But just like Pellicone's true candidate leanings were masked, it seems that the boisterous enthusiasm for Gore in downtown Nashville was merely a political mirage.

And so the man who was catapulted to Washington as the son of a state political icon, worked for five years at The Tennessean, the largest state paper, and was born in Carthage--was rudely rejected by his state at the ballot box. In this absurdly close election, it has made all the difference.

How the Tide Turned

The story of how the state's favorite son lost is the tale of a state that has evolved from a Democratic stronghold into a groundswell of conservative support.

The Democratic Party, America's oldest political party, was founded in Nashville by Andrew Jackson 180 years ago and it has a long history of staying true to its roots.

Gore was wildly successful in his early career in Tennessee politics, winning five terms in the U.S. House and two terms in the U.S. Senate. He even won the 1988 Democratic presidential primary in Tennessee--part of his failed first bid for the presidency.

But since Gore left the Senate in 1992, residents say the state has taken a sharp turn to the right--a turn that cost him in last Tuesday's election.

Both of Tennessee's current U.S. senators and five of its nine congressional representatives are Republicans. Don Sundquist, the state's Republican governor, won a second term in 1998 with a record 69 percent of the vote.