March 15, 1999

Gore kicks off run for White House,
Gephardt offers key support

By Mike Decaire
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa--With Republicans Elizabeth Dole and Lamar Alexander in Iowa in recent days to announce their intentions, Vice President Al Gore brought the spotlight back to the Democrats as he asked Iowa voters to "stand with me," and was endorsed by House of Representatives Minority Leader Richard Gephardt in Des Moines Monday.

The event in Des Moines kicked off Gore's official run for the White House in 2000 and was one of two stops Monday. Earlier in the day, Gephardt and Gore appeared in New Hampshire, the site of the nation's first primary. Later, the pair came to Iowa and were greeted by a crowd of about 300 at the Iowa State Historical Building.

"He cares about all of us," Gephardt said of Gore. "He cares about the future deeply." Gephardt had been considering a run for the presidency in 2000, but he dropped out of the race in February to concentrate on winning Democratic control of the House.

Gephardt said he has known Gore for more than 22 years, and "he has vision." Gephardt said Gore has the ability to "surpass the peace and prosperity we enjoy today." He also credited Gore with the booming economy. He said the fight for Democrats is to make Gore the next president of the United States.

Gore, in turn, said the other half of the fight is to make Gephardt speaker of the House. "I can't even put into words how strongly I feel about this man's abilities," Gore said.

"This is a time of new beginnings, a new era," he said. "This is what historians might call an 'open moment'."

"I feel connected to the great civil rights struggles of this century, and I believe they must be merely the foundation of the great civil rights victories of the 21st century," Gore said, raising his voice. "We will not go back. Stand with me, and we will break down the barriers."

Gore had a similar message about women's rights. "The great gains for women's rights in this century will be a warm-up act for our fight for full equality for women in the 21st century," he said.

Gore reminded the audience of the economic boom and the Clinton administration's role in creating it, but said, "Many are not participating in the prosperity."

Reaching out to Iowa farmers, he said, "Together, we have to lift up the farmers who are hurting right now."

Gore said a prosperous economy is built by having a balanced budget or better "not just this year, but every year."

"I will fight to make sure no Iowa farmer is left behind" by the prosperity, Gore said. He said Iowa farmers needed more overseas markets and raised farm prices.

Gore also stressed technology. He called for the building of an Internet II that would be "a thousand times faster" than the current Internet, along with Internet access in rural areas.

He pressed education as his most important priority, though. He said the United States needs to build more schools and hire more teachers. "Stand with me," Gore said, "as we make not evolutionary but revolutionary change in our schools."

Gore said all 55 Republican senators had voted against a bill to put 100,000 more teachers in classrooms.

"Your kids don't need 55 roadblocks in the U.S. Senate," he said. "They need 100,000 new teachers."

Gore also promised to reduce class sizes and make preschool available to every child in the United States.

"Stand with me as we bring this crusade to every part of America," he said.

The V-Chip and a television rating system, more community police, less guns on the street and an "all-out war" on methamphetamine were other issues Gore pushed, along with a patient's bill of rights.

"We need decent health care," Gore said. He called for more preventive medicine to cut down on health care costs.

Besides Gephardt, Gore was also endorsed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels and Judy McCoy Davis, the widow of former Des Moines Mayor Arthur Davis.

So far, Gore's only challenger for the Democratic nomination is former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, who has made several trips to Iowa but lags behind in polls.

Gore promised not to take Iowa for granted. He said he would be going door-to-door, business-to-business, and campaigning in living rooms.

"I'm going to be spending a lot of time in this state," he said.