WP Tuesday): Gore to Endorse Dean

Tuesday, December 9, 2003; Page A01

Former vice president Al Gore plans to endorse Howard Dean for president Tuesday, according to Democratic sources, giving the insurgent candidate the kind of establishment backing his campaign has been lacking.

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But in the past year he has been one of the administration's toughest critics and has used his prestige both to deliver stinging critiques of Bush's foreign and economic policies and offering other Democrats a blueprint for challenging the administration. He was an early opponent of the Iraq war, warning that military action against Iraq would divert resources and focus on the broader war on terrorism.

The former vice president's call for Democrats to challenge Bush dovetailed with what Dean was saying on the campaign trail since the beginning of the year. Also Dean's use of the Internet to build his grassroots support may have impressed Gore, who is a student of the new technology. Gore also has formed a relationship with the liberal internet group, Moveon.org. The organization recently sponsored Gore's Washington speech, in which he denounced Bush's policies on civil liberties and called for the repeal of the Patriot Act.

(snip)

Dean's rivals said they were disappointed by the latest development. Lieberman issued a statement saying he was "proud to have been chosen by Al Gore in 2000" as his running mate and noted that he had stayed out of the 2004 race until Gore decided not to run. He added: "Ultimately, the voters will make the determination and I will continue to make my case about taking our party and nation forward."

check the other 5000 threads mentioning the same thing.