Al Gore endorses Howard Dean

it's official:

"I'm very proud and honored to endorse Howard Dean to be the next president of the United States of America," Gore said.

"We need to remake the Democratic Party, we need to remake America," Gore said. "This nation cannot afford to have four more years of a Bush-Cheney administration... I've spent a long time thinking about national security and national defense... [Dean] was the only major candidate who made the correct judgement on the Iraq war. That judgement, that basic common sense, is what you want in this country."

Prior to Tuesday's endorsement, a source told CNN that Gore -- the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2000 -- thinks a protracted primary campaign would serve only to help President Bush.

Gore said part of the reason he chose to endorse Dean was his ability to appeal to the nation's "grassroots" elements, a reference to Dean's success in organizing and raising funds on the Internet and in small voter gatherings.

Gore also praised Dean's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The former vice president called the Iraqi war a "catastrophic mistake" by the Bush administration, a move that leaves the United States less effective in the nation's battle against terrorism. He said the United States is now in a "quagmire" in Iraq.

"Whether it is inspiring enthusiasm at the grassroots, and promising to remake the Democratic Party as a force for justice and progress and good in America, whether it is a domestic agenda that gets our nation back on track, or whether it is protecting us against terrorists and strengthening our nation in the world, I have come to the conclusion that one candidate clearly now stands out," Gore said.
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"When we set this event up," Dean said to loud laughter at the rally's start, "I had absolutely no idea that we were going to have the elected president of the United States here with us today."