You have to give Gore credit. It became pretty evident from the start that he wanted to distance himself from Clinton (following the Lewinsky scandal) and he did. That being said, many Americans still liked Clinton and I believe it would have been a big boost to Gore.
That may have been what he wanted to do politically, but he failed. I remember all too well his obsequious description of Clinton as one of our best presidents the day the impeachment trial failed. Granted, Clinton was hardly one of our worst presidents, but his actions brought disrepute to the office and the United States. The impeachment failed because his failings were not high crimes and misdemeanors, not because Clinton was a great man. It is why I supported Bradley over Gore and why in 2000 my decision over who to vote for in the general election was between Bush and Nader. I ended up voting for Nader, but if I had lived in a state like Florida, I would have voted for Bush.
