Bush's reputation as a relatively moderate Republican was still intact, hence helping explain why he did relatively well in upper New England that year (VT, NH, and ME). Plus the gun control issue probably didn't help Gore any in these states (and its salience as a political issue probably peaked in 2000).
You mean Bush I? Bush Jr. didn't seem to have that moderate thing going at all...
Well he never had it as much as his father (hence why he did much worse than his dad in the Northeast), but in 2000 he was perceived as relatively moderate ("compassionate conservatism", "a uniter not a divider", etc).
