MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Al Gore, weighing another run for the presidency, has summoned top Democratic fund-raisers and members of his old campaign team to a political strategy session in Memphis, Tenn., at the end of this month.
The three-day retreat, which is set for the Peabody Hotel in Memphis June 28-30, will include a private dinner Friday, with most of the restaurant reserved for the 2000 Democratic nominee and the donors.
Veteran Democratic fund-raiser Mitchell Berger of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said he expects to see many of the top Democratic money-raisers at the Memphis meeting.
"Memphis is going to be an opportunity for many old, and some new, friends to get together who have been the financial backing for many national Democratic campaigns in the past," Berger said. "They've stood side by side before. This is an opportunity for them to get together and be with Al and Tipper and discuss the state of Democratic politics currently and in the future."
Berger said it's clear that Gore is interested in running for president again, noting his strong performance in 2000: "He got more popular votes than anybody since Ronald Reagan."
The gathering was expected to include former staffers and allies such as Peter Knight, who works with the former vice president at the financial firm of Metropolitan West; Elaine Kamarck, who teaches at Harvard University; and Leon Furth, a visiting professor at George Washington University.
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