Monday, Jun. 13, 2011
Al Gore, 2000
Sometimes a candidate says it worst when he says nothing at all. Al Gore's endless sighing during a 2000 debate against George W. Bush sparked endless mockery, as did his decision to leave his lectern and approach within inches of Bush during a response. Four years later, debate organizers would amend the event's rules to avoid such an episode, stipulating, "Each candidate may move about in a predesignated area." But Gore is not the first candidate whose silence trumped his speech; in 1992, George H.W. Bush caught flak for checking his watch during a verbal spar with Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.