Al Gore Al Gore served as the forty-fifth vice-president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under former president Bill Clinton. He’s also well-known for running against and getting defeated by Republican George Bush as the Democratic nominee in the 2000 controversial presidential election. Al Gore—American politician, businessman, and teacher—is currently the president of Current (an American TV station), a director of Apple Computer’s board, chairman of Generation Investment Management, and an advisor to the senior management of Google. Al Gore was born March 31, 1948, in Washington, D.C., to parents Albert A. Gore, Sr.—a former U.S. Senator in Tennessee, and Pauline LaFon Gore. He attended Harvard with roommate actors Tommy Lee Jones and Bart Day, father of Columbia University women’s basketball star Katie Day. Al Gore switched his major from English to government, graduating in 1969.
He married Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson—known now as Tipper Gore—in 1970 and the two are still together with four children, Karenna, Kristin, Sarah, and Albert III; and two grandchildren. The family lives in Tennessee. Prior to his U.S. vice-presidency, Al Gore had quite a varied and interesting life. He was involved in military service from 1969 to 1971, working as a military journalist and fighting in the Vietnam War. After his discharge he continued to work as a reporter and also attended Vanderbilt Divinity School and Law School, the latter of which he quit to run for the U.S. House, beating out Stanley Rogers. He was elected to his first Congressional post in 1976, getting re-elected in 1978, 1980, and 1984. He then ran for Senate (after Republican Majority Leader Howard Baker left his seat) and became Senator from Tennessee. Al Gore actually first ran for president back in 1988, but didn’t acquire the Democratic nomination, which ended up going to Michael Dukakis. A car accident that nearly killed his son a year later prevented him from focusing on the next presidential campaign, which Bill Clinton won.
As Bill Clinton’s vice-president, Al Gore was cited as the one of the most influential VPs in the U.S. government’s history, accomplishing much in many issues related to the environment, economics, and foreign policy. Al Gore fans particularly note the relative peace and prosperity experienced by Americans during the Clinton/Gore administration. In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, with Senator Joe Lieberman as his running vice-president, lost to George Bush on a too-close-for-comfort electoral vote of 271 to 266. A recount was ceased by the U.S. Supreme Court, giving the win to Bush, although Gore won a plurality of the popular vote, with more than 500,000 more votes than Bush. Al Gore publicly conceded the election. There remains controversy over the fact that Gore may have won had the election process been done differently. Since his election loss, Al Gore has publicly criticized the Bush administration on various counts in interviews and speeches. Al Gore claims he won’t be running for president again, despite allegation he’s planning on running in the 2008 elections. However, he maintains that continuing a future in politics is likely. His most current movie about the environment, titled An Inconvenient Truth is receiving significant media attention. YUDDY |
