The Oratory of Al Gore

Abstract

The breadth of the experience of Al Gore Jr in holding a range of offices and becoming a senior icon for the Democrat Party positions him as a key individual whose ability to communicate with the voter was central to popular interpretation of his skills and abilities. As a Representative, Senator, a Vice President, a presidential candidate, and a senior statesman for the party, he addressed a range of different audiences against changing political backdrops. His own passion for environmental causes also gave him a wider standing above and beyond that of the direct electoral arena. Indeed Gore’s lasting legacy may be that he advanced a cause more effectively when out of office than when in positions of direct political influence and power. In assessing Gore’s rhetoric and its reception in different spheres it is clear that he altered his style across time and tried to accommodate a variety of factors which reflected prevailing electoral conditions, audiences, and eras. Yet, in attempting this for electoral gain, he left himself open to accusations that he was manufacturing an image, particularly when he sought to dispel perceptions of being dry and wooden in his persona. Any alterations in the content, tone, or delivery of Gore’s message commonly made for negative media coverage.