"What about Mondale?" indeed: Walter Mondale.

[merrily]

3. I appreciate your input.

AFAIK, though, no one said Gore was too liberal to be elected. Rather, as my op stated, they either don't mention his loss, orthey blame it on Nader, but Nader did not make Gore lose his home state

Something about the election story doesn't seem right. Had it been that blatant, I cannot imagine why Mondale and the DNC would not have contested or sued. My point in mentioning that loss, though, was to say that Mondale was not a compelling candidate. Sometimes, a candidate has to inspire people, excite them, etc. As best I can determine, Mondale was just not like that.

And, yes, you don't run on raising taxes.