'In our democracy, every vote has power'

The following are excerpts from prepared remarks by former Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic National Convention.

Friends, fellow Democrats, fellow Americans: I'll be candid with you. I had hoped to be back here this week under different circumstances, running for reelection. But you know the old saying: you win some, you lose some. And then there's that little-known third category. . . .

In all seriousness . . . I love this country deeply, and even though I always look to the future with optimism and hope -- I do think it is worth pausing for just a moment as we begin this year's convention, to take note of two very important lessons from four years ago.

The first lesson is this: take it from me -- every vote counts. In our democracy, every vote has power. And never forget: that power is yours. Don't let anyone take it away or talk you into throwing it away. And let's make sure that this time every vote is counted. Let's make sure not only that the Supreme Court does not pick the next president, but also that this president is not the one who picks the next Supreme Court.

The second lesson from 2000 is this: what happens in a presidential election matters. A lot. The outcome profoundly affects the lives of all 293 million Americans -- and people in the rest of the world too. The choice of who is president affects your life and your family's future. And never has this been more true than in 2004, because -- let's face it -- our country faces deep challenges.

These challenges we now confront are not Democratic or Republican challenges; they are American challenges -- that we all must overcome together.

It is in that spirit, that I sincerely ask those watching at home who supported President Bush four years ago: did you really get what you expected from the candidate you voted for? Is our country more united today? . . . Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled? . . . For that matter, are the economic policies really conservative at all? Did you expect, for example, the largest deficits in history? One after another? And the loss of more than a million jobs?

. . . I also ask tonight for the help of those who supported a third party candidate in 2000. I urge you to ask yourselves this question: do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates? . . .

And of course, no challenge is more critical than the situation we confront in Iraq. Regardless of your opinion at the beginning of this war, isn't it now obvious that the way the war has been managed by the administration has gotten us into very serious trouble? Wouldn't we be better off with a new president who hasn't burned his bridges to our allies, and who could rebuild respect for America in the world? Isn't cooperation with other nations crucial to solving our dilemma in Iraq? Isn't it also critical to defeating the terrorists?

We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is imminent. But in order to protect our people, shouldn't we focus on the real source of this threat: the group that attacked us and is trying to attack us again -- Al Qaeda, headed by Osama bin Laden? Wouldn't we be safer with a president who didn't insist on confusing Al Qaeda with Iraq? . . . I believe that we need new leadership that is both strong and wise.

And we can have new leadership, because one of our greatest strengths as a democracy is that when we are headed in the wrong direction, we can correct our course . . . We are here this week to present to the nation the man who should be our new president: John Kerry.

John and I were elected to the US Senate on the same day 20 years ago and I have worked closely with him for all that time. So I want to say a personal word about John Kerry the man. He is a friend who will stand by you. His word is his bond. He has a deep patriotism that goes far beyond words. He has devoted his life to making America a better place for all of us.

He showed uncommon heroism on the battlefield in Vietnam. I watched him show that same courage on the Senate floor. He had the best record of protecting the environment against polluters of any of my colleagues -- bar none. He never shied away from a fight, no matter how powerful the foe. He was never afraid to take on difficult and thankless issues that few others wanted to touch -- like exposing the threat of narcoterrorism and tracing the sources of terrorist financing . . .

To put it simply, those of us who have worked with John know that he has the courage, integrity, and leadership to be a truly great president of the United States . . .