I've jumped on the Gore bandwagon, folks!

[Bicoastal]

Oh, I was skeptical for a long time. I figured that after saying "I have no plans to run" over and over again, he meant it--that he was out of the running, out of politics.

But then there was that Rolling Stones article, with all of its allusions to Richard Nixon's win in '68 after missing it by THAT much in 1960. So I looked at Wikipedia for a little more background info....

Friends, Gore is the Bizarro World Nixon. Sure, Nixon was a crafty, hate-filled Republican and Gore is a honest, conscientous Democrat, but somehow it feels as if history is indeed about to repeat itself. Back in the late 60's, they were talking about the "New Nixon" who came back from his 8 year hiatus "tanned, relaxed, and ready." (Sound anything like the "New Gore"?) He watched as the opposition party splintered and his own party fought amongst themselves, and then stepped in--late, and after telling everyone for years "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore,"--and as we all know, he won the nomination, then the presidency!

More parallels: Vietnam vs. Iraq, of course, but then there are less obvious ones. A traumatic experience for the nation that shattered everyone's innocence--In the 60's, it was Kennedy's assassination, in the 00's, 9/11. Nixon wrote a critically praised book ("Six Crises") after leaving the vice presidency; Gore appeared in an award winning documentary. Both candidates lost in a year ending with "0" and won in a year ending with "8". Nixon appeared on Laugh-In, while Gore showed up on Futurama! OK, OK, maybe I'm getting carried away. But the fact is, Gore and Nixon do have one (and probably ONLY one) thing in common: they are both political animals, incapable of leaving the game for long. And while I'm sure Gore is enjoying his new career as envornmental crusader and newfound respect from political and media critics, he can't ignore the growing number of people who want him to toss his hat into the ring. Forget that nonsense about being traumatized by the 2000 fiasco--deep down, he's itching to go back to the White House. He'll be running in 2008, and that's that.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. More than that, Gore is what we need

He's a conservative-gone-liberal-populist, a rich kid whose family lost all their money in the Depression and had to make it back again, a major environmentalist and energy issues wonk, who's been through one of the ugliest, dirtiest campaigns in history without significant help from the Left grassroots, who won the vote, then had it filched by a cabal of cronies who promptly destroyed half of the wealth and all of the honor of the USA.

Hillary is good. Obama is good. Richardson is good. Et cetera. This is a strong field. But Al Gore towers above them all.

Still, I do not think he will run.

Of course, I've been wrong before. I didn't think Hillary would run, either.

--p!

[aquart]

2. Gore is the only one who truly gets global warming.

But, since much of the nation still doesn't...

Gore is my first choice. Why are my wishes not paramount?

[calimary]

9. Agreed. Why are my wishes also not paramount?

Al Gore is what we need. Al Gore is what America needs. Al Gore is what the whole planet needs.

[crispini]

3. Excellent. Can I coax you into...

clicking on the links in my sig and joining or hosting a meetup?

We would like to have petitions and letters heading his way. We would like to build him a grassroots network of supporters much like Dean did, and extend him an invitation on a silver platter! I had my first meetup tonight and we had five people there! :bounce:

[Guaranteed]

4. Exactly 40 years later- that's two generations in a four-generation cycle

that we have here in the U.S. Halfway through the cycle it makes sense that it would be a Democrat to do it rather than a Republican, as well.

[Hieronymus]

5. I'm leaning toward Gore as well..

If and when he wins an Oscar or two, he'll be dynamite.
Please, Al, don't run out and lose 50 pounds .. you're great the way you are.:applause:

[Bicoastal]

6. Psst--he's not going to win an Oscar.

The director of the documentary is the only one nominated. Still, it's a PR perk.

[Hieronymus]

7. It's nominated for best documentary and best song....

[NYCGirl]

17. In the documentary category, only the producers and director get Oscars.

Not the subject. Al Gore will not get an Oscar. Even for the song (Melissa Etheridge wrote the song — she'll get the award if it wins.)

