US Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore tried display his humorous side late Wednesday but frequently slipped into serious political commentary on a talk show where one is supposed to laugh and have fun.
Gore, visibly tired from non-stop campaigning, said on NBC's Jay Leno Show he once had to address a foreign policy crisis in the middle of a Halloween party at his home and talked on the phone with Pentagon officials wearing a Dracula mask.
The vice president said in the future, such make-up "might help if it was like a warning to Saddam Hussein."
Asked about his reaction to Bill Clinton's interview to Esquire magazine, in which the president suggested that congressional Republicans should apologize for his 1998 impeachment as a result of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Gore replied with another joke.
"I'm still waiting for the Republican Congress to apologize for electing Newt Gingrich speaker," he said laughing.
But after those two quips, he struck a serious tone, repeating his claim that he was his "own man."
"I've made a decision that I'm going to campaign on my own," said Gore. "I'm campaigning as my own person, with my own voice, with my own agenda for the future. That's just what feels right to me."
He rattled off his stump clichés about supporting a woman's right to choose on whether to have an abortion, a middle class tax cut and the environment.
"I want our country to be the kind of country where people want to vote where they think it makes a difference because we are in charge of our own destiny," the Democratic candidate continued. "And that means campaign finance reform is important."
By the end, Gore produced a joke about possible changes at the White House, should he be fortunate enough to move into it.
"Instead of these boring Saturday radio addresses, I've been thinking about a presidential monologue every night at about 11:30," he said, referring to Lenno’s long opening monologue at the top of his program -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
