A Florida congressman whose suggestion that someone other than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama could end up with the Democratic nomination at this summer's convention ramped up speculation that Al Gore might step in to save the Democratic party is now trying to revise those remarks.
"I've been misquoted," Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) told MSNBC Wednesday, explaining that while it's possible for the former vice president to snag the nomination, the option is not being seriously considered.
"The question to me was whether or not there could be a brokered convention and the answer to that is, yes," Mahoney continued. "This is not new to American politics. ... It's important that people understand that I'm not advocating Al Gore or anybody else be that person."
“If it (the nomination process) goes into the convention, don’t be surprised if someone different is at the top of the ticket,” Mahoney said during a meeting with the paper's editorial board. He mentioned Gore as a possible outside entrant to the race.
He maintained that possibility in the interview with MSBNC, but said he was not speaking on Gore's behalf nor implying anything more than the way a party convention works.
"If it goes into that environment, and there's no clear candidate and after the first vote nobody emerges ... the way the process works is that they are going to be looking at trying to broker a solution between two primary candidates or potentially a third candidate," he said.
This video is from MSNBC's News Live, broadcast March 26, 2008.
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