Does Al Gore run again in 2004 and win the US Presidency that year without 9/11? Before 9/11, there was still widespread anger among Democrats and the feeling that Al Gore was robbed of the US Presidency in 2000 and thus deserves a second chance--as well as the feeling that Bush was illegitimate and a bumbling buffoon. However, after 9/11, Bush's approval ratings went up into the stratosphere and thus running again in 2004 suddenly became considerably riskier for Al Gore since if he would have lost to Bush again, he would have been viewed as a two-time loser rather than as the guy who had the US Presidency stolen from him.
In a 2013 interview with Al Gore, here is what was said about this topic:
So, what do you think--does Al Gore run again in 2004 without 9/11 and win the US Presidency that year in such a scenario? Also, if so, just how exactly does US history subsequently unfold in this scenario?
In a 2013 interview with Al Gore, here is what was said about this topic:
Al Gore on His Golden Years and Why He Thinks Obama Has Failed on Climate Change -- New York Magazine - Nymag
The almost president has become the ultimate Davos Man, a moral entrepreneur and richer than Mitt Romney.
nymag.com
After Gore’s defeat in 2000, he thought hard about resuming his campaign for the presidency. He considered Bush a coward—unable to say no to the stronger personalities around him. “I thought very seriously about running again,” he tells me. “It’s hard for a lot of people to remember now what it was like just prior to September 11. Bush and Cheney were in trouble.” And Gore’s stature had only risen—he was the anti-Bush, curious and intelligent. Then came the attacks on the Towers, and everything changed. Politically, Bush was untouchable, and Gore’s view of his role in the American firmament made it imperative that he give Bush his full backing. “George W. Bush is my president,” Gore said in a speech, “and I will follow him, as will we all, in this time of crisis.”
But in another sense, 9/11 freed Gore to move past politics. Gore’s heart was not in a rematch. “I don’t think he wanted to run,” says Eskew. “There was not a systematic series of conversations about running. As a friend, I thought losing again would’ve been really devastating.”
So, what do you think--does Al Gore run again in 2004 without 9/11 and win the US Presidency that year in such a scenario? Also, if so, just how exactly does US history subsequently unfold in this scenario?