On the Issues: Al Gore

Al Gore '69 entered the race last year as the Democratic frontrunner, riding the wave of New Democrat ideas that propelled his boss, Bill Clinton, into office in 1992.

Though Gore has had to defend his liberal credentials in recent months, partially to stave off an attack by a progressive Bill Bradley, his policy proposals stress centrist themes.

Gore was a conservative Southern Democrat during his early career as a congressional representative. As late as the mid-1980s, his positions on gun control and abortion were to the right of his party. Though he once opposed Medicare-funding abortions, he now fully supports them.

But some of his positions and convictions have held. Gore has been a staunch supporter of affirmative action programs. He has supported nuclear arms reduction and test-ban treaties for his entire Congressional career.

This campaign, Gore has extended his New Democrat themes. On crime, he supports the death penalty and the "three strikes and you're out" sentencing guidelines--but he opposes sentencing disparities for cocaine offenses and racial profiling.

Gore proposes to spend more than $100 billion on federal education programs. He wants to hire--and to pay handsomely--more than 2 million additional teachers for the nation's schools. He supports an end to social promotion, though he is strongly against voucher programs and school choice.

Gore's economic plans are decidedly middle of the road. He proposes to spend the federal budget surplus to pay down the U.S. national debt. He favors targeted, middle class tax cuts, but shies away from the broad tax cutting strategies of George W. Bush and John S. McCain. On trade, he has been a consistent supporter of global market agreements, and says he strongly supports tariff reductions. He supports the granting of most-favored nation trading status for China.

Tagged as an environmental extremist, Gore has considered ecological preservation as a cornerstore of his career. He supports ethanol subsidies for Iowa farmers. He strongly supports emission reductions from gas engines. Lately, he has targeted suburban sprawl, emphasizing the psychological effects of the push outward from cities.

Like Bradley, Gore supports the expansion of hate crime legislation to protect gays and lesbians. He also proposes to eliminate the policy banning gays from serving in the military. He would not expand the Civil Rights act to include a category for homosexuals.