The Also-Rans: Al Gore
In recent years, the person who came closest to being President without crossing the finish line was former Tennessee Senator and former Vice-President Albert Arnold Gore Jr. In the 2000 presidential election, Gore won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes but ultimately lost the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush following a legal controversy over a vote recount in Florida. The legal dispute was ultimately settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in favor of Bush. The outcome of that election will continue to be a source of controversy among partisans from both camps, with many Gore supporters continuing to believe that Gore was robbed, and many Bush supporters believing that a million recounts would still show Bush to be the winner in Florida and therefore the winner of the election fair and square.
Al Gore, Jr. was born on March 31, 1948 in Washington, D.C., the yoingest of two children of Pauline Gore and Albert Gore, Sr., a U.S. Representative who later served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. He met Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson at his senior prom in 1965 and on May 19, 1970, shortly after Tipper graduated from Boston University, they married at the Washington National Cathedral. The couple have four children and in early June 2010, shortly after purchasing a new home, the Gores seperated.
When Gore graduated from Harvard in 1969, in the midst of the Vietnam War, his student deferment ended and he immediately became eligible for the military draft. His father, a vocal anti-Vietnam War critic, was running for reelection in 1970. Gore later stated that he decided that the best way he could contribute to the anti-war effort was to enlist in the Army, which would improve his father's reelection prospects. His orders to be sent to Vietnam were held up for some time, and many believe that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes.He finally went to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election. Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and was a journalist with The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.
On his return to the states, he attended Vanderbilt University Law School in 1974 but did not complete law school, deciding abruptly in 1976 to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when he found out that his father's former seat in the House was about to be vacated. Following in his father's footsteps, Gore was an elected official for 24 years. He was a Congressman from Tennessee from 1977–85 and from 1985–93 he served as one of the state's Senators.
Gore unsuccessfully sought his party's nomination for President in 1988 (losing to Michael Dukakis) and again in 1992 (losing to Bill Clinton.) He was chosen to be Clinton's running mate in 1992, and served as Vice-President from 1993-2001.
As his party's nominee for President in 2000, Gore became the subject of a widely spread urban legend that he claimed to have "invented the Internet." This comes from an interview Gore gave in March of 1999 with Wolf Blitzer of CNN in which Gore said "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Despite the gaff, many gave Gore credit for being a supporter of the concept. Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn stated that "there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet." Cerf later said "Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit."
Following his election defeat in 2000, Gore initially entered a period of seclusion in which he grew a beard and gained weight. He re-emerged into the public eye, later, and in late 2002, Gore began to publicly criticize the Bush administration. In a September 23, 2002 speech given before the Commonwealth Club of California, Gore criticized President George W. Bush and Congress for the rush to war in Iraq. He was also critical of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. Gore was a speculated candidate for the 2004 Presidential Election. A popular bumper sticker at the time read "Re-elect Gore in 2004!" On December 16, 2002, Gore announced that he would not run in 2004. He endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean over his running mate Senator Joseph Liebermann. Dean later blamed Gore's support as a factor in the collapse of his campaign. Dean told the New York Times "I actually do think the endorsement of Al Gore began the decline."
In recent years, Gore has abandoned electoral politics, choosing instead to devote his efforts in support of climate protection and environmental causes. This is not a recent passion of his, but since leaving politics Gore has become the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior adviser to Google. Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading its climate change solutions group. He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute.
Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize (joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007), a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2009) for his book An Inconvenient Truth, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV (2007), and a Webby Award (2005). Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning (2007) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. In 2007 he was named a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year.
On January 2, 2013, Al Jazeera purchased Current Media. It announced that it would be closing down the Current TV channel while launching a new American news channel titled Al Jazeera America. Defending his decision, Gore wrote: "I am incredibly proud of what Current has been able to accomplish. But broadcast media is a business, and being an independent content producer in a time of increasing consolidation is a challenge."
Al Gore, Jr. was born on March 31, 1948 in Washington, D.C., the yoingest of two children of Pauline Gore and Albert Gore, Sr., a U.S. Representative who later served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. He met Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson at his senior prom in 1965 and on May 19, 1970, shortly after Tipper graduated from Boston University, they married at the Washington National Cathedral. The couple have four children and in early June 2010, shortly after purchasing a new home, the Gores seperated.
When Gore graduated from Harvard in 1969, in the midst of the Vietnam War, his student deferment ended and he immediately became eligible for the military draft. His father, a vocal anti-Vietnam War critic, was running for reelection in 1970. Gore later stated that he decided that the best way he could contribute to the anti-war effort was to enlist in the Army, which would improve his father's reelection prospects. His orders to be sent to Vietnam were held up for some time, and many believe that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes.He finally went to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election. Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and was a journalist with The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.
On his return to the states, he attended Vanderbilt University Law School in 1974 but did not complete law school, deciding abruptly in 1976 to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when he found out that his father's former seat in the House was about to be vacated. Following in his father's footsteps, Gore was an elected official for 24 years. He was a Congressman from Tennessee from 1977–85 and from 1985–93 he served as one of the state's Senators.
Gore unsuccessfully sought his party's nomination for President in 1988 (losing to Michael Dukakis) and again in 1992 (losing to Bill Clinton.) He was chosen to be Clinton's running mate in 1992, and served as Vice-President from 1993-2001.
As his party's nominee for President in 2000, Gore became the subject of a widely spread urban legend that he claimed to have "invented the Internet." This comes from an interview Gore gave in March of 1999 with Wolf Blitzer of CNN in which Gore said "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Despite the gaff, many gave Gore credit for being a supporter of the concept. Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn stated that "there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet." Cerf later said "Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit."
Following his election defeat in 2000, Gore initially entered a period of seclusion in which he grew a beard and gained weight. He re-emerged into the public eye, later, and in late 2002, Gore began to publicly criticize the Bush administration. In a September 23, 2002 speech given before the Commonwealth Club of California, Gore criticized President George W. Bush and Congress for the rush to war in Iraq. He was also critical of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. Gore was a speculated candidate for the 2004 Presidential Election. A popular bumper sticker at the time read "Re-elect Gore in 2004!" On December 16, 2002, Gore announced that he would not run in 2004. He endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean over his running mate Senator Joseph Liebermann. Dean later blamed Gore's support as a factor in the collapse of his campaign. Dean told the New York Times "I actually do think the endorsement of Al Gore began the decline."
In recent years, Gore has abandoned electoral politics, choosing instead to devote his efforts in support of climate protection and environmental causes. This is not a recent passion of his, but since leaving politics Gore has become the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the co-founder and chair of Current TV, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., and a senior adviser to Google. Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading its climate change solutions group. He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute.
Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize (joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007), a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2009) for his book An Inconvenient Truth, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV (2007), and a Webby Award (2005). Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning (2007) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. In 2007 he was named a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year.
On January 2, 2013, Al Jazeera purchased Current Media. It announced that it would be closing down the Current TV channel while launching a new American news channel titled Al Jazeera America. Defending his decision, Gore wrote: "I am incredibly proud of what Current has been able to accomplish. But broadcast media is a business, and being an independent content producer in a time of increasing consolidation is a challenge."