TIME: The Making of a Comeback -- Al Gore

Bush's economic agenda, he says, is "catastrophic," his foreign policy "horrible," his environmental stance "immoral."

"Our country is headed for very deep trouble," Gore told Time. "I wish it were not so, but I believe that with all my heart. I think that our economic plan has zero chance of working. I think that it is wrong at its core. I think that our foreign policy, based on an openly proclaimed intention to dominate the world, is a recipe for getting our country in some of the worst trouble it's ever been in." Bush, Gore says, has compiled the worst economic record since Herbert Hoover. "For Democrats to lose the Senate and to lose ground in the House means that we have got to examine what we could have done more effectively as a party. I think it's the time now for us to be a loyal opposition, not just in name but in reality, and to present a clear alternative."

This is the New Gore, a man who no longer speaks as if every sentence has been preapproved by his pollsters and handlers.

Highly recommended.