Former Vice President and first runner up in the 2000 Presidential Election Al Gore has come out of ‘seclusion’ and placed his support squarely behind the Hate-Bush candidate, Howard Dean. This serves as notice that Al Gore, who touted himself as a centrist Democrat in 2000 claiming he was the candidate who would unite the two parties, has officially shown his true colors. Al Gore raises his flag of ultra-liberalism today and confirms what everyone who voted for George W. Bush was saying in 2000: Al Gore was and is an ultra-liberal trying to sell himself as a centrist.

It seems like it was only three years ago that Al Gore was selling himself as the candidate in the middle, the candidate that could "reunite” the American people so partisan politics would be cast aside, cast aside so we could all live in peace and harmony in a country that walked the tightrope of the middle ground. Oh, wait. It was three years ago. How quickly things change.

The fact of the matter is Al Gore didn’t change his thought pattern and he was never a centrist. He has always been a Clinton Democrat (say anything you can to ensure the win). Bill Clinton may have left a bad taste in Al Gore’s mouth because of the Monica Lewinski scandal (he left one in hers too) but he never really wavered in his convictions. Back then he stood for big government, entitlements, massive government controlled programs and higher taxes for those who actually work for a living. His endorsement of Howard Dean, Bush-Hater and former Vermont Governor who stood watch over the most massive tax increase in Vermont history, proves that he still stands for those things today.

Al Gore would have been the biggest mistake this country has ever seen. Through his endorsement of Dean he validates the assertion that he was a partisan game player all along. His claim to bipartisanship – a lie. His claim to healer of the nation – a lie. He has become even more partisan, more divisive, and more full of hate since the 2000 election debacle. If he says that he is angrier today than he was then, who could argue with him? He tried to employ liberal logic in the legal circles and was rebuked by the highest court in the land. I am sure that he is still fuming that he couldn’t manipulate the outcome of the 2000 election the way that some would have suspected his brother in arms Bill Clinton could have. He will fade away into the history books as a footnote, just like Dewey, just like Dukakis, just like McGovern.

One has to ask some questions at this point. One question is when did his choice for vice president in 2000 become less of the grand choice for president? When he was spouting Joe Lieberman’s credentials in 2000 Gore couldn’t stop saying what an amazing running mate Lieberman was. He talked of his vision. He talked of his commitment. He talked of his qualifications. But now, just three years later, Gore chooses to endorse the most radically liberal candidate of the bunch while he snubs his former running mate.

Another question that begs to be asked is how does Joe Lieberman feel hearing this news? Here is a man that stood by Al Gore at his most vulnerable time. Even when he disagreed with him during the 2000 campaign he did so paying Gore the utmost respect. He ducked and bobbed, spun and evaded in order to give Al Gore the best chance to win the presidency. Alas, Lieberman would find himself paired with the losing candidate, normally a deathblow to a political career. Through it all, Lieberman never said a word that would convey the feeling that he thought Al Gore was less the candidate than one that could win. How did Al Gore repay his loyalty, he endorsed a candidate untested on the national level. He endorsed Howard Dean.

Lastly, the question has to be asked, how does this affect Howard Dean? Dean has continuously proclaimed that he is the "anti-establishment” candidate. Now he is endorsed by the establishment. The fresh, new to Washington ideals that Dean has been courting his followers with are now all shot out the window because the establishment has embraced him. To be certain, short of endorsements by Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore’s endorsement is the most valuable in the Democratic Party. Now Dean has it. Now, as they say in the organized crime movies, "he is a made man.”

It could be said that Al Gore has changed but I put it to you all that he hasn’t changed a bit. This is who he is and who he always was, a Clintonian Democrat that would say and do anything for the power of the office.

So, as Gore remains the deceptive politician that he has always been, he endorses Howard Dean only to complicate his candidacy. It would seem that everything Al Gore touches gets complicated. It’s a good thing he wasn’t elected to the presidency in 2000. Imagine the complications that could have been created with all that has happened. Talk about dodging a bullet! Thank God it was locked in that "lockbox” of his.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He served as an editor and is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch. He writes regularly for GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.