Politics

Paul Begala Didn’t Want Al Gore On The ’92 Ticket

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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Paul Begala who, along with partner James Carville, served as chief strategist to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, did not want Al Gore on the ticket. “I was not for Gore,” Begala told Bill Kristol recently. “I don’t think he knows that, so hopefully he won’t watch this tape.”

Begala went on to discuss playing George W. Bush in 2000 debate prep for Gore: “I kicked his ass,” Begala boasted. “I watched all the tapes of Bush, and I think, as he would say, they ‘misunderestimated’ him.”

At least some of the blame, Begala says, belongs to Bill Clinton, who helped clear the primary field for Gore (only Bill Bradley would challenge him). “I think that’s part of what bred the overconfidence going in to face Bush,” Begala argued.

Turning to more recent news, Begala told Kristol he “would not count out Ted Cruz” for the 2016 Republican nomination, explaining that “He has Barack Obama’s education and Sarah Palin’s politics.”

Watch the whole thing here:

Matt K. Lewis