Which defeat was tougher to take: Al Gore in 2000 or Hillary Clinton in 2016

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

Clinton, by light-years.

[RI]

Gore would've been a much better President than Clinton.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

For me, neither.  I was only seven when Bush won in 2000, but was pulling for him all the way.  Although I couldn't stand Trump, I didn't like Hillary much more either.

As for Democrats, it depends.  ElectionsGuy makes a good point that the election was decided by only a few hundred votes in one state (although Gore would've won if he'd carried even one additional state).  However, Hillary Clinton's popular vote margin was wider than Gore's (in fact, it was the largest popular vote victory for a losing candidate), and she lost to an opponent whom Dems feared more than Bush in 2000.  I would imagine the lost opportunity to make her the first female president made it tougher for her supporters, too.

[elcorazon]

Clinton, because as much as I opposed Bush and felt he would be a horrible President, he actually wanted to do a good job. I just disagreed with his politics. He was likely to and did hire qualified people for his administration, for the most part. Trump is a threat to our democracy. He is shutting down a free press (predictably), appointing unqualified idealogs and making a mockery of the typical ethics of the economic entanglements of a President.
Add to that the fact that Clinton won a clear popular victory, and the fact that there is a huge segment of the country that seems to have no idea what facts are anymore and this election leaves me much more pessimistic and angry than 2000. I should add that I was very upset, mostly with the Supreme Court and their partisan response to the issue. I used to have some faith in that institution which was severely impacted by that decision. That said, it's certainly not   clear Gore would've won any recount so it's not as if there was a Gore victory snatched away by that decision - it was just that they ended any chance we could avoid a President Bush.

[RINO Tom]

I took both okay, but I was happier in 2000.

[Frodo]

Definitely Hillary's loss last year is much harder to bear given her opponent.  George W. Bush -for all his faults -was never going to be a demagogic dictator-in-waiting. 

[Mr. Smith]

Definitely Hillary's loss last year is much harder to bear given her opponent.  George W. Bush -for all his faults -was never going to be a demagogic dictator-in-waiting. 

Only 'cuz Cheney took that mantle.

[thumb21]

2016 by far. From her perspective, you are an experienced politician who feels entitled to the presidency and has being defeated by a clown who you thought you would defeat easily. Plus, you would have the entire media behind you plus many key republican figures refusing to endorse Trump, when usually they would endorse the republican candidate.

[Cokeland Chastain]

I was only 11 months old when Bush lost the PV to Gore, so no opinion here.

[Tekken_Guy]

For the candidate: Gore
For the supporters: Clinton

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Of course Clinton. Unlike in 2000, this election was presented in absolutely apocalyptic tones (and a lot of it for good reason). So naturally for Clinton supporters, Trump's win = apocalypse.

[Da2017]

Clinton by light years. She was up against a threat to democracy. If Al gore had won we might not of had some of the same problems,who knows.

[ingemann]

My reaction in 2000 shock and disgust, while in 2016 I thought the result was hilarious. As for the Democrats I would say 2016, as they have beckoned completely derangered over their loss to Trump. Through I suspect it is because the Internet is better developed today.

[Dr. MB]

Al Gore, easily – given that he rightfully won BOTH the PV and EC. There was no dispute over whether Clinton won the EC.

[Mr. Smith]

Anyway, the answer is Gore, just because of Iraq.

@TekkenGuy: The opposite seems true now, since Gore was already shifting to climate change as his goal while the PV edge was a point of contention until John Kerry convincingly lost that and barely Ohio.

Meanwhile Hillary "I won in dynamic places" Clinton is still trying to move on, but her support is rightfully pleased with the primaries so far.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Clinton's because of the SCRT pick was Obama's not Mitch McConnell's.

[dw93]

I was 7 in 2000, and while I voted Gore in my 2nd grade class Mock election and my Parents were pissed about the Supreme Court ruling, I didn't really feel much of anything once Bush was declared the winner because I obviously wasn't political at that time. 2016 on the other hand, I had a ton of emotions that night, anger, sadness, and I was also reassuring myself that things would get better in 2020.

With that said, I still wish to this day that Gore had won. I still question whether Bush won that election legitimately, as he clearly had more conflicts of interest regarding Florida (Jeb being Governor, the Supreme Court, etc...) than Trump had regarding Russia, and I think preventing George W. Bush prevents Trump, as you could argue the Bush years (and the Obama years) inadvertently paved the way for Trump.

[Democratic Hawk]

Hiliary Clinton. Trump is just the pits

[Ohioguy29]

Hillary. We didn't realize how bad Bush was gonna be at first, while with Trump I totally thought he was gonna be America's Hitler. I was also quite young in 2000 so I didn't actually care much about the election, I'm more sharing my parents' perspective on that.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Both elections were bad, and the justices knew that Rehnqust and Kennedy were gonna retire. But, 2016 was so much harder, due to the theft of the SCOTUS seat

[Nyssus]

Hillary in 2016. There was an expectation that Trump would undoubtedly lose the election. But at some point in the night, it started to fall apart. Florida called for Trump. North Carolina called for Trump. What? Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota were too close to call. Michigan called for Trump. Pennsylvania called for Trump. Hillary lost. She lost. It almost felt surreal for weeks after the election.