Biden: Al Gore 'Was Elected President of the United States'

Vice President Joe Biden praised former Vice President Al Gore at a Washington fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Ed Markey after stating that Gore actually won the 2000 presidential election.

"This man was elected president of the United States of America," Biden said, according to the media pool report. "No, no, no. He was elected president of the United States of America. But for the good of the nation, when the bad decision, in my view, was made, he did the right thing for the nation."

Biden, a potential 2016 presidential candidate himself, complimented Gore's acceptance of the Supreme Court decision to halt recounts in Florida, a decision which effectively gave the election to his Republican George W. Bush.

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"I can't think of very many who would put his country first like that, at a really, really, really difficult time," he said, according to Yahoo News. "There's an awful lot of folks Al and I both know who have run for president and still haven't gotten over it."

Before turning his attention to Markey, Biden remarked that history would favor Gore over Bush.

"Al, you set an example for this country that is going to live as long as recorded history, about the man who won by a decision that I think constitutional scholars now and in the future will conclude was an ill fated decision," Biden said. "The way you stepped up, it was amazing."

The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to halt the recount. In April, retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who voted with the majority, said it would have been better if the court had refused to take the case.