Bill Clinton Thursday tapped Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr. for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, calling his fellow Southern moderate, "a leader of great strength, integrity and stature."
The Arkansas governor said Gore "shares my hunger to turn this country around. The man standing beside me today has what it takes to lead this country from the day we take office - Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee."Clinton and Gore strolled out of the Arkansas governor's mansion just after noon local time - 12 hours after Clinton made the offer in a midnight call. Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore joined their husbands on the balcony, followed by the Clintons' daughter and three of the four Gore children.
"We have the best plan and now we have the best ticket," Clinton said in announcing his pick just four days before the start of the Democratic National Convention.
He introduced his new running mate as the "next vice president of the United States."
Clinton praised Gore's environmental work and said, "Together, we will give the United States a real environmental presidency." The Arkansas governor also painted Gore as a foreign policy expert and reminded a national television audience of Gore's support for using military force to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.
"I have admired Al Gore for many years," Clinton said with Gore at his side. "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work and move things forward in this nation. Twelve years is long enough for our country to not have a national economic strategy."
"I can tell you truthfully, I didn't seek this," Gore said. "But I'm here for one simple reason: I love my country. And I believe in my heart that this ticket gives our country the best chance for the change we so desperately need to move forward again."
Directly addressing the generational theme Clinton sought to foster by selecting a fellow baby-boomer, Gore used Kennedyesque language in saying it was American tradition for new generations to step forward at times of crisis.
"That time has come again - the time for a new generation of leaders," Gore said.
"The Republican administration still in power has driven this country into the ditch," he added.
Gore said the Bush administration had contributed to the demise of the environment and hidden behind a "family values" agenda while vetoing family leave legislation.
"The Clinton-Gore ticket is the pro-family ticket and will be the pro-family administration," he said.
Gore, 44, is known in the Senate for his work on the environment and arms control. An unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, Gore opted against making another run this year. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Party Chairman Ronald Brown said Gore was "an ideal candidate whose experience will sharply contrast that of Dan Quayle's."
The selection of Gore raised some immediate concern at the liberal end of the party. Jesse Jackson went on television before the announcement and said the addition of Gore made a "fairly narrow ticket," and he questioned whether two Southern moderates could inspire labor support.
Jackson - who hasn't even endorsed Clinton yet, let alone Gore - told Fox Morning News that he had "deep concerns."
"It takes two wings to fly and here you have two of the same wing," Jackson said.
The Bush campaign immediately sought to discredit Gore and to paint him as a liberal unable to help Clinton even in his own region.
"Picking a Southerner shows Clinton is pretty insecure about the South," said Torie Clarke, spokes woman for Bush-Quayle '92.
"Clinton chose not to serve in the military so they chose someone with a military record. And Clinton's got a lousy environmental record, so they picked somebody with an extreme environmental record," she said.
Charles Black, a senior campaign adviser to Bush, said Gore "won't sell in the South. He's an across-the-board liberal who votes with Teddy Kennedy most of the time."
Gore gives the ticket a generational appeal, senior advisers said, and should help in Southern and border states that traditionally are Republican strongholds but that they believe will be competitive because of the likely independent Perot candidacy.
Four years ago, when his name figured in speculation about a vice presidential nomination, Gore called the job a "political dead end."
Among those present when Clinton made his decision was Warren Christopher, the head of Clinton's search committee, who met earlier Wednesday with Gore in Tennessee to make sure he would accept the offer, according to two sources familiar with the process who spoke on condition on anonymity.
Clinton then placed a phone call to Tennessee, and Gore accepted the vice presidential slot, said the senior Clinton source.
Besides Gore, Clinton's short list of potential vice presidential candidates had included Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Bob Graham of Florida, Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, as well as Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton. One by one, the also-rans weighed in with their support for the Clinton-Gore ticket.
One senior Clinton aide said that the Arkansas governor was impressed - and a bit surprised - at the immediate rapport he felt with Gore during their first meeting, held weeks ago.
"I don't think he thought this one would feel right, but he kept going back to Gore, saying, `He's so smart. I feel so comfortable talking to him,"' the aide said.
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Here's a thumbnail sketch of Albert Gore Jr.
BORN: March 31, 1948, Washington, D.C.
HOME: Carthage, Tenn.
PARENTS: Former Sen. Albert A. Gore Sr., D-Tenn., and Pauline.
EDUCATION: Harvard, bachelor's degree in government with honors, 1969; attended Vanderbilt University law school and divinity school but did not graduate.
FAMILY: Wife, Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore; four children, Karenna, Kristin, Sarah and Albert III.
RELIGION: Baptist.
POLITICAL CAREER: Gore, at the age age 28, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from a rural Tennessee district in 1976 in his first campaign for public office. He easily won re-election to three more terms in the House before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 1984. He was easily re-elected in 1990.
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Utah's delegates preferred Schroeder
Before Bill Clinton's announcement, the Deseret News had already interviewed 18 of Utah's 34 delegates and alternates to the Democratic National Convention about who they preferred for vice president. Just three delegates of those polled named Al Gore.
Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., was the favorite, with the support of four delegates. Two liked Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., and seven said they had not decided who they'd like.
Lynette Grow of Ogden was one of Gore's early backers. Grow said, "He would bring balance to the leadership team. I have been impressed with his leadership capabilities. He has run before for president and shown he is a leader."
Kay Roberts of Salt Lake City also cited Gore's leadership ability, but, like several of the delegates polled, also had a second choice. For Roberts, it was former presidential candidate Kerrey.
Carolyn Mieremet, of Midvale, wanted Gore. "I was taken with him when he was running before," she said.
Besides Gore, Schroeder and Kerrey, others mentioned by delegates (some as a second choice) also included: Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J.; Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind.; Colorado Gov. Roy Romer; New York Gov. Mario Cuomo; Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; and former Rep. William Gray III, D-Penn.