This is a lesson in how hard it is to transcend partisanship, and how crippling it is to have won the presidency on a promise to do so. Cynics say it doesn't matter how you win elections. But that assertion, like most cynical clich s, is naive.
Ideas have consequences.
People remember your promises. By drawing lines and naming targets, Gore's message made it harder for him to get elected. But it would have made it easier for him to wage partisan battles as president because adversity reinforced his rationale. Bush, on the other hand, chose a bipartisan message that made it easier for him to get elected. He is a political hemophiliac, surviving at the mercy of his adversaries.