[Leftisalwaysright]

8. Welcome Aboard

He's my choice and has been for a while. I think the Oscar nomination will really help him in the long run. And the Oscars couldn't come at a better time!

[nitpicker]

10. I wish.

But the other inconvienent truth is that Americans generally will not support a candidate that has suffered a defeat on the national stage. They will cheer if said candidates get themselves post-elective lives (like Carter did), but...

It is better off if Gore remains a goad working towards reinventing himself as an elder statesman. That way he can concentrate on the alarming results of climate change rather than having to deal with the myriad of other issues that a Presidential candidate is expected to address.

[Le Taz Hot]

11. He was not defeated in 2000.

I'm not going to regurgitate it here as there's just too much evidence to post. Please do your homework.

Gore is the ONLY one who can lead this nation out of what has been wrought over the last 30 years, unfortunately, with the help of too many Democrats. Absolutely NO ONE in the Democratic lineup has his charisma, experience and HONOR.

[nitpicker]

12. It is the outside perception

That Gore was "defeated" in 2000. Some of us do recall all the shenanigans of 2000, but many others have amnesia about it.

[catgirl]

13. With the news of the 2004 elections....

People will suddenly recall the fraud in the 2000
elections. Gore AND Kerry both won their elections!

[Le Taz Hot]

14. If he were to enter the race

I think a LOT of people, including Republicans, would experience a type of buyers' remorse. I think reminding the electorate how we ended up with Bush in the first place will only facilitate that -- in essence absolving those who were mislead in 2000.

Additionally, since he's kicked his DLC "advisers" to the curb, he's been much more open and appears more relaxed which eliminates the "wooden" criticism.

As a former Senator and VP with virtually NO baggage (can any of the other candidates say the same?) he certainly has the domestic and foreign policy experience needed to help us climb out of this mess. Remember, he was pretty much co-President with Clinton as Clinton gave him much more responsibility than most VP's get.

While he's been out of the political spotlight, he's been front-and-center on global warming -- an issue that will be second in importance only to Iraq.

Finally, and for me, the most important point, he has integrity -- I'm sorry, but that is the essential element missing with Biden and Clinton.

[Apollo11]

15. It's gotta be Gore!

Al Gore is doing a great job, raising awareness about the climate crisis. He spoke to an audience of ten thousand people in Boise on Monday, and is still on Tour!

It's great that "An Inconvenient Truth" has been nominated for an Academy Award. This can only mean that more people will see it. But AIT is really only the first step - convincing people that "Yes we have a problem". Much more needs to be done on developing and implementing solutions.

I honestly believe that Al Gore is the best person to lead this fight. One way to do it would be by entering the race for the Presidency. But there are other ways.

Right now Gore is working on his next book "The Assault on Reason" -- due out in May.

He has not ruled out being a candidate again and is keeping his options open.

I honestly believe Gore is the best person for the job. Hillary and Edwards both showed poor judgement in supporting Bu$h-Cheney on Iraq (even if I welcome Edwards change of heart on this issue). Obama might be a strong candidate some day - but he can wait a few more years. Clark is great but he lacks political experience and has never won an election campaign.

Let's all find ways to show our support for Al Gore! :)

In Gore We Trust
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com - Sign the petition!
www.draftgore2008.org
www.patriotsforgore.com

[Alhena]

16. Why not wait for even the slightest signal he's actually running?

I'd switch from Obama to Gore if the latter gave any indication at all that he's running. But until then it's just wasted energy.

[Apollo11]

18. OK - I respect your choice

Work for Obama and help keep the race open and competitive.

Gore needs this race to remain wide open thru the fall.

Then if and when Gore announces - you can review your position.

Let's all find ways to show our support for Al Gore! :)

In Gore We Trust
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com - Sign the petition!
www.draftgore2008.org
www.patriotsforgore.com