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What If ... Gore Had Won in 2000?

by Leonard Steinhorn

Mr. Steinhorn, professor of communications at American University, is co-author of the book, By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and The Reality of Race (Dutton, 1999). He is a member of the board of HNN.

History often turns on simple twists of fate, so imagine how our political narrative would play out today had a few hundred votes changed hands in Florida two years ago ...

Handwringing intensified among Republicans after the 2002 mid-term election as the nation rallied behind wartime president Al Gore and the Democrats took control of the House, Senate, and the majority of the state houses.

With Democrats in Congress now poised to enact health care, prescription drug, and environmental legislation, and with President Gore's approval ratings at historic highs because of his leadership after September 11, Republicans find themselves on the defensive with few policy initiatives, a divided leadership and no presidential bully pulpit to press their case.

Privately Republicans are seething over President Gore's exploitation of national security issues during the campaign, particularly the way he questioned the patriotism of Republicans for opposing his version of the Department of Homeland Security bill. Republicans are also angry that Gore, after saying the war on terrorism requires his full attention, criss-crossed the country on Air Force One -- at taxpayer expense -- to campaign for Democratic candidates.

Further troubling Republicans is how the president, after asking for bipartisan support in the war on terrorism, has turned war and national security into a partisan issue.

But Republicans realize they can't raise these issues for fear of attacking a popular wartime president. Even fiery conservatives such as FOX's Bill O'Reilly and talk radio's Rush Limbaugh have felt the need to mute their criticism of the president.

Concern among Republicans that the reverberations from September 11 may leave them without power for years to come has prompted a fair amount of soul-searching and finger-pointing in the party. Moderates are attacking conservatives for obstructing Gore's homeland security bill and his popular proposals on health care and the environment, while conservatives accuse moderates of blurring the differences between the parties and giving the Republican base no reason to vote.

With House Speaker Dennis Hastert giving up his leadership post after losing the House and the very partisan conservative Tom Delay assuming the Republican reins, Democrats have even more reason to cheer. An image of disarray and hard-right leadership will, Democrats believe, further erode the Republican appeal.

Nor does it help Republicans that the man who thought he should have become president, Texas Governor George W. Bush, now registers high unfavorable ratings in the polls. Voters especially remember Bush's harsh negative campaign attacks against President Gore's character, and they repeatedly cite his arrogance for dragging out the Florida election and refusing to accept that Gore won the popular vote by more than half a million votes.

Before September 11, Republicans assumed that the public would chafe at Gore's intensity and preachiness, but Americans now excuse these qualities and even find them endearing because they see how his determination helped heal the country's wounds and how he led our armed forces in Afghanistan.

Republicans never imagined that Gore would be so admired and his administration would turn into such a political juggernaut. But who could have imagined September 11 and its profound impact on our society and culture?