Presidential Campaign of 2004 :: essays research papers

Each presidential election overview has always been similar to a three-ring circus, but in the 2000 Election with Al Gore and George W. Bush, was by far one of the biggest circuses ever. Democrats had reason to worry about the election. Republicans held the White House for three consecutive terms from 1980 to 1992, voters often grow tired of one party after two terms. They were hoping to win control, yet there was a lot at stake with the election at the time. And even though it came to be a quite chaotic election, it was by far the closest election ever in history. The main problem was that the results were so close in Florida that it became indefinite who the winner was. It took over a month to finally attain the results. Ultimately it was not the citizens whose votes counted, but the vote of the Supreme Court for the election case. Al Gore had a good start to begin with, having high marks on his ability to handle key issues, including Democratic stands on such as health care, education and Social Security. But Gore changed all that on the last day of the Democrats' Los Angeles national convention. Whether it was the highly publicized kiss he gave his wife or not, Gore changed the public's view of him. No longer was he a just a stiff politician. Instead, he was a passionate, loving father and husband who lacked many of Clinton's weaknesses. And Gore jumped a few points ahead of Bush. The Monica Lewinsky scandal Clinton had did not necessarily give him a bad reputation. On the contrary, people continued to cast their support for the president since the public thought he had done so much for our nation. Yet in the 2000 Election Gore seemed to go in the completely opposite direction of Clinton, or at least try to avoid his name in his speeches at first. Yet Gore's luck did not change when he left California. Bush seemed to have difficulties when asked about his tax cut plan and about his statement that the U.S. military was not fully ready. While Gore looked relaxed and energetic, Bush made mistakes in front of the camera. Polls suggested that Gore was far ahead of Bush by at least a few points. Republicans became much less optimistic about Bush, while things were looking very promising for the Democrats. Gore’s campaign was focused on issues that were mostly concerned by women, such as health care and education. "We're for the people. Big tobacco, big oil, the