Writing of the 1992 election in which Bill Clinton and Al Gore prevailed with 43% of the popular vote, but with 370 electoral votes, Bill Turque notes:
“In the end, however, it was a collapse of faith in George Bush, rather than a great investment of hope in Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Polls showed that many voters remained skittish, with only a limited confidence in the new president-elect. In a sense, they struck the same pragmatic bargain that Gore had made when he became a running mate. Each threw in with a man whose frailties of character were in plain view but who offered other superseding benefits…. Whether he (Gore) would have his chance depended on the political marriage he had just begun. Gore had tied the knot – in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.”
This is not an ‘authorized’ biography of Al Gore. Gore and his then wife turned down all requests for interviews. However, more than 250 people were interviewed and many agreed to speak on the record. The acknowledgements, notes and bibliography take up a full 35% of the Kindle edition. Bill Turque researches deeply and widely and documents meticulously. The author was assigned by “Newsweek” to cover Al Gore as he campaigned in 1992 and 1996
Met Al Gore briefly when he was Vice President and came to Warsaw, Poland for the 50 year anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1993. As a military guy in the embassy was in charge of "meet and greet" (which we called "grip and grin") formalities at the military Airport and for the laying of the wreath at the tomb of the Polish Unknown Soldier. That doesn’t mean I was by the Vice President’s side, it meant I shook his hand twice then was a hanger on with Polish military counterparts helping to make sure things ran smoothly. Vice President Gore was unfailingly polite if excruciatingly formal at these events. The then political counselor in the embassy, sat with me when Al Gore gave a speech to the Polish Sejm (Parliament). The speech was wooden and about three or four years out of date. I turned to my buddy and said something like “____, this speech is awful.” He replied something to the effect that “_____, it was even worse than this, we worked with his handlers until 1 a.m. this morning trying to make it better.” I went "c’mon ___; didn’t they vet this through State?” My friend just shook his head and stared at the floor.
In part, this is the Al Gore Bill Turque captures in the book -- a man sometimes impervious to others. I wanted to try and find some sympathy for Al Gore when I read this book. I found a short way in that he is a man who lived in his father’s too large shadow for too long. When he almost lost his own son he went through some real soul searching, but it seems to have stopped short and to have been overshadowed by his Presidential ambitions. As I read this book, I found myself reliving the Clinton-Gore years, not as they have been re-imagined and photo shopped as Clinton’s 'legacy' is polished, but as they actually were.
If you want an unvarnished biography of Al Gore which leads up to his decision to run for President, this is the book for you. If you want objective insight into how the Clinton-Gore White House book operated, this is the book for you. It is extremely well written and writing about Al Gore is not an easy task. Personally, I think this book should be a standard reference for anyone studying the Clinton Presidency or the 2000 Presidential campaign. It does not cover that campaign, but it provides insight into why Gore campaigned the way he did and, ironically, the same Bush fatigue that led to George Bush’s defeat in 1992 most likely, at least in part, was replaced by Clinton fatigue that led to Gore’s loss in 2000. This book definitely passes the test of time.
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