Did Gore Do Anything Right in 2000?

[Akno21]

On various boards, there has been much discussion about how Gore really should have won the election and how he ran a terrible campaign. So, here's my question, what did he do right?

Personally, his campaign team, lead by Donna Brazille did a great job at getting the vote out in Philadelphia, which helped him win PA.

[ATFFL]

He had a good GOTV effort in the midwest.  Pulled him above where he was polling there.

Avoided early panic.  WHen he was down big early in the campaign he did not panic and stayed on message.

Finally, he did not waste a lot of time or money in states that were out of his reach.

[Akno21]

He had a good GOTV effort in the midwest.  Pulled him above where he was polling there.

Avoided early panic.  WHen he was down big early in the campaign he did not panic and stayed on message.

Finally, he did not waste a lot of time or money in states that were out of his reach.

I think Kerry wasted some money in states such as Louisiana. From what I remember, Gore was never down more than 10 or 11 points however, I think Bush had about a 5 point lead most of the time.

[ATFFL]

He had a good GOTV effort in the midwest.  Pulled him above where he was polling there.

Avoided early panic.  WHen he was down big early in the campaign he did not panic and stayed on message.

Finally, he did not waste a lot of time or money in states that were out of his reach.

I think Kerry wasted some money in states such as Louisiana. From what I remember, Gore was never down more than 10 or 11 points however, I think Bush had about a 5 point lead most of the time.

He was down huge before the convention season.  Also went down 13 after the debates.

http://gallup.com/content/?ci=1216

There were some signs of life for Gore in LA.  CLinton had got over 50% there so the conventional wisdom was that Gore had a shot, even if hte polls were looking grim.

In the end, it was hopeless money.

[emergingDmajority1]

I thought he did great in the debates

[Keystone Phil]

Gore did one thing right in 2000: he conceded.

[Reignman]

what he did right:

-Fired Penn
-Not panicking about early polls way behind Bush.
-Trying to win Florida and dismissing the idea that it was a lock for Bush.  This at least forced Bush to campaign there.  Even Clinton didn't win Florida in '92 (but in '96).
-Great convention that shored up base (and the kiss and populist rhetoric didn't hurt either).
-Debate #3
-Getting out the vote in Pennsylania and the Midwest.

what he messed up on:

-Being to obsessed with defeating Bradley that he said okay to trigger locks to appeal to more liberal members of his party that were more likely to vote for Bradly, which alienated him from moderate voters.
-Debate #1
-Debate #2
-Not okaying a statewide recount right away.

?:

-Picking Lieberman as his running-mate
-Distancing himself from Clinton

[King]

ONE THING GORE DID RIGHT....


He took the intiative and invented the internet.

[ATFFL]

Gore made one huge mistake in debate #3.  When Bush was answering a question and Gore walked over to him while he was speaking and stood a foot from him staring at him.  He was trying to intimidate him.  It was a huge negative image and turned a win into a draw at best.

[Keystone Phil]

Gore made one huge mistake in debate #3.  When Bush was answering a question and Gore walked over to him while he was speaking and stood a foot from him staring at him.  He was trying to intimidate him.  It was a huge negative image and turned a win into a draw at best.

A Bush handled that incident very well. He made Gore look even more foolish.

[Akno21]

Picking Lieberman was smart, it helped turn out the Jewish vote in Florida, which he WON! (Covers hears as Republicans burst with objections)

[ATFFL]

Picking Lieberman was smart, it helped turn out the Jewish vote in Florida, which he WON! (Covers hears as Republicans burst with objections)

Yes, he clearly won the Jewish vote.  No argument here.

If you meant to say something else, you need to reword your sentence.

(I love being an English teacher.)

[Akno21]

Picking Lieberman was smart, it helped turn out the Jewish vote in Florida, which he WON! (Covers hears as Republicans burst with objections)

Yes, he clearly won the Jewish vote.  No argument here.

If you meant to say something else, you need to reword your sentence.

(I love being an English teacher.)

I should have bolded it then. ...Florida, which he WON I was saying he won Florida, partly because of the Jewish vote.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Gore gave a great convention speech that really showed his campaign was about something, and proved that a candidate CAN win using "class warfare".  It was the one time he really connected with the public, and it instantly lifted him about ten points in the polls.

[struct310]

Whats right:
Gore kissed his wife, and that helped him immensely.  
Gore hired Donna Brazile, one of the most effective GOTV operators ever.  
Gore openly lied about his positions on things to pretend he was a centrist.  
Gore successfully got the media to call Florida early for him and stifled Bush in swing states of Oregon, Washington, and New Mexico.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Only once in United States history has a Democratic ticket wiithout Al Gore won the popular vote in Vermont.

[© Tweed the Younger]

He did many things right.

-Good convention speech
-Good campaign management
-Best VP selection available
-Campaigned in actual battlegrounds in final week (Bush spent time in state like New Jersey, California, and Illinois in the final week, which he all lost by double digits)
-Great GOTV effort, especially in Pennsylvania, which I did NOT think he would win

Just in the end, it wasn't enough.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Gore had the right strategy.
He only outspent Bush in 1 state- Florida.
He spent something like the final 48 hours straight with no sleep campaigning there
More people went to the polls in FL intending to vote for him than Bush

[AuH2O]

Gore's campaign was quite good.

In fact, it was far better than generally known by Democrats, which is why they appear to overestimate Kerry anytime the polls show some closeness.

[J. J.]

On various boards, there has been much discussion about how Gore really should have won the election and how he ran a terrible campaign. So, here's my question, what did he do right?

Personally, his campaign team, lead by Donna Brazille did a great job at getting the vote out in Philadelphia, which helped him win PA.

First, I will say that Gore did a terrible job of getting out the African American vote in Phila.  I was watching.  I live about a mile from where Rev. Jackson showed up, and there was no upswing in the turnout.  Turnup was up from 1996 by about 25,000 votes but down nearly 90,000 from 1992, and down 118,000 from 1988.  Even taking into account the population loss, it was still not as good.

What he did do well was campaign in the GOP suburbs, where he won the state.  He appealed to the "soccer moms" and carried 2 of the three counties, which are Republican by large majorities.  There were hour delays at the polls there.  That was where he won PA.

Leiberman was stroke of genius that came within about 600 votes of winning the election.