9781422275641

W. Bush was the son of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush. Both men had grown up in powerful political circles. Al Gore spent much of his childhood in Washington, D.C. His family had a penthouse there, in the Fairfax Hotel, where his father would meet with presidents and policy makers . George W. Bush’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, had served as a U.S. senator from Connecticut; before he became president, George H.W. Bush had served as a United Nations ambassador , the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the vice president under Ronald Reagan. Both of the candidates had attended top universities. Al Gore was a graduate of Harvard University. George W. Bush was a Yale University graduate and had earned an MBA from Harvard University. They were close in age: Al Gore was 52 years old at the time of the election, whereas George W. Bush was 54. Finally, each man deeply and strongly believed that he was the better man to become the next president of the United States. There were important differences between the two men, however, which divided the country during this election year. After graduating from college, Al Gore had enlisted to serve in the war in Vietnam, despite his personal opposition to the conflict, and had spent much of the war working as an army journalist. At the age of 28, he ran for, and was elected to, the U.S. House of Representatives, the same position that his father had once held. After eight years, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. As a U.S. senator from Tennessee, Gore focused on issues involving arms con- trol and technology. Unlike many other Democrats, Gore supported President George H.W. Bush’s decision to send troops to fight against Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, as well as in a military intervention in the conflict in Bosnia. After his failed first run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, Gore wrote a best-selling book that focused on environmental issues, and he later served as vice president in Bill Clinton’s administration. Gore had been a visible vice president, working closely with President Clinton. That closeness had become a liability when Clinton’s administration was caught up in questions about fund-raising methods and scandals involving Clinton’s personal life. Gore was also criticized for appearing wooden and dull in speeches and at public appearances. Gore’s opponent, Texas governor George W. Bush, described himself as a “compassionate conservative” during the 2000 campaign. After a time in college during which he was, in his own words, “young and irresponsible,” he joined the Texas National Guard as a pilot. This would prove problematic during his campaign, with some suggesting that the Bush family had used their connections to obtain a

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How the President is Elected