In the 2000 election, George W. Bush, who had shirked military service, succeeded in presenting himself as more reliable on national security than Al Gore.

Al Gore clearly has the vision... it's a much better vision than that of George W. Bush.

Al Gore has dedicated his life to detail. George W. Bush has not. He's the first to admit it.

What we're seeing early on is Democrats rallying around Al Gore, Republicans rallying around George Bush and the difficulty of anybody else to get any room in the race.

In my lifetime, we've gone from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. We've gone from John F. Kennedy to Al Gore. If this is evolution, I believe that in twelve years, we'll be voting for plants.

President Reagan, of course, did more than any other person to entrench the Republican reputation for toughness on national security.