GORE BACKS DEAN: Former Vice President Al Gore announced yesterday that he is backing Howard Dean for president, in an early-morning press conference in Harlem (which was fisked, on air in real time, by Don Imus on MSNBC- good times!). Gore, in throwing his former running mate Joseph Lieberman under the bus, said he made the decision because Dean is the only candidate who has galvanized the Democratic base (which is true), and because Dean can win (which isn't quite as true).
The most surprising moment of the speech was when Dean referred to Gore as "the elected president of the United States." Huh? That's the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from one of Dean's freakish supporters, not from the Good Doctor himself. If Dean refuses to abide by the results of the 2000 election, why does he see fit to blame Bush for everything under the sun, including the color of the sky? If he thinks Gore won, why isn't he running against Gore?
Anyway, the right-leaning pundits of course went to town- and their angle? As always, it's All About Hillary, and her supposed conspiracy to eventually become president. The Hillary-obsessed Dick Morris led his column Tuesday with
Dissatisfied at how thoroughly forgotten he is among active Democrats and resentful of all the attention Sen. Hillary Clinton, his White House rival, is getting, Al has reportedly decided to flank the Clintons by backing Howard Dean for president.