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Journalism of Courage
US vice-president Al Gore kicked off his White House bid for 2000 on Wednesday with an impassioned pledge to set a moral example for the country. “With your help, I will take my own values of faith and family to the presidency,” he said, distancing himself from the sex scandal that nearly toppled Bill Clinton.
In his first formal announcement for the 2000 race, Gore also pledged “to build an America that is not only better-off, but better”.
Enthusiastic supporters greeted Gore in Carthage, a tiny Tennessee town where he was born, and a country western band warmed up the crowd, underscoring the candidate’s southern roots and the traditional values he is seeking to promote.
“It is our own lives we must master if we are to have moral authority to guide our children,” he said.
Gore, 51, also took credit for the boom economy which has buoyed Clinton, but his references to the “moral deficit” in America were widely viewed as a bid to distance himself from the President’s affair with Monica Lewinskythat led to his impeachment last year.
Gore’s announcement was accompanied by a media blitz aimed at boosting the visibility of the Vice-President, whose reputation as a dull policy wonk has raised concerns about his viability as a candidate.
In several of these interviews, Gore denounced Clinton’s conduct in harsh terms. “I think that what he did was inexcusable,” he told ABC, indicating that Clinton had lied to him and he felt uncomfortable with the way the scandal was handled. “The impression that he gave me and the others that he worked with was not the truth,” Gore said.
