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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

After Al, Democrats in Wing

Aired December 16, 2002 - 06:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk politics now and the big Sunday surprise, Al Gore will not be running for president in 2004. And there's more than one Democrat ready to pick up the baton.
CNN's John King looks over the field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There will be no rematch.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've decided that I will not be a candidate for president in 2004.

KING: The former vice president says he believes President Bush is vulnerable, but Gore says, he decided a replay of the hotly- contested 2000 election might not give the Democrats their best chance.

GORE: I personally have the energy and the drive and the ambition to make another campaign, but I don't think it's the right thing for me to do.

KING: The decision came at the end of a Gore media blitz many Democrats thought was a sigh he would run, and the night after, a stint as guest host of "Saturday Night Live"...

GORE: Thank you!

KING: ... now, a wide-open Democratic field.

PETER FINN, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Even Jimmy the Greek would have trouble laying odds on this one.

KING: Vermont Governor Howard Dean is running, hoping Democrats want someone from outside Washington. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is already raising money and banking on early success in neighboring New Hampshire. Congressman Dick Gephardt has spent most of the past month lining up support. Advisors say the Missouri Democrat plans to run and will make his plans clear in the next few weeks.

Senator Joseph Lieberman had said he would not run for president if Gore ran again. The 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee now is leaning in favor of jumping in.

Others considering the Democratic race including North Carolina Senator John Edwards and Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

FENN: I think this throws things into a bit of a tizzy, because I think the White House was, in fact, preparing for an Al Gore candidacy, and now, they don't know what to prepare for.

KING: The White House said President Bush would have no immediate comment.

(on camera): Some see in Gore's decision a calculation that it might be best to sit one out, and perhaps run for president again in 2008. The former vice president isn't completely ruling that out, but says, as he bows out this time, he does so with the full belief he will never get the opportunity to run again.

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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