Representative Kendrick Meek, the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in the November 2nd mid-terms, also neglected to let Mr Obama‘s name pass his lips during an appearance with the former vice-president in a union hall.

Instead, the black congressman lauded “President Gore” – a reference to the 2000 election, when hanging chads in Florida and the US Supreme Court cost the Democrat the White House.

With their party facing a possible landslide defeat in a month’s time, Democratic candidates are running away from Mr Obama and his record. Polls indicate Democrats could lose control of the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate, a result that could cripple to Obama presidency.

In Tampa, neither Mr Gore nor Mr Meek made direct reference to Mr Obama’s historic health care legislation, his proudest achievement, or the financial bailout. Both measures are unpopular with all but hardcore Democratic supporters.

Two years ago, every Democrat in the country was invoking Mr Obama’s name as they hoped to ride on his coat-tails to electoral victory. This year, he is a near-pariah, with many of the party’s candidates doing everything they can to distance themselves from him.

Whether the tactic will work is unclear. Florida is a key battleground state, with Republicans and Democrats typically fighting incredibly close contests, most famously in 2000 when George W. Bush prevailed over Mr Gore by 537 votes.

This year, Mr Meek is trailing badly in a three-horse race. Marco Rubio, the Republican candidate, backed by the anti-government Tea Party, was initially viewed as too Right-wing for Florida. He now has a seemingly unassailable 13-point lead, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

Behind Mr Rubio, who is on 46 points, is Governor Charlie Crist. The Florida governor, a centrist who pulled out of the Republican primary race when it became clear he would lose, is on 33 points, with Mr Meek at just 18.

Even taking into account the split in the anti-Republican vote caused by Mr Crist’s decision to run as an independent, it is a disastrous situation for Democrats in a state they once considered rightfully theirs.

Sidestepping the current occupant of the Oval Office, Mr Meek hailed Mr Gore and former President Bill Clinton as “stellar public elected figures who once served and are still giving”.

He said: “I’m a fighter and, you know what, I don’t give up and I don’t give in,” Mr Meek thundered.

But he stopped short of predicting victory. Come election day, he said, “you are going to be very proud of the work that we have done to turn the vote out”.

Meek aides told reporters that a fire marshal had said there were 700 people in the hall, but there were well under half that.

Introducing Mr Gore, Mr Meek said to whoops that he knew many would be saying: “I am here to see President Al Gore.”

Mr Gore lambasted the Bush administration for enacting “tax cuts for the very wealthiest”, which “obviously did not stimulate the economy” before turning his sights on Mr Crist.

The only hope Mr Meek has of winning is to persuade Democrats that Mr Crist can’t win, prompting them to move en masse to him and perhaps even making Mr Crist drop out. Then, he would have to combat Mr Rubio’s increasing popularity among independent voters.

It is a tall order in just a month and with national party cash being funnelled into races that are much closer. But Mr Gore did his best to put a positive spin on the poll numbers, stating that Mr Rubio was “bumbling along”, Mr Crist was “going down” and “Kendrick’s going up like a skyrocket”.

He was clearly popular in the hall, though when he referred to “giving in to wealthy corporate special interests”, a heckler shouted: “Like you!” Leaving the event, members of the crowd were reluctant to criticise Mr Obama, thought they were more enthused when talking about the Clinton-Gore years.

“I was thinking that if we could get Clinton back in and Gore back in we might do something in this country,” said Robert Henry, 62 a retired soldier. His wife Susan, 59, said that Obama was unlucky because he “got handed an absolute train wreck” while Gore “reminds us of good times, of prosperity and peace”.

Maggie Sauls, a teacher and retired lieutenant colonel, said that people were being hasty in abandoning Mr Obama. “People are being too hard on him. We Americans are pretty much into instant gratification.”