Al Gore: Hillary Won't Impact Prez Decision

Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday that the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton will have no impact on his own decision on whether to make another run White House in 2008.

In an interview on ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos asked Gore:

"Here's what I've heard. Tell me what's right and tell me what's wrong. One group says, if Sen. Clinton runs, you're not going to be able to help yourself, you're going to have to get into the race. The other is, you'll only get in if there's a vacuum, if she chooses not to run. Any truth to any of that?"

"No, no," Gore replied with a laugh.

"And her decision has nothing to do with yours?" Stephanopoulos pressed.

"No," Gore replied again.

Asked whether a Gore run in 2008 was something that "just isn't going to happen," the former VP said he wouldn't make a Shermanesque declaration that he wouldn't run, explaining instead: "I can't imagine any circumstances in which I would become a candidate . . . There's a lot about politics I don't think I'm particularly good at."

But Gore added: "There are things I miss -- having the ability to influence events from the White House, of course. It's unparalleled, as I've said."

And Gore couldn't resist speculating about how he would handle the war in Iraq if he wins the White House.

"I would pursue the twin objectives of trying to withdraw our forces as quickly as we possibly can - while at the same time, minimizing the risk that will make the mess over there even worse."

But he rejected calls for a withdrawal deadline from other Democrats, saying: "It's possible that setting a deadline could set in motion forces that would make it even worse . . . My guess is that a deadline is probably not the right approach."