Al Gore: Conquered Hero

CBSNews.com producer Jarrett Murphy is reporting from Boston this week.

Gore never got to keep the pledge he made in his acceptance speech to the 2000 Los Angeles convention. On Monday night, he addresses Democratic delegates who, four years hence, are gearing up – once again – to defeat George W. Bush. But this time, Gore is not a candidate. For the first time in 16 years, since he lost in the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries, Al Gore is not a candidate for national office.

The circumstances of the end of Gore's career weren't far from delegates' minds as they gathered in Boston. Many delegates say their deep anger at President Bush is at least partly due to their feeling that his presidency is not legitimate, that the 2000 election was stolen.

But in addition to the fiasco in Florida, which they blame on the president, some delegates also recall flaws in how Gore ran his 2000 campaign.

They recall the candidate who said, in that same acceptance speech, "Sometimes people say I'm too serious" - and may have been dead right. There was also Gore's awkward relationship with President Clinton, who, incidentally, speaks later on Monday in a brighter spotlight than Gore's.

Still, according to CBS News polls, 83 percent of Democratic delegates have a favorable impression of Gore and 60 percent of Democrats overall feel that way. Only 7 percent of delegates, and 15 percent of all Democrats, say their impression of Gore is "not favorable."

Some of Gore's popularity might be due to his recent change in tone – a series of forceful speeches he has given in which he has excoriated the Bush administration, particularly over the war in Iraq.

"What we know is that Al Gore seems a lot more animated than he was four years ago," said James Amann, Democratic majority leader in the Connecticut state house, noting that Gore always had the reputation of being about as exciting as "watching wallpaper dry."

"Suddenly, maybe because he's freed from the reins of being vice president, he's more expressing the Al Gore" that people used to talk about in Tennessee, Amann said.

And delegates seem to like that Gore better. John Cilley, a delegate from North Carolina, said Gore's image "probably has improved."

"I think people realize now that, Al Gore was far more substantive than the present administration is," Cilley said.

"I don't know, maybe he's got the fire back in his belly," said John Gaines, an aviation worker and delegate from Broken Arrow, Okla.

Most delegates share some of Gore's fire: More than 9 in 10 think Mr. Bush did not legitimately win the 2000 election, compared to 45 percent of all voters.

"(Gore) could have fought harder in Florida, but he graciously backed down," said Jeanne Sanchez-Belle, a Wisconsin delegate. "For me, he shows a lot of character. I really like Gore."

But Florida is a double-edged sword for Gore, says Rachel Powers, a member of the group Run against Bush. After all, Gore lost an election that "was his to lose."

"He didn't know how to appeal to people," Powers said. "It looked like for a while he was kind of coming out of his shell a few months ago but now I think … (Kerry campaign strategists) have to keep him under wraps because he is, you know, the loser."

Others walking toward the seats in the FleetCenter on Monday night thought little had changed since the night Gore accepted four years ago.

"I don't see him any different," Barbara McKay, a North Carolina delegate who was there that night in Los Angeles, said. "I think he was a strong candidate then. He's still blazing the same issues. I think his voice is a little stronger on the issues."

By Jarrett Murphy