The one dignified bit of the sordid Florida recount was Al Gore's concession speech, with its resonant ending: "It's time for me to go." He made good on his promise. In the 1820s, Andrew Jackson, who also won the popular vote but lost the White House, spent almost all his time whingeing about his sorry fate, a habit that he kept up even after he won the presidency four years later. Mr Gore kept a dignified silence. He disappeared so completely from national life that people thought of putting his face on milk cartons. When he resurfaced in the aftermath of September 11th, it was to call George Bush his "commander-in-chief". Now Mr Gore is everywhere. In the past couple of months he has delivered big speeches on both the economy and foreign policy. Mr Gore is in the midst of a media blitz of Madonna-like proportions to promote "Joined at the Heart" (Henry Holt), a homage to the American family co-written with his wife, Tipper. It is impossible to turn on the television without seeing him cooing with Katie Couric, playing softball with Larry King, being ranted at by Chris Matthews or engaging in Clincest with George Stephanopoulos. The former vice-president has even appeared as a disembodied head in a TV cartoon.
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