John Kerry in December 2003. During the 2012 primaries, Gore remained neutral toward all of the candidates which led to speculation that he would come out of a brokered 2012 Democratic National Convention as a "compromise candidate" if the party decided it could not nominate one. Gore eventually endorsed Joe Biden 2 days after Russ Feingold dropped out. This fueled renwed speculation of a Biden/Gore ticket, although Gore declined any interest. He yet again kept neutral during the 2016 Democratic primaries, eventually endorsing Tom Daschle for president on July 1, 2016. Gore appeared with Senator Bill Nelson and Daschle in a rally held in Tampa Bay on October 5, 2016.

Environmentalism

In 2004, Gore co-launched a renewable energy investment firm where he acted as its co-chair. In 2007, he released a documentary named "An Inconvenient Truth" which promoted action and awareness on climate change. His documentary recieved wide praise and received a sequel in 2011. Since leaving public office, Gore has given a number of speaking tours across the United States on global warming and climate action. He published an autobiography in 2006 named "Fresh Climate".

Secretary of Energy

Al Gore was nominated by president John Kerry to replace Joe Barton as Secretary of Energy. He was confirmed by a vote of 86 to 12 in the senate. Gore led the Department of Energy with a budget in excess of $23 billion and over 100,000 federal and contractor employees. During his tenure, he promoted increased investment into renewable energy and restricting offshore drilling. Gore, who had previously worked to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol, criticized the Republican held senate for blocking the protocol's passage. A conservative think tank in Washington D.C, in turn criticized Gore for having a conflict of interest by advocating for tax cuts for renewable energy, as Gore co-chaired a renewable energy investment firm. As well, Gore was criticized for his larger than normal energy consumption through the usage of private jets and owning multiple large homes. Gore served as Secretary of Energy until January 20, 2009.