THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2000 AND THE WAR ON TERROR
The Democratic Party nominated Vice President Al Gore to head its ticket in 2000 . To oppose him, the Republicans chose George W . Bush,
the governor of Texas and son of for- mer president George H .W . Bush .
Gore ran as a dedicated liberal, intensely concerned with damage to the environment and determined to seek more assistance for the less privileged sectors of American soci- ety . He seemed to position himself to the left of President Clinton .
Bush established a position on the right wing of the Republican Party, closer to the heritage of Ron- ald Reagan than to that of his father . He softened this image by display- ing a special interest in education and calling himself a “compassion- ate conservative .” His embrace of evangelical Christianity, which he declared had changed his life after a misspent youth, was of particular note . It underscored an attachment to traditional cultural values that contrasted sharply to Gore’s techno- cratic modernism . Corporate critic Ralph Nader ran well to Gore’s left as the candidate of the Green Par- ty . Conservative Republican Patrick Buchanan mounted an independent candidacy .
The final vote was nearly evenly divided nationally; so were the elec- toral votes . The pivotal state was Florida, where a razor-thin margin separated Bush and Gore and thou- sands of ballots were disputed . Af- ter a series of court challenges at the state and federal levels, the U .S . Su- preme Court handed down a nar- row decision that effectively gave the election to Bush . The Republicans maintained control of both houses of Congress by a small margin .