AP Gore explains missing wedding ring

Asked anew if he would challenge President Bush in a rematch of their 2000 campaign, Gore said he would decide by the end of the year. "I don't know if I'll be a candidate or not," he said. "I'm not trying to be coy."

"I told Tipper I would take two years and try to get some financial security," said Gore, who has taken a job as vice chairman of Metropolitan West Financial, a Los Angeles-based financial services holding company.

Tipper Gore piped up from the front row: "Good timing!"

Gore, who had criticized the administration's handling of the economy in his speech Wednesday, laughed and said: "I wish I'd tried to do this during the Clinton-Gore years."