Whither Gore?

Here’s a question for the Magic 8 Ball: What happens to Al Gore after George W. Bush is inaugurated next month?

The likely response: "Reply hazy, try again."

Gore himself admits to being unsure of his future. CBS News 60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl asked him if he’d "given any thought ... to what would happen if it doesn’t work out [in Florida]." Gore replied, "Very little because, you know, coming up to the election, I was pretty well prepared to win."

In his concession speech on Wednesday night, Gore had this to say about his future: "As for what I'll do next, I don't know the answer to that one yet. Like many of you, I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with family and old friends. I know I'll spend time in Tennessee and mend some fences, literally and figuratively."

Ellen Nakashima, who recently co-wrote a biography of Gore, tells CBSNews.com that she wouldn’t be surprised if the vice president "retreats within himself to mull it [the election] over, to brood, to digest it all," as he did following his failed 1988 presidential bid.

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg believes Gore will "keep his options open," although Nakashima feels, at least politically, "his options have narrowed."

Rothenberg adds that Gore may write a book, hit the speaking circuit or become active in Democratic Party affairs. If he’s planning on running again in 2004, Rothenberg says, "He doesn’t want to lose all of the stature he has."

Historically, only three sitting vice presidents have lost their bids for the White House: Democrat John Breckinridge in 1860, Republican Richard Nixon in 1960 and Democrat Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Few expect Gore to follow in their post-election footsteps, though.

In the 1860 election, the 39-year-old Breckinridge came in third behind Republican Abraham Lincoln and northern Democrat Stephen Douglas. Following his defeat, Breckinridge became a senator from Kentucky but was expelled after 8 months for supporting a Civil War-related rebellion by southern states. He later became Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ Secretary of War, was eventually indicted on treason charges and then spent several years living in Cuba, Europe and Canada.

In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy’s close defeat of 47-year-old Vice President Richard Nixon left the Republican looking at future political runs. In 1962, Nixon ran for governor of California, but lost. He then spent the next few years working as a lawyer, campaigning for Republican congressional candidates and eventually running for president – successfully, this time - in 1968. Nixon, by the way, defeated another sitting vice president, Democrat Hubert Humphrey.

After the 57-year-old Humphrey lost in ‘68, he taught college classes in his home state of Minnesota. He then won election to the Senate – his pre-VP job – in 1970 and ran in the 1972 Democratic presidential primaries, only to lose to George McGovern.

Would Gore emulate Humphrey and consider going back to the Senate, his job from 1985 to 1993? It’s unlikely, says Claremont McKenna College government professor John Pitney. The only logical place for Gore to run would be in Tennessee – in 2002 against the popular Republican Sen. Fred Thompson. "He would have a tough time beating Thompson," Pitney pointed out, considering Gore didn’t even carry the state during this year’s presidential election.

Rothenberg mentions that Gore probably wouldn’t follow in Humphrey’s shoes and run for Senate saying, "Clearly he’s not regarded in Tennessee as Humphrey was in Minnesota."

Not only that, Rothenberg believes Gore’s not interested in being a senator again. "He had a taste of that and a taste of something more – and he wants something more."

Heading to a law firm, like Nixon in the ‘60s and many other former politicians, is not in Gore’s cards either. Although he attended law school in the 1970s, he never earned a law degree.

One rumor floating around has Gore being considered for the soon-to-be-vacant president’s office at Harvard – his alma mater. But Joan Hutchins, the former president of the school’s board of overseers, feels that Gore doesn’t have the background in higher education that’s necessary fr the job.

Even if the Harvard presidency isn’t in his cards, Nakashima feels there be a place for Gore in academia to pursue his "passions" of teaching and writing. And, she adds, he may focus on the "environment, cutting edge technology or bioethics," subjects that "have always fascinated him."

There’s also some talk of Gore cashing in and becoming a member of one or more corporate boards. But this could create conflicts of interest if he still has his eye on the White House.

If he gets desperate, Gore, at least, has one official offer on the table – to become a radio talk show host. KABC radio in Los Angeles has offered the vice president the position – which would pay him a "salary that is commensurate with that of a United States president," according to the station.

Although Gore accepting KABC’s offer is highly doubtful, one option is for him to return to his pre-political profession: journalism. He spent five years in the ‘70s as a reporter and editorial writer for the Nashville Tennessean.

But Pitney doesn’t expect Gore to go back to the newsroom. He quipped that he doesn’t "think he’d see Gore at a county courthouse with a pencil in hand." He feels Gore won’t want to be bogged down with a low-profile job and a heavy workload, especially if he’s thinking of another run for president.

Ultimately, if Gore can’t figure out what he wants to do for the next few years, he could always take the advice of two-time GOP presidential candidate Lamar Alexander. By way of advice for the vice president, Alexander recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "Private life can be positively liberating. ... Read in the morning. ... Come home at night. Make an easy million replacing Colin Powell at the Washington Speakers Bureau."

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