Vice-President Al Gore and Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton prayed, sang and campaigned together in New York yesterday in their first joint appearance of their respective presidential and Senate campaigns.
Mr Gore, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Mrs Clinton, who is running for the US Senate as a Democrat in New York, joined several hundred people at the Wilborn Temple church in Albany. They lavished praise on each other, but did not mention President Clinton by name.
Until yesterday Mr Gore and Mrs Clinton said scheduling conflicts had prevented them from campaigning together although they routinely reached out to the same supporters and contributors in New York.
"I am most proud to be here with a good friend," Mr Gore said. "I've seen her commitment and her passion for helping families." Mrs Clinton returned the compliment, saying: "No one is more qualified to lead us than the Vice-President."
In advance of the "Super Tuesday" primaries in New York and other states on March 7th, Mr Gore did not mention his Democratic rival, Mr Bill Bradley.