Vice President Al Gore, the most wired senior public official in US history, has plotted a path to the 2000 presidential election that begins in Silicon Valley. In this three-part special report, Wired News will examine Gore's courtship of the technology elite, his battles over technology policy, and the high-tech promises of Campaign 2000.
Part 1: A Man, a Plan, a Technology Challenge
Gore's current visit to Silicon Valley highlights the network he and his advisors have built to get him from Number Two to Number One on the power totem pole.
Part 2: On Tech Policy, Time to Walk the Walk
Many technology issues are perfect for a politician trying to get voters to see a rosy digital future - soft, fuzzy, easy to support. The bruising fight over US encryption policy, though, will test Gore's ability to mediate seemingly intractable foes.
Part 3: Charting a Course to 'Safe Change'
As Gore and allies proclaim the virtues of the New Economy, voters are caught between infatuation with and anxiety about the future that awaits them. One of the vice president's biggest virtues is his ability to paint the technological land just over the horizon as a warm, friendly place.
