Who is most responsible for Gore's loss in 2000?

[Bo]

Butterfly ballot

That was designed by a Democrat.

OK.

A Democrat in name only, who used the term "Democrat Party", and later switched parties.

She was still a Democrat at the time of the election, though.

[Bo]

Looking back at this, I should have included Joe Lieberman as an option.

[feeblepizza]

Nader was only second to Gore himself is causing Gore to lose.

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Butterfly ballot

That was designed by a Democrat.

OK.

A Democrat in name only, who used the term "Democrat Party", and later switched parties.

She was still a Democrat at the time of the election, though.

Yes, in name only.

[Bo]

Butterfly ballot

That was designed by a Democrat.

OK.

A Democrat in name only, who used the term "Democrat Party", and later switched parties.

She was still a Democrat at the time of the election, though.

Yes, in name only.

That's irrelevant whether she was a DINO or a real Democrat. Democrat means Democrat.

[State Comptroller Atkins]

He should have brought Bill Clinton onto the campaign trail, and campaigned in Tennessee, Arkansas and Ohio more.

[dmwestmi]

How Al Gore managed to lose his home state is beyond me. Even Walter Mondale won his home state. By that point, people from Tennessee had been electing a guy named "Gore" at the state level since the 1950s--it's amazing how he could throw away a statewide political dynasty.

Even if he had asked Bill Clinton to campaign in Arkansas (hardly a move that would alienate swing voters), he could've won.

[Bo]

How Al Gore managed to lose his home state is beyond me. Even Walter Mondale won his home state. By that point, people from Tennessee had been electing a guy named "Gore" at the state level since the 1950s--it's amazing how he could throw away a statewide political dynasty.

Even if he had asked Bill Clinton to campaign in Arkansas (hardly a move that would alienate swing voters), he could've won.

Gore lost Tennessee because he flip-flopped on abortion, guns, and gay rights after he became VP and thus many of his former supporters deserted him. And I agree that Clinton should have campaigned more with Gore, but Clinton should have focused more on FL and NH. I doubt Clinton could have swung Arkansas to Gore--the margin there was just too large.

[Sasquatch]

Clinton could have helped Gore in Ohio aswell.

[Reaganfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPPdqWzIaXU&feature=related

Gore for sure. The debates were critical.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Gore himself. He ran a horrible campaign, while Bush ran a great, I have to admit, campaign. While he actually won a popular vote, I'd rather attribute this to Democratic administration popularity, than anything Gore did as a candidate.

Also, Gore took his home state (which still was fairly close) for granted. Had he only show up, he'd probably carry it (and the Presidency).

Oh, and distancing from Bill didn't help at all.

[Senator Snowstalker]

Jeb Bush.

[King]

He wasn't liberal enough.

[MilesC56]

Kathrine Harris

[mondale84]

Gore worked as hard as he could have and while he may not have been the most likable candidate, his personal attributes were/are somewhat out of his control.

With regard to using Clinton, I think that he was advised not to due to the Lewinsky debacle. Whether she should have is hindsight in 20-20, but I think it might have helped him in some places (Arkansas, West Virginia, Tennessee) and perhaps hurt him elsewhere by drawing his focus (and money) to these smaller battlegrounds. Let's remember that Oregon, Wisconsin and, to a lesser extent, Minnesota were up for grabs throughout the campaign and an increase in spending in Appalachia could have cost him in the Midwest and PNW.

On a side note, that is what I based my timeline on (Clinton being used more) and we'll see if it proves successful. Yes, I will be updating it soon. I am getting ready to move in this week so things are rather up in the air.

[phk]

It was Bush who was ahead most of the time.

Gore only started catching up at the end due to the DUI scandal's release.

[ChairmanSanchez]

Gore could of picked Bob Wise as a running mate, won WV, and then the Presidency. Or he could of won his home state, which shows how popular he was.

[hcallega]

Looking at the tracking polls, Bush led throughout most of the race. Since he won his reelection his reelection in 1998, he had been touted not only as the front runner for the GOP nomination, but the Presidency on the whole. There are three ways to interpret this: either Bush was an uber-campaigner, he was a media darling, or Gore was viewed very negatively from the start. I would argue that only the second factor was totally true. The media created an image of Bush as some sort of "compassionate conservative", a term he used but they refused to dig into. They allowed him to set the tone of the election, and rarely called into question many of his decisions as Governor. For those who say that they made him look like an idiot, most of his gaffes made him appear relatable and lovable to most Americans.

With that in mind, the next question is why did Bush end up losing the popular vote? It was often speculated that he could win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote, when the opposite ended up happening. But why did this happen? There are several factors. The first is the DUI revelation. Rove urged Bush to publicize this after he wrapped up the nomination. Much like the Jeremiah Wright story, it would have largely blown over by November. Instead, it became public in September and caused an erosion of support among Evangelicals. Many stayed home, making states like Florida much closer. A second factor is that many undecideds ultimately backed Gore due to their stable economic positions. They saw him as a continuation of Clinton-era policies which had brought them stability. The third factor is that Gore actually ran a solid campaign post-Convention. While he had many slip-ups (most notably the debates) and could have chosen a better running-mate, Gore effectively narrowed the gap between him and Bush. Some of this can be attributed to his populist re-branding and effective use of the economy as a crucial issue. In the end, it wasn't enough.

In conclusion, it's important to understand the realities of the 2000 Campaign. Bush, not Gore, had everything to lose. He was touted by the media as the most likely President of any of the candidates in the field. The Monica Lewinsky scandal made many Americans hungry for a morally sound leader. Bush appeared to be that. Also, he lacked many substantial differences with Clinton on economic policy. He was no Tea Partier. It was Gore who had everything to win. He trailed in the polls literally for years. He bested Bill Bradley in the primaries, and made a solid comeback against Bush. The fact that he lost can be attributed to several factors. Despite the fact that he ran a good campaign, Gore is still largely to blame. Part of the reason he started so far behind Bush was his personality. Voters didn't see him as Presidential or a strong, charismatic, leader. They also failed to connect him to the prosperity of the Clinton years. In short, Gore's campaign was better than Gore the candidate.

[LBJer]

The Monica Lewinsky scandal made many Americans hungry for a morally sound leader. Bush appeared to be that.

The fact that Monica was even an issue shows you what a screwed up value system Americans have.

[Senator Snowstalker]

The Monica Lewinsky scandal made many Americans hungry for a morally sound leader. Bush appeared to be that.

The fact that Monica was even an issue shows you what a screwed up value system Americans have.

[Californian Tony]

The Monica Lewinsky scandal made many Americans hungry for a morally sound leader. Bush appeared to be that.

The fact that Monica was even an issue shows you what a screwed up value system Americans have.

^^^^

[Governor NVGonzalez]

The Monica Lewinsky scandal made many Americans hungry for a morally sound leader. Bush appeared to be that.

The fact that Monica was even an issue shows you what a screwed up value system Americans have.

^^^^

[ModerateCoward]

Butterfly ballot

[FloridaRepublican]

It was obviously the Bush campaign. There's no way in hell Bush could have won in a situation where the vote was extremely close.

[BugsBunny]

"Gore himself" is the answer. However, Lieberman and Tipper Gore should be options in this poll.