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Albert Gore Jr.

The Democratic Party nominee who wants to succeed Bill Clinton has a persona that's been described as somehow macho and geeky at the same time.

On stage, Vice President Al Gore has a commanding presence. But during speeches and debates, the Democratic nominee for president often dwells on details of public policy that can set an audience daydreaming.

Of the leading candidates for president, Gore has the most political experience. He served 24 consecutive years in public office, first as a U.S. congressman from Tennessee, then a senator, then vice president.

But Gore has been criticized for defending President Bill Clinton during his indiscretions with a White House intern, and opponents have raised questions about Gore's fund-raising practices.

More recently, Gore's tendency to embellish his record has resulted in attacks on his credibility. Perhaps the most common example is his stretching his role in Congress as a promoter of the Internet.

Gore's youth was much like that of his Republican opponent, George W. Bush. As the son of a prominent politician, the late U.S. Sen. Al Gore Sr., young Al attended private school before heading to the Ivy League. He graduated from the St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, D.C., then Harvard University.

Gore's father insisted that his son spend his summers on the family farm near Carthage, Tennessee, where he learned to swing an axe, clear tobacco patches and plow slanted hillsides.

That experience, supporters say, taught the younger Gore to care about ordinary people. As a young adult, Gore served as an Army correspondent in Vietnam, and later an investigative reporter with the Nashville Tennessean.

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut) shares the ticket with Gore.

Gore, 52, is married with three daughters, a son and a grandson. His wife, Tipper, is perhaps best known for her campaign to require parental warning labels on music recordings with obscene lyrics.

Gore struggles in the South
October 2, 2000
Gore on Letterman
September 15, 2000
Becoming Al Gore

Gore-Lieberman 2000
The Democratic Party

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