[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book II)]
[December 5, 1998]
[Pages 2131-2132]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One
December 5, 1998

[The President's remarks are joined in progress.]

Death of Former Senator Albert Gore, Sr.

    The President. ----his father was--for people like me, growing up in 
our part of the country, Al Gore was the embodiment of the--Albert Gore, 
Sr., was the embodiment of everything public service ought to be. He was 
a teacher; he was a progressive; he helped to connect the South with the 
rest of America; he was progressive on race; he was courageous in 
standing up for what he believed in--Vietnam. You know, he might have 
been, himself, in national office if he hadn't been just a little too 
far ahead of his time.
    He was a remarkable, remarkable man, and I'm very grateful that I 
had the chance to know him and his wife and spend some time with them as 
a result of our relationship with the Vice President. The country has 
lost a great patriot, a great public servant, a man who was truly a real 
role model for young people like me in the South in the 1960's.
    Q. How far did you go back with him, sir? When did you first meet 
him?
    The President. Oh, I don't know that I met him, except maybe to 
shake hands with him, until 1988. But I knew who he was in 1968--'66, 
when I was working as a young student in the Congress. And I knew who he 
was when I was in high school.
    You know, keep in mind, he was talked about for national office from 
the fifties on. He and Estes Kefauver were both prominently mentioned. 
And Tennessee had these two very progressive, very articulate, and very 
effective voices in the Senate. It was a remarkable partnership. So I 
always knew who he was, from the time I became at all politically aware.
    Q. How did people like Senator Gore, Sr., influence up-and-coming 
young Southern politicians like yourself?
    The President. Well, first of all, they were progressive, and they 
cut against the grain and the image that the South had in the fifties 
and sixties of being, you know, anti-civil rights, discriminatory, 
undereducated, underdeveloped. He was progressive on education, 
progressive on civil rights, and sponsored the interstate highway bill. 
He wanted to connect the South to the rest of America, educate the 
children of the South, stand up for civil rights. He was a remarkable 
man. And he was brilliant, full of energy.
    And the amazing thing was what a life he had after he left the 
Senate. When his son and I ran in 1992, he and Pauline--Mrs. Gore--they 
went all over the country, and he'd give these stemwinding stump 
speeches, you know. I remember once, in 1988, I spoke at the Oklahoma 
Democratic dinner, and he came to speak

[[Page 2132]]

for his son. There were seven speakers that night. He gave by far the 
best speech, including mine, and everybody would have said that. So he 
was alert and active and contributing and remarkably free of bitterness 
or rancor even after he left the Senate and his elected life was 
terminated.
    But his greatest impact may have been the inspiration that he 
provided to countless young people from the time he became a prominent 
figure in Tennessee.
    Q. Did you speak to the Vice President tonight? How is he doing?
    The President. I just found out a few minutes ago, so I'm going to 
go call him now.

Note: The President spoke at 6:55 p.m. en route to Washington, DC. These 
remarks follow the text as released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary. A tape was not available for verification of the content of 
this exchange. The related proclamation of December 7 on the death of 
Albert Gore, Sr., is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.