Gore beardless in Nashville

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than a year after his razor-thin loss to George Bush in Florida in the 2000 presidential race, former Democratic candidate Al Gore bid good-bye Sunday to another hairy issue: his beard.

Sources close to the former vice president confirmed that Gore -- who grew the facial hair last summer while on vacation in Europe, some six months after conceding the 2000 election -- shaved the beard.

The beard has been the subject of chatter by everyone from political pundits to late night talk show hosts.

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"He always thought he was gonna' shave it when he felt like doing it," said a source close to Gore, who acknowledged that political observers will question whether shaving it is a sign of his intentions for the 2004 presidential race.

Gore shaved the beard the same day his wife, Tipper, announced that after three days of talking to friends and supporters around the state that she would not run for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee.