Gore's (Loud) Body Language

Sometimes a candidate says it worst when he says nothing at all. Al Gore's endless sighing during the 2000 debate against George W. Bush sparked endless mockery, as did his decision to leave the podium and come 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.

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