Accepting Election Loss Wasn't Heroic: Gore

Praised by a witness during a nationally televised House hearing last week for his democracy-preserving handling of the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore said Sunday he did "nothing really extraordinary." The disputed results of the Florida vote that year led to recounts and a Supreme Court case. When the court ruling went against him, Gore let it go, and George W. Bush became president despite receiving fewer votes nationally. Matthew Pottinger, a former White House aide, told the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that Gore's conduct should stand as a model, the Hill reports.

"The Constitution required what I did, and there’s nothing really extraordinary about it," the former vice president said on ABC's This Week. As to whether conceding the election was personally difficult, Gore said, "Well, you know, when the fate of the country and the traditions and honor of our democracy are at stake, it's not really a difficult choice." In his testimony, Pottinger contrasted the decisions made by Gore and Richard Nixon, who didn't contest the 1960 presidential election, with those of former President Donald Trump after the 2020 vote.

Pottinger said Gore's Dec. 13, 2000, concession speech, per UPI, "is a good model for any candidate for any office, up to and including president, and for any party to read, particularly right now." In it, Gore said: "While I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it. I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College. And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession." (More Jan. 6 hearings stories.)