http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=59366In recent weeks, talk of the potential emergence of former Vice President Al Gore as a consensus candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for President has increased in volume...
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...But for the potential Gore scenario to snowball into reality several things probably have to happen. First, Gore needs to step up his public appearances on issues that seem unrelated to a bid for the Presidency.
Speaking out on “global warming” on TV certainly fits the bill. Weighing in on the need for Democrats to find a way to let the voters in Michigan and Florida have their “votes count” might be another.
He doesn’t need to engage in a full-fledged public relations blitz, he merely needs to step it up a notch with a few carefully planned appearances on the major Sunday morning talk shows in the weeks ahead.
Second, he needs some leading Democrats — who have no direct or even apparent connection to him — to increase the drumbeat of speculation about Gore being a compromise candidate for the Democrats. They must be careful, however, as premature talk of a Gore-Obama ticket might antagonize some of Obama’s supporters.
Concern over slighting Hillary is not as important, since many of her delegates lack deep devotion to her and many likely signed on because she appeared certain to win the nomination. Gore’s advocates also need to downplay the need for a quick resolution of the impasse between Clinton and Obama.
The longer this plays out, the better things look for Gore.
Finally, Gore needs one or two national polls to include him in the mix as a potential rival to John McCain. Several national polls have recently shown McCain beating either Clinton or Obama in November, which has caused Democrats to worry about not only their chances of taking the White House but whether or not they might lose their momentum in retaining or expanding their majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
A national poll, or two, showing Gore faring well or even beating McCain in a head-to-head match-up would be just the prescription for a Gore campaign to start snowballing...
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http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=405969&Category=14&subCategoryID=Pundits are wandering in wilderness of this presidential campaign
Thursday, April 3, 2008
BY WILLIAM CUNION Multimedia
I am going to tell you in this column who will be the next president of the United States — and it's not Hillary Clinton, John McCain or Barack Obama. You should trust me, too. I have a Ph.D. in American government from a Big Ten school, I've been watching this election closely for more than two years, and journalists ask for my opinion all the time.
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The Democratic race will continue throughout the summer. Sen. Clinton will keep boasting of her victory over "uncommitted" in Michigan, and Sen. Obama will stop going to church. At a bitterly divided convention, party leaders will look for a widely admired figure to unite the fractured Democrats. Finding none, they turn to former Vice President Al Gore, who dramatically sets down his Nobel Prize and his Academy Award to accept the nomination on the second ballot, and then goes on to defeat Sen. McCain in November.
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