Democrat field open as Gore bows out

THE Democratic Party has been left without a clear candidate to challenge George W Bush for the White House in 2004, after former US Vice President Al Gore's surprise decision not to run.

Mr Gore made his announcement late on Sunday evening, saying a re-run of the acrimonious election of 2000 would "focus on the past" and his court battle with Mr Bush for the presidency.

Mr Gore said he believed a Democrat could beat Mr Bush in two years' time, and said that he wanted to contribute to the campaign.

One prominent Democrat contender could now be Senator Joe Lieberman, Mr Gore's running-mate in 2000, who had said he would not run against Mr Gore for the Democratic nomination.

He has yet to react to the news of Mr Gore's decision, but it is believed he may well emerge soon as a strong candidate. The only Democrat who has officially declared he will seek the presidential nomination is Governor Howard Dean of Vermont. But more senior party members including Senators Tom Daschle and John Kerry, and Congressman Dick Gephardt may also put themselves forward in the coming months.

Since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, President Bush's popularity has soared, making the task of running against him in 2004 all the harder.

Opinion polls give him a lead of 20% lead over Mr Gore, whereas the two were running level prior to September 2001.

Mr Gore said he believed that in order to win in 2004, the Democrats needed to focus "unrelentingly" on the economy but he did not believe he was the man to do it.