Meg Ivey, Charger Staff
“You win some. You lose some. And then there is that crazy third category,”
joked Former Vice-President and Presidential contender, Al Gore visited Cookeville
High School on January 29, humoring the small but enthusiastic audience with
quirky stories about his life after his 2000 campaign. CHS was just one of many
stops Gore made on his trip around the Upper Cumberland.
After arriving forty-five minutes late, he was greeted by an energetic audience
who wished that the Presidential elections were decided by direct election rather
than by the Electoral College.
As
any good politician would do, Gore shook hands, signed autographs and had his
picture taken with the handful of locals for about thirty minutes.
Ben Pauli says, “It was really exciting to meet someone who was almost
president.”
Attendance ranged from young children to a 101 year-old man (supposedly the
oldest active Democrat in the state); from avid Gore supporters to those who
thought they would just come out and shake hands with the former Vice-President;
from Cookeville city officials to CHS students making a documentary about his
visit to Cookeville.
After greeting everyone, Al Gore was presented with numerous gifts, ranging
from a picture of the Cookeville Square to a basket full of CHS momentos.
Once he had expressed his deepest appreciation for the gifts, Gore then launched
into jokes that have been used in every small-town visit since the election.
The audience was regaled with a story of a misunderstanding on the Jay Leno
Tonight Show over the ownership of a Shoney’s restaurant.
Although complementary in his speech about Bush’s handling of the war
effort, Gore was underwhelmed with America’s current economic situation.
He then repeated for the third time that his reason for visiting Putnam County
was to thank the supporters of his Presidential campaign in 2000.
After delivering his speech, he once again shook his supporters’ hands. He was then whisked off in a minivan to attend another event.
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