if clinton had such a high approval rating , the why didnt gore win it by a landslide ?

Answer 1

Al Gore couldn't even carry his home state of Tennessee

Tenn. -- Vice President Al Gore is tortured by the fact that he lost Tennessee, say friends. After all, had he won his home state -- the state he represented all his years in Congress -- he would now be President-elect Gore, with or without Florida.

Answer 2

If you go back and look at the campaign, Gore was worried about being saddled with the morality issue that Bill Clinton raised. Because of this fear, he never really campaigned on the accomplishments of the Clinton administration. As such, he did not get as substantial a benefit from being the Vice-president as he could have.

In addition, as noted somewhat in previous posts, approval of a candidate is personal to that candidate. Approval of Clinton gave Gore an advantage in getting someones vote, he still had to close the sale. With George W. trying to minimize the policy gaps during the election and being the more personable of the two candidates, George W. was able to make the national numbers close enough to sneak in with a narrow victory in the electoral college despite the popular defeat.

Answer 3

Gee, I don't know, because Gore wasn't Clinton? Gore ran his own campaign, it didn't have a thing to do with Bill Clinton, he didn't want Clinton around. Gore actually won the popular vote, so he didn't do too bad, he just got screwed by the electoral system and the ridiculous goings on in Florida, not to mention the Supreme Court. Not a thing to be blamed on Clinton's approval rating, which was shockingly high for a President who went through impeachment. Maybe if he'd had Clinton's charm and likeability he would have done better, but he didn't.

Anyway, what do you mean "if?" You sound as if you doubt the facts. Here:

"[Clinton} left office with the highest voter approval rating of all modern presidents."

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564341/Clinton_Bill.html

Answer 4

It was a strange time in our history. We were riding high economically--thoroughly overextended, but we were the world's greatest power, and all we had to worry about was how fast our computers were. There was a bit of concern about how long the good times might last, but for the most part we were sitting pretty, as they say. The rich, and that was us, tend to become more conservative, and Vice President Gore did not seem to understand the mood of the nation, that we wanted only a care-taker President who'd preserve the good and keep the ball rolling. He kept coming up with Urgent Needs that we were all supposed to care about, but nobody did. He also ran a relatively inept campaign as well.

And so we wound up with George W Bush, not so much because GWB won the election, but because Al Gore lost it. It was less than a year later that we learned what poor leadership meant in times of sudden reversal.

Answer 5

Clinton's popularity was due to his personal charisma, not for anything he did. Al Gore lost because he was Al Gore. He couldn't carry his home state.

Answer 6

Because Gore is not Clinton in the same way that Bush Sr. is not Reagan and Cheney is not Bush.

But then again, Gore did win the popular vote by tens of thousands, so....

Answer 7

Al Gore came across as wishy washy. He tried the Clinton dance around the issues and the truth but he couldn't pull it off.

Answer 8

He pointedly asked Clinton to stay away from his campaign. He didn't want him to campaign for him. I believe Clinton for all his many faults would have won the election for Gore.

Answer 9

I don't happen to like either one of them but you have to admit Gore is no Clinton......not even close. He has no appeal at all, seems cold and wooden. Not much there to get excited about.

Answer 10

Clinton was a pot smoking, draft dodging, wife cheater, Gore was / is just boring and an idiot.