News Analysis
Democrat Showdown 2008: Al Gore vs. Hillary Clinton
By Robert Novak
Mar 18, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Democratic insiders take seriously a possible new try for the presidency by Al Gore and say he is capable of raising more money than the presumptive front-runner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton's team has attempted to foreclose conventional Democratic money sources, drying up funding for her potential presidential rivals. She has $17.1 million cash on hand, more than any other possible candidate. Her current fund-raising tour is aimed at an additional $40 million.

However, party operatives believe former Vice President Gore can outdo Clinton through unconventional fund-raising on the Internet.

By campaigning left of Clinton, Gore appeals to ardent anti-war Democrats. Gore's first presidential run in 1988 positioned him as the centrist candidate, to the right of eventual nominee Michael Dukakis.