The Sore Losers Club

salon.com — Sometimes, losing national candidates actually manage to enhance their reputations in defeat. The most famous example of this is probably Bob Dole, who growled his way through the 1996 campaign but then turned in a winning performance on David Letterman’s “Late Show” a few days after the election, giving rise to something of a post-political career as a humorist. Al Gore knows something about this too; his concession of the 2000 election earned him respect that had eluded him throughout that campaign. Based on their conduct since last week’s election, though, it’s safe to say that the two most recent national losers won’t be joining this company anytime soon.

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