Gore's Gulf War vote put politics over principle
Al Gore Jr. Sen. Gore got right to the point: “How much time will you give me if I support the president?” In layman’s terms, Gore was asking how much debate time we would be willing to give him to speak on the floor if he voted with us.
“How much time will the Democrats give you?” Sen. Dole asked.
“Seven minutes,” came the droning response.
“I’ll give you 15 minutes,” Dole said.
“And I’ll give you five of mine, so you can have 20 minutes,” I offered. Gore seemed pleased, but made no final commitment, promising only to think it over.
Gore played hard to get. He had received his time. But now he wanted prime time. And Dole and I knew it.
After Gore left, Dole asked Republican Senate Secretary Howard Greene to call Gore’s office and promise that he would try to schedule Gore’s 20 minutes during prime time, thus ensuring plenty of coverage in the news cycle. Later that night, Gore called Greene and asked if Dole had him in a prime-time speaking slot.
When Green said nothing had been finalized yet, Gore erupted: “Damn it, Howard! If I don’t get 20 minutes tomorrow, I’m going to vote the other way.”
The following day, Gore arrived on the Senate floor, still waiting to see which side — Republicans or Democrats — would offer him the most and the best speaking time. Sen. Dole immediately asked the Senate to increase the amount of speaking time for both sides. I believe only then, after Gore realized we were asking for more time to make room for him on our side, that he finally decided to support the resolution authorizing the use of force to drive Hussein out of Kuwait.
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