WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 — Former Vice President Al Gore has decided not to run for president in 2004, a senior Gore adviser said Sunday. Gore planned to make the announcement on CBS “60 Minutes,” the adviser said. Gore would have been the likely front-runner in the Democratic field, even though many party activists have said privately they hoped he wouldn’t run.
AFTER GRADUALLY re-entering politics over the last year, the Democrats’ 2000 nominee campaigned for selected candidates around the country this year, then spent the last month promoting a book on the family that he wrote with wife Tipper and making an extensive round of media appearances, including “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
Gore’s decision opens up the 2004 presidential field for Democrats. Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is running and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has formed an exploratory committee and will announce his...