Albert “Al” Gore Jr. has served his country for decades as a U.S. representative, senator, forty-fifth vice president of the United States, and
spokesperson for environmental issues.
Gore was born on March 31, 1948. He was the son of U.S. representative and senator Albert Gore Sr. (1907–1998) of Tennessee, who
served for nearly three decades. Because of his father’s occupation, Gore
grew up in Washington, D.C. After graduating from high school, where
he was an honor student and captain of the football team, he went to
Harvard University. In 1969, he received a bachelor’s degree, with honors, in government. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, although he opposed the United States’s intervention in the conflict in
Southeast Asia that was the Vietnam War (1954–75).
Army reporter and more
While stationed in Vietnam, Gore served as an army reporter. He published some of his stories in a Nashville, Tennessee, newspaper. After
Gore left the military in 1971, the Nashville Tennessean hired him as an
investigative reporter and, later, as an editorial writer. Interested in religion and philosophy, Gore also enrolled in the Graduate School of
Religion at Vanderbilt University in 1971. In 1974, he entered
Vanderbilt’s law school but left after two years to enter politics.
Career in Congress
It was in 1976 that Gore decided to run for a seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives. His name was well known because of his father’s career, and he won that year and in the three following elections. In 1980, Gore
was assigned to the House Intelligence Committee. He researched nuclear arms and eventually published a comprehensive manifesto (a written declaration of intentions or principles) on arms restructuring for
future security. In 1984, Gore campaigned for a seat in the U.S. Senate
and won with a large margin of votes.
While in Congress, Gore took an interest in health issues, the environment, and nuclear arms control and disarmament, as well as other defense issues. He stressed the potential of new technologies, such as
biotechnology and computer development.
Early presidential aspirations
In 1988, the thirty-nine-year-old Gore attempted to win the
Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Criticized for changing
positions and issues, and falling behind in the primaries, he eventually
withdrew.
Two years later, he won election to a second term in the U.S. Senate.
He chose not to seek the presidency in 1992, citing family concerns (his
son, Albert III, had been hit by an automobile and was seriously injured).
It was during this time that Gore wrote the book Earth in the Balance:
Ecology and the Human Spirit, which expressed his concern, ideas, and
recommendations on conservation and the global environment.
Vice presidency
In the summer of 1992, the Democratic nominee for president,
Arkansas governor Bill Clinton (1946–; served 1993–2001) selected
Gore as his vice presidential running mate. It was considered an unusual
choice. Most presidential candidates choose running mates from different backgrounds or parts of the country in order to “balance the ticket.”
Clinton and Gore, both southern Democrats, projected the youthful
vigor of the baby boomer generation (the generation of people born between 1946 and 1964). They considered themselves to be “New
Democrats,” moderates who hoped to move the party back to the center
(away from political extremes). Gore did balance Clinton’s strengths by
providing experience in foreign and defense policy, expertise in environmental and new technology matters, and an image as an unwavering family man. Clinton and Gore won the election in 1992. At the age of forty-four,
Gore became one of the youngest vice presidents in U.S. history. Clinton
and Gore were reelected in 1996. During his time as vice president, Gore
continued to stress environmental concerns.
The 2000 election
Gore announced his candidacy for the 2000 presidential election in June
1999; he was nominated by the Democratic Party in August 2000.
Following the Republican Party’s convention, Gore’s opponent became
Texas governor George W. Bush (1946–). They faced off in one of the
closest presidential contests in American history.
On the evening of election day, November 7, 2000, news agencies
began projecting that Gore had won the popular vote and appeared to
be the victor. Around 10 PM, however, news reporters began referring to
Florida’s popular vote as too close to call. By morning, there was still no
new president-elect.
The problem was in Florida. Vote tallies completed there were extremely close, and serious technical voting problems had arisen in four
counties. (See Voting Techniques Controversy). Recounts began.
Republican officials tried to have the recounts stopped, which would
have resulted in a narrow victory for Bush. Democrats took the matter
before federal judges, and the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously
that manual recounts could continue. Bush’s lawyers appealed the ruling
to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation waited to find out who would
be the next president.
On December 12, a bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that
the recounts were unconstitutional. It ordered a halt to all further recounts. Gore, who had won the popular vote of the nation, conceded the
election to Bush.
After the 2000 election
Gore’s many followers urged him to run in the 2004 presidential election. A fierce opponent of the Bush administration’s policies in the Iraq
Invasion (2003–), Gore declined, saying he felt the country needed a
fresh face for its next candidate. Gore was outspoken in his criticism of
Bush and some of his top aides, even calling for their resignation for creating a catastrophe in the Middle East. He continued to strongly support the Democratic Party, but the next spotlight he stepped into was not in
the political arena.
A different calling
As evidence of global warming—the gradual increase in the world’s temperatures caused by the emission of gases that trap the sun’s heat within
the earth’s atmosphere—grew strong, Gore turned most of his focus to
his longtime interest in the environment. He put together a slide show
to try to educate people about global warming and presented it in cities
and towns throughout the country. In January 2006, the environmental
documentary An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim,
had its world premiere. The documentary simply films Gore presenting
his compelling slide show. The documentary was viewed by millions and
won many awards, including an Academy Award for best documentary.
In early 2007, Gore announced that he was collaborating with producers to launch Live Earth, a set of musical concerts featuring the
biggest names in contemporary music, to be held in cities on every continent on July 7. The concert reached an estimated audience of nearly
two billion people worldwide via television, raising consciousness about
the urgency of global warming. For his efforts to educate the public
about the environment and global warming, Gore won the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize.
Gore stated his intention not to run for the presidential election in
2008, though his documentary and concert and several years of outspokenness had enhanced his popularity.