NEW YORK, Dec 9: Former US vice-president Al Gore endorsed front running presidential hopeful Howard Dean on Tuesday morning, for the Democratic party’s nomination in the 2004 election against President George W. Bush shocking his 2000 running mate Joe Lieberman.

Making the announcement at a political rally in Harlem, Mr Gore said that Dean “really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grassroots level all over the country.”

He said the former Vermont governor also was the only Democratic candidate who made the correct judgment about the Iraq war.

“Our country has been weakened in its ability to fight the war against terror because of the catastrophic mistake the Bush administration made in taking us to war in Iraq,” Gore said. In accepting Mr Gore’s endorsement Dean said he it was an honour and a privilege to receive Gore’s support.

Mr Gore’s former running mate Senator Joe Lieberman, a staunch supporter of US-led war in Iraq, expressed his shock over the announcement in an appearance on NBC news programme the Today Show.