On November 7, 2000, projections indicated that Gore's opponent, then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush, the Republican candidate, had narrowly won the election.

While a NORC study of uncounted ballots released on November 12, 2001, found that with a full statewide hand recount, Gore may have won Florida under revised vote standards (depending on which standard was used, his margin of victory would have varied from 60 to 171 votes),[2] under rules devised by the Florida Supreme Court and accepted by the Gore campaign at the time, Bush would likely have won the recount.

[4][5] Prior to his announcement that he would be running in the 2000 election, Gore participated in a March 9, 1999, interview for CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.

"[6] Former UCLA professor of information studies, Philip E. Agre[7][8] and journalist Eric Boehlert[9] both argue that three articles in Wired News led to the creation of the widely spread urban legend that Gore claimed to have "invented the Internet", which followed this interview.

Jay Leno, David Letterman, or any other comedic talent can crack a joke about Al Gore 'inventing the Internet,' and the audience is likely to respond with howls of laughter.

[17] The speech was "briefly interrupted" by AIDS protesters claiming Gore was working with the pharmaceutical industry to prevent access to generic medicines for poor nations.

I love the First Amendment ... Let me say in response to those who may have chosen an inappropriate way to make their point, that actually the crisis of AIDS in Africa is one that should command the attention of people in the United States and around the world.

[20] Bradley, in comparing himself with the current administration, argued that "One of the reasons I'm running for president is to restore trust and public service and confidence in our collective will.

"[20] Gore responded by switching his campaign headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Nashville, Tennessee, in an effort to further distance himself from Bill Clinton.

[25] [26][27] Short list[27][26] In August 2000, Gore announced that he had selected Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his vice presidential running mate.

[32] Gore accepted his party's nomination and spoke about the major themes of his campaign, stating in particular his plan to extend Medicare to pay for prescription drugs, to work for a sensible universal health-care system.

His running mate, Senator Joe Lieberman, was an observant Jew who often talked about increasing the role of religion in public life.

The environmental trust fund would use market-based mechanisms to target the transportation, electric power generation and industrial production sectors of the economy.

[36] Gore's plan called for increased investment in biotechnology, information technology, a university research ideas "which are later turned into benefits that we all enjoy such as high-speed wireless networks that can provide telemedicine, distance learning, and electronic commerce to remote rural communities; supercomputers that can dramatically increase our ability to predict tornadoes and hurricanes; and computers that are much easier to use, and can 'understand' human language; new research leading to the design of effective drugs and a speed-up of the time it takes to find important new treatments and cures".

[36] Gore's economic platform also contained a section entitled "Keep Our Defense Strong and Protect Americans Abroad", in which he stated his intention to "use part of the surplus to make reasonable increases in military spending - targeted to improve benefits and quality of life for servicemen and women, improve force readiness and provide the most modern equipment".

But the governor was relaxed and authentic, and he seemed at ease on the same stage with the sitting vice president ... Gore may have been more aggressive on issues, and he surely was more detailed.

Gore has always had problems sounding natural, and his first debate performance made him look like a phony politician, not a sincere leader.

[49] Hillary Clinton, the First Lady during Gore's vice presidency and later a US Senator and Secretary of State, would subsequently become the fifth such candidate over a decade later, in 2016.

[51] Unlike Bush, who would have to start from scratch to form an administration, Gore had many top-aides for which he had had input in hiring already in place in Clinton's White House.

[57] Gore and Lieberman also consulted with individuals such as AFL–CIO president John Sweeney and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

[57] On November 24, The New York Times reported that Gore had met at Number One Observatory Circle with Lieberman, Neel, William M. Daley, and Leon Fuerth to discuss transition plans.

Gore, according to a 2002 NPR article, attributed it to "the economic downturn and stock market slide that began earlier that year.

[60][61] Another theory suggests that Al Gore attempted to run a populist campaign but failed to separate himself from the abuses of the Clinton presidency.

[64][65][66] A few years later, Gore began to make a number of television appearances in which he displayed a willingness to poke fun at himself, such as in episodes of Futurama and Saturday Night Live.

[67] The election is the subject of a 2008 made-for-TV movie directed by Jay Roach, produced by, and starring Kevin Spacey called Recount.