The year before the 1988 election, Vice President George Bush was widely derided for having no identifiable impact on the Reagan administration and no clear principles aside from those of his boss. Yet after he won the GOP nomination decisively, Bush overcame the doubters and rode a strong economy into the Oval Office. It's not particularly worrisome for Vice President Gore. The amazing thing is how quickly the perception changes once a vice president gets the presidential nomination. Some analysts say the Bush comparison goes only so far, though.
More ancient history provides less comfort.
Before Bush, the last sitting vice president to be elected directly to the presidency was Martin Van Buren, in 1836. Gore has other problems. In Manchester, N.H., his staff had difficulty warming up a crowd of about 200, starting and stopping the music in such a jarring fashion that many in the audience guffawed at the mix-up. There was little of the easy gladhanding that Democratic audiences have come to expect from, say, President Clinton. Gore aides say any missteps were minor and will be corrected.