Why did Al Gore distance himself from Bill Clinton in the 2000 election?

https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Al-Gore-distance-himself-from-Bill-Clinton-in-the-2000-election/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

Because Gore’s political campaign made a number of poor decisions, with the idea that a very popular Bill Clinton needed to be sidelined being the key among them.

Al Gore wasn’t a popular figure at the time by himself and he really needed something that to change that. His wife’s absurd battle against music (see below) had cost him a number of younger voters, George W. Bush’s affiliation with his father was helping him make inroads, and a fairly good economy made it difficult for either party to consolidate their followers around any single substantial issue, leaving “moral issues” like abortion and gay rights as “go to” touchstones for their campaigns.

Gore’s campaign decided to cave to perceptions that Clinton’s impeachment would damage Gore. They attempted to establish him as his own man and they played up that for the majority of the race. Unfortunately for them and Gore, his blandness coupled with his occasional flashes of his massive ego (The “I created the Internet” claim being an example of this) did little to attract voters. This was counterpointed by religious fanatic and recovered addict George W. Bush who came across as likeable and personable.

Not incorporating Bill Clinton into his campaign was a serious mistake that, ironically, was repeated by Hillary Clinton during her own 2016 run when she attempted to attract White working class voters by distancing herself from then-popular president Barack Obama. Gore lacked the charisma to pull off a win and the race coming down to a few hundred votes in Florida is the best indicator how ill-conceived a plan it was. Gore lost the race because he and his campaign was more concerned about Clinton’s unpopularity rather than his own.

Had Gore used Clinton, he would have won.