2008 SelectSmart.com Presidential Candidate Selector Candidate Positions Ex-VP Al Gore - Democrat (Born March 31, 1948) Board member, investment strategist, professor, journalist

Iraq War issues: Calling the Iraq war "the worst strategic mistake in the entire history of the United States" and "worse than a civil war," former Vice President Gore urged President Bush to find a way to get U.S. troops out of Iraq "as quickly as possible without making the situation worse". Source

Security/liberties: The American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the Administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power. As we begin this new year, the Executive Branch of our government has been caught eavesdropping on huge numbers of American citizens and has brazenly declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress to prevent such abuses. It is imperative that respect for the rule of law be restored. Source

Social Security: As a candidate in 2000 he promised to protect SS. Wanted to invest 62 percent of the then budget surplus to keep Social Security going until 2055. Wants to work with Congress to maintain Social Security at least through 2075, but is wary of risky tax schemes. Acoording to an AP report on May 15, 2000``You shouldn't have to roll the dice with your basic retirement security,'' Gore argued that the government ultimately will wind up bailing out those whose investments don't pan out. Gore would use savings from paying down the national debt to pump more money into the program and maintain Social Security much as it is today.

Stem cell research: "Former Vice President Al Gore has touted the promise of stem-cell research for curing debilitating and deadly diseases." Source

Same sex issues: In 2000 supported ENDA, an annually proposed, yet not yet passed, federal employment non-discrimination law which would protect gays and lesbians in the workplace. On record as being willing to support legal protections for "domestic partnerships." By Ceci Connolly and Bradley Graham Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, December 14, 1999, Page A01 Vice President Gore said in 2000 campaign that President Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military should be abandoned and vowed to "eliminate this unacceptable form of discrimination" if elected president. --
"Any force that tries to make you feel shame for being who you are, and loving who you love, is a form of tyranny over your mind. And it must be rejected, resisted, and defeated." -- Al Gore, speaking at the Human Rights Campaign Gala on March 25, 2006, at the Century Plaza Hotel. Source

Trade issues: Free Trader. In 2000 campaigned planned if elected to open up more foreign markets to U.S. trade.

Budget issues: As a candidate in 2000 he promised to keep interest rates low and investment rate high. Aims for a balanced budget every year. Wants to continue "reinventing government" to eliminate wasteful spending. --Gore 2000 campaign website

Business & labor issues: Has sided with business interests on trade issues, but otherwise sides with union interests. Source

Abortion issues: Abortions should always be legally available. Source

Capital punishment: Gore also said Thursday that he and others who support capital punishment "have to acknowledge that even the finest system of justice will inevitably ... produce some errors." Source

Marijuana issues: Vice President Gore today backed away from his earlier support of medical marijuana, saying he sees “no reliable evidence” that it is an effective pain reliever. During a candidate forum in New Hampshire last December, Gore said, “I think that where the alleviation of pain where medical situations is concerned, we have not given doctors enough flexibility to help patients who are going through acute pain.” But today, when asked by a student where he stood on a medical treatment that is legal in California, Gore took a stronger stance against use of the drug. “Right now, the science does not show me, or the experts whose judgment I trust, that it is the proper medication for pain and that there are not better alternatives available in every situation,” he said during a school visit in a low-income neighborhood southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Source: Ceci Connolly, Washington Post, pg. A10 May 12, 2000 Source

Gun control: Supports gun control legislation, including mandatory background checks at gun shows. (Supported ban on assault weapons, and the Brady Law - which has kept over 300,000 felons from buying guns.) --Gore 2000 campaign website.

Minimum wage: As a candidate in 2000 he said work should always pay more than welfare, thus he supported increasing the minimum wage. Source

Health care: In 2000, Gore promised to expand the availability of high quality health care to all Americans, especially seniors and children. Supports preventative health care education, and the expansion of biomedical research for AIDS and cancer.

Prescription drugs: "Herb Kohl, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman and I, we've been fighting for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare to cover all seniors. But the drug companies have been able to use their political power and their massive wealth to get a majority in the Congress, through lobbying and campaign contributions and persuasion, to block a prescription drug benefit. That is wrong. I believe that the will of the people ought to control these kinds of policies. What you need and what you want and what is right ought to decide the outcome. The big drug companies..." Source

Environmental issues: Gore is viewed very favorably by environmental groups. The author of "Earth in the Balance" -- Al Gore has long been associated with environmental protection. He has made global warming a political issue through his lectures and his Oscar winning documnetary "An Inconvenient Truth".

Immigration issues: As part of the Clinton Administration, Al Gore fought to pass the landmark 1994 Crime Bill, which included $1.2 billion toward the protection of our borders and the vast reduction of illegal immigration. Gore feels that bringing and keeping immigrant families together is a priority, and his record stands up to this. He has already been supporting legal immigration by trying to improve services and fighting for family reunification laws. Source
Generally opposes amnesty/permanent legalization for illegal aliens. Opinion on temporary legalization for illegal aiens as guestworkers not known. Source

Education issues: "I oppose vouchers, Tim (Russert), is because even if you say it's not going to come from public school budgets, it does because history shows, experience shows there's a set amount of money that communities have been willing to spend on education. And if you drain the money away from the public schools for private vouchers, then that hurts the public schools." --Gore and Bradley Debate the Issues Meet the Press 12/19/1999

Link to voting records and special interest group ratings. (If available).

Al Gore's website