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Originally Posted by SirSeymour
Agreed. Gore's largest mistake of the 2000 campaign was in trying to distance himself from Clinton. He should have used Bill until he could not use him anymore. I would not go so far as to say the American people "loved" Bill but he is likely to be remembered as the single best political mind of his generation. In many ways, it is a shame he could not keep his dick in his pants because that will always overshadow his brilliant career. I do not agree with his politics but I have to admire how he got things done. Not including him in the campaign cost Al the election more than any hanging chads.
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bah. i think it's too in vogue to love on clinton these days. his administration had some accomplishments and he was a brilliant orator/politician... but his international policy left us vulnerable. i'll take reagan hawkishness over clinton goodwill any day. also, we did see some good economic times while he was in office but i think a sleep deprived ape could have had a booming economy with that kind of tech boom. that is a singular event in industrialization that i'll be surprised to see a second of in my lifetime.
back to clinton on the campaign trail...
sure, a lot of people liked clinton... but those people were voting for gore already. he could have galvanized the base better but his appeal to undecided/conservative voters was minimal. it's a campaign strategy decision: do you try to solidify your base (with clinton's charisma) or do you reduce the role of a polarizing figure to try to reach voters who are on the fence?
you may argue that the wrong decision was made. maybe so. still, a politician like al gore winning the popular vote under ANY circumstances has to be judged a victory in some respects.