Is Gore underrated?

[nick]

Among us political junkies, he is seen as washed up has been, but w/ the general public, I believe his candidacy would be welcomed with open arms.  If he whips himself back into shape and stops catering to the fringe, he could be a force.

Thoughts?

[PBrunsel]

I think he is. He could be the Nixon on the Democrats. Defeated in a close election (with arguments over one state's votes), turning down running in a year ending in 4, endorsing the more Reform Minded nominee that year (Nixon for Goldwater, Gore for Dean), and faced with a war viewed as a "quagmire", a dodgy economy, and a threat from a right-winged Alabaman, Gore coudl very well become President.

[WalterMitty]

yes he is underrated.  he would be the strongest candidate the democrats could offer. (other than mike gravel, of course)

and im no gore fan.  he is one of my least favorite politicos.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Yes, Gore could well be underrated.  One should not underestimate his abilities.  He rose quickly through the ranks, Congressman, Senator, Vice President for 8 years.

In addition to the similarities already mentioned  by PBrunsel between Richard Nixon and Al Gore, Nixon also rose quickly through the ranks the same way, Congressman, Senator, Vice President for 8 years.

However, in my own view, the similarities as stated by PBrunsel and myself between Nixon and Gore end there.

In 1968, the Republicans had no obvious candidate.  Governor George Romney of Michigan became the clear front runner for a time, until he stumbled, and withdrew.  Nelson Rockefeller, the only other strong potential candidate, hemmed and hawed, got in the race late, and made no major headway.  Other than that, there were no other strong candidates opposing Nixon.

By contrast, the race for the 2008 Democratic nomination, with no incumbent President running, promises to attract several strong candidates.  Gore, if he runs, will not have an easy road to the nomination. 

My belief is that by 2008, brighter Democratic lights will be much more attractive to Democratic voters than Gore.  I do not believe that Al Gore will ever be the nominee again.     

[Please Delete my account!!]

As a presidential candidate, no.    But as somebody who really needs to be put in a straight jacket and dragged off kicking and screaming, he is most definently underrated. 

[Pictor Ignotus]

Gore is underrated as a possible executive. He is highly intelligent and forward thinking, a policy wonk and problem solver.Because of those qualities I believe he would/will be an excellent President.

Is he underrated as a campaigner? In some ways- he was miserable at projecting his awkward personality- in 1988 as well as 2000. Since, he has possibly miscalculated how "high gear" his enthusiasm should be.

On the other hand, I think he has been pretty good at balancing the "DLC" vs. old school liberal wings of the party. There has been much debate about this and no one has really definitively pegged him as one or the other- at least in terms of the 2000 election. If you get pegged as absolutely in one camp over the other, you are dead in the water. If you finesse and have qualities of either, so much the better. Since 2000, he's pretty clearly in one camp. This may help him against Hillary in the 2008 primaries, but might make the general tougher.

[© Tweed the Younger]

No, he's not, because he isn't running.  It's unlikely he will ever run for anything again.

I actually think he's overrated; he still draws about an 8.2 on TradeSports for the Dem nomination even though he keeps saying he's out.  Of course, if he did run, he might be the one candidate with a fair shot to beat Hillary.  The college kids and activists would come out in droves for him.

[opebo]

He could be president, if he wanted.  Odd that he isn't running.

[Boris]

If Hillary runs, I don't see Gore running. I don't think Gore would challenge his President's wife in the primaries. Odds are that he'd be one of the first to endorse her.

[Boris]

Good point. I forgot that Gore has moved far to left in the past five years. Okay, maybe he wouldn't endorse Clinton.

[True Democrat]

I think he is. He could be the Nixon on the Democrats. Defeated in a close election (with arguments over one state's votes), turning down running in a year ending in 4, endorsing the more Reform Minded nominee that year (Nixon for Goldwater, Gore for Dean), and faced with a war viewed as a "quagmire", a dodgy economy, and a threat from a right-winged Alabaman, Gore coudl very well become President.

Plus they both followed a two-term politician of the opposite party (Eisenhower and Clinton).  And, a catastrophe happened in the years after they lost the election (Kennedy Assassination and 9/11).

[DanielX]

Maybe, but he's not going to be nominated. The Democrats have several potential candidates that don't have the stench of defeat around them. Plus, after 2000 Gore kind of let go, went all Howard Dean. He even grew a beard for awhile (very few bearded senior politicians in recent years, heck we haven't had a proper mustached President since Taft).

The Democrats already have both Mark Warner and Hillary Clinton as strong candidates, with Evan Bayh, Bill Richardson, and many others offering alternate possibilities.

[MODU]

More like overrated.

[Gustaf]

Charles Hughes was the last major party presidential candidate with a beard.

[© Tweed the Younger]

Gore's getting some gray hair.

[TheresNoMoney]

Gore would be a tremendous president. It's too bad he played it so safe in 2000 and 5% of people went with Ralph Nader instead.

I don't expect him to run in 2008, though.

[agcatter]

Not unerated, just insane.

[Gustaf]

Gore would be a tremendous president. It's too bad he played it so safe in 2000 and 5% of people went with Ralph Nader instead.

I don't expect him to run in 2008, though.

More like 2.73%...

[Nym90]

It's highly unlikely that Gore will run, but if he did, he'd have a pretty good chance of winning assuming that Bush is still unpopular.

[kashifsakhan]

Gore is extremely under-rated. I think what hurt his image is the Republican campaign in 2000 that portrayed him as a whiny cry-baby loser, and the subsequent campaigns that he was completely insane. i think he would have made an awesome president, maybe one of the better ones in recent years. certainly much better than Bush Jr.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yes

[Akno21]

Yes. I don't think he has a particularly good shot (nor do I think he will run), but he really doesn't get as much attention as he should. He's the highest-profile possibility out there aside from Hillary, and has a base to go from should he decide to run. He's certainly a better candidate than either those on the 2004 Democratic ticket, both of whom are getting more attention. 

[zorkpolitics]

I don't think he is underrated.  He is overrated.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

Gore has been out of politics too long now--his extreme push to win the 2000 election was either a barely slide in or fight yourself to embarassment--it was close, but he ended up w/ the latter.

[Wyatt Chesney]

No, in fact I'll go as far as to say he is over-rated. Let's not forget his dismal 2000 campaign...

New Hampshire: Gore drops 12 points, loses state
Tennesee: Gore drops 6 points to lose his HOMESTATE
Florida: Gore drops 8 points, loses state
New Mexico: Gore drops 3 points, barely wins state.
Oregon: Gore drops 9 points, barely wins state
Arizona: Gore drops 7 points, loses state
Washington: Gore drops 7 points, wins state

National: Gore drops 3 points, barely wins.

Point I am trying to make - screw job or not - Gore shouldn't have left a doubt in anyone's mind that he won. According to the first round of polling data Gore should have won in a landslide. However, he decided to let it slip away. Gore just wasn't a good candidate. (Also, selecting Lieberman as a VP really hurt the traditonally liberal democratic base...a poor choice)