“I replied that I could understand the reason for the reference, but thought it better, in the spirit of ecumenism, to omit the reference in the presence of Jews or others with different religious views. Gore said he understood and would not repeat the reference,” Specter writes, according to copies of the book’s galleys obtained by the Jerusalem Post.
At a prayer gathering several months later, Gore again ended the closing prayer with the same Jesus reference, according to Specter.
The two verbally dueled after Specter disclosed in June that a Justice Department prosecutor had recommended that Attorney General Janet Reno appoint outside counsel to examine Gore’s role in a 1996 fund-raising event at a Buddhist temple.
The Gore camp reportedly responded by likening Specter to Joseph McCarthy, the Communist-hunting senator of the 1950s, and Specter, in turn, sought an apology. When none came, Specter allegedly promised to get even.
A Gore spokesman could not be reached for comment. Specter declined comment.
Joseph Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said Gore’s Baptist background would make ending a prayer with Jesus’ name natural and that generally Gore has been pretty good about keeping his faith out of public life.