Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (329270)	12/15/2002 9:19:37 PM
From: CYBERKEN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

<<by Loserman you mean??>> Where have you BEEN?...

To: PROLIFE who wrote (329270)	12/15/2002 9:29:58 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Former Vice President Al Gore, who came agonizingly close to winning the presidency two years ago, said Sunday he will not run for the White House in 2004. In a taped interview, Gore announced exclusively on CBS' "60 Minutes" that he will not run for president. "I've decided that I will not be a candidate for president in 2004," Gore told Lesley Stahl. "I personally have the energy and drive and ambition to make another campaign, but I don't think that it's the right thing for me to do. "I want to contribute to ending the current administration. I think the current policies have to be changed. I think that my best way of contributing to that result may not be as a candidate this time around." The Democrat won the popular vote by half a million votes in 2000 but conceded the presidency to Republican George W. Bush after a tumultuous 36-day recount in Florida and a 5-4 Supreme Court vote against him. Gore's concession came Dec. 13, 2000, just over two years ago. He likely would have been the party's early front-runner and his sudden withdrawal clears the field for other Democrats hoping to unseat a popular president. "I think that a campaign that would be a rematch between myself and President Bush would inevitably involve a focus on the past that would in some measure distract from the focus on the future that I think all campaigns have to be about," Gore said. Mr. Bush, whose approval rates are in the 60s, has almost a 20-point lead over Gore in polls that pose a 2000 rematch. The rivals were running even before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Party activists were critical of Gore for losing despite a booming economy and eight years of a Democratic administration. Gore even lost his home state of Tennessee; a victory there would have given him the White House. Among Democrats, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is running and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has formed an exploratory committee. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Gore's running mate in 2000, has said he is very interested in a bid, but would not run if Gore did. Lieberman aide Adam Kovacevich said the senator was consulting with his family and would respond Monday to Gore's decision. Also considering the race are Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Those close to Gephardt have said he is "very, very likely to run" no matter what Gore decided. Kerry, who was seen as a leading rival if Gore had run, said in a statement: "We all owe Al enormous gratitude for years of dedicated and exemplary public service and for his significant contributions to our party and country." Dean, who was in New Hampshire, called the announcement: "sort of a bittersweet day." "I think that Al Gore must have faced a very difficult decision and he exhibited some real courage in making the decision he did," Dean said. "There is a certain amount of sadness for me because he worked hard in the 2000 election and was poorly served by the process." Gore said whoever ends up running against Mr. Bush will have make the economy a top priority. "I think there has to be an unrelenting focus on the economy," he said. "I think that the policies they’re committed to do not work. "And I think that if they don’t change them, which I don’t think they’re likely to, that it’s gonna be apparent to people." Mike Briggs, an Edwards' aide, said Gore's decision would not influence the senator's decision "one way or the other." Edwards has indicated he is likely to seek the nomination. White House officials declined comment on Gore's announcement. After gradually re-entering politics over the past year, Gore campaigned for selected candidates this year, made trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, then spent the last month promoting a book on the family that he wrote with wife, Tipper. He also has been making an extensive round of media appearances, including "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. Since returning to the public stage, Gore has talked about his views on issues from Iraq to health care to the economy and sending mixed signals on whether he planned to run. A year ago, Gore accepted the job of vice chairman of Metropolitan West Financial, a Los Angeles-based financial services holding company. The former vice president is helping the firm find investments overseas as well as private-equity investments in biotechnology and information technology. He has been juggling that job with his duties as college professor, guest speaker and author, traveling between New York, Los Angeles, Washington, his teaching jobs in Tennessee and his new home in the suburbs of Nashville, Tenn. Gore ran for president unsuccessfully in 1988 and then was surprised to be picked as Bill Clinton's running mate in 1992. Though Gore often was criticized as overly controlled and cautious, he was praised for the work he did as an influential vice president. He used his expertise in science and technology to be the White House point man on telecommunications reform and the information superhighway. He was in charge of "reinventing government" by conducting an agency-by-agency review to reduce waste and promote efficiency. Gore disappeared from public view for almost a year after the 2000 election, saying Bush deserved a chance to begin his presidency without continued criticism from his election opponent. Just as Gore was beginning to re-emerge politically, the Sept. 11 attacks altered the political climate.