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Is Al Gore Going to Run?

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Mon May 08, 2006 at 11:10:26 PM EST
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With Al Gore's global warming movie, An Inconvenient Truth, about to open, there's a lot of buzz about whether he will decide to run for President in 2008. I'm skeptical. Here's what he has been up to the past few years:

Since conceding to Mr. Bush, he has taught at several universities and written two books with his wife. He is on Apple Computer Inc.'s board and is senior adviser to Google Inc. He has founded Current, a youth-oriented, interactive cable network, and Generation Investment Management, which invests in companies deemed environmentally and socially responsible.

It's hard to see him giving all that up. Then again,

Mr. Gore, who turns 60 in 2008, could remain noncommittal and enter the presidential fray late, given his fame and fund-raising potential -- unlike lesser-known Democrats already stumping in the early-nominating states to be the Clinton alternative, such as former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

What about Hillary? I don't think Hillary is going to be the Democratic nominee. She's viewed as too polarizing and she's too centrist. She's not going to excite the base. Democrats want to win in 2008. They want out of Iraq. They've had enough of war. As Markos of Daily Kos pointed out in his op-ed this weekend in the Washington Post, Hillary has not engaged the net roots.

Money and star power go a long way, but the netroots is now many times larger than it was only three years ago, and we have attractive alternatives to back (and fund), such as former governor Mark W. Warner and Sen. Russell Feingold.

Just as we crazy political junkies glimpsed the viability of the candidacy of an obscure governor from a small New England state three years ago, today we regard Hillary Clinton's candidacy as anything but inevitable. Her obstacles are big, and from this vantage point, possibly insurmountable.

If Gore decides to run, he has Move-On behind him. Gore was hardly my favorite Democratic candidate in 2000, mostly due to his views on crime and the death penalty, but of course I voted for him. And the minute he lost and Bush started threatening social security, boy did I miss him and his lockbox.

Right now the most important thing is to take back the White House in 2008. Justice Stevens has to be getting ready to retire. We can't afford another John Roberts or Alito on the Supreme Court. If Al Gore wants to run, and the numbers show he can do it, I'm all for it. I still think there are a lot of people, Democrats and Independents, who believe he was robbed of the Presidency in 2000 and that it's his due if he wants to try again.

I also think Gore is trustworthy, he's not a loose cannon, he's smart and he knows how to play Congress' game. I'm not urging him to run or endorsing him yet, but so far, I've not seen anyone else who has his strengths.

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    Is Al Gore Going to Run? | 23 comments (23 topical)
    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#1)
    by pax on Mon May 08, 2006 at 10:54:00 PM EST
    If Gore will find advisors that will let him be the passionate Al Gore we have seen since he lost, instead of the wooden stodgy candidate that ran in 2000, he would most likely win convincingly. Whoever the candidate is in 2008 he/she has to show some passion. After all, it takes passion to aspire to the office, for goodness sakes display it!

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Teresa on Mon May 08, 2006 at 11:38:17 PM EST
    I loved the passion he had the last few days of the campaign. Please run Al. I don't think he will though, unless it is to keep HC from running which is fine with me.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#3)
    by Andreas on Tue May 09, 2006 at 01:05:44 AM EST
    TL wrote: "Democrats want to win in 2008. They want out of Iraq. They've had enough of war." That certainly is true for many supporters of the Democratic Party. But that is not the position of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has supported the war and the occupation and is still doing so. *** US Democrat Biden advocates the communal break-up of Iraq By James Cogan, 9 May 2006 Hillary Clinton, the Democrats and the Iraq war: A socialist alternative By Bill Van Auken, 29 April 2006

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#4)
    by scribe on Tue May 09, 2006 at 05:06:09 AM EST
    If there was any further push needed, the fact that Rupert Murdoch will be holding a fund-raiser for Hillary in the near future is enough to permanently scratch her name from my list of acceptable candidates for anything more than she already has. Frankly, I think in 2004, the Democrats would have done a lot better with John Edwards topping the ticket, and I wish he could get a better shake now.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#5)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 09, 2006 at 06:10:39 AM EST
    Yes, he will try for the nomination. Hillary will beat him in a walk. Whoever the Repubs run will beat Hillary.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue May 09, 2006 at 06:33:30 AM EST
    The question is...which Al Gore would run? The wimpy condescending frat-boy story teller? or the powerful take-no-prisoners leader of the green army? I'd hate to support one, and wind up getting the other...

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:01:16 AM EST
    Whoever the Repubs run will beat Hillary. Don't bet on it, Jim. If John McCain is the Republican nominee he will lose to Hillary. And right now John is the front runner for the nomination. The question is...which Al Gore would run?....the powerful take-no-prisoners leader of the green army? Assuming it's the latter, what would this do to those unreliable liberals who claim to be green but who work behind the scenes to thwart the green agenda? Would Al have any coattails at all?

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#8)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:17:23 AM EST
    It's too early. Give a few more speeches, Al.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:23:26 AM EST
    Gimme anybody who hasn't been bought...that leaves out Al and Hillary and all current office holders. Can we get Kinky Friedman to quit his governor's race and go for the presidency? I get a kick out of that guy.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#10)
    by John Mann on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:45:08 AM EST
    Anyone who's been in politics for a long time has plenty of baggage to drag along, but Mr. Gore has a pretty good chance to recapture the presidency that was stolen from him by Mr. Bush. Mr. Bush, odds-on favorite for the "Worst President in History" title was asked the other day about the best and worst moments of his presidency. Naturally, he said the worst was 9/11, but what else could he say? The best? Let's let him share it: "I don't know, it's hard to characterise the great moments. They've all been busy moments, by the way. I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7½lb largemouth bass on my lake," he said. Source Quite an accomplishment.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#11)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue May 09, 2006 at 08:09:46 AM EST
    Catching a bass was better than landing a jet on a carrier?

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#12)
    by John Mann on Tue May 09, 2006 at 08:14:01 AM EST
    Catching a bass was better than landing a jet on a carrier?
    That came right after "Holding hands on the first day with the King of Saudi Arabia".

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#13)
    by John Mann on Tue May 09, 2006 at 08:14:51 AM EST
    Oops... I meant "first date". More coffee, please.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue May 09, 2006 at 09:08:02 AM EST
    I hope Gore does run in 2008. I think he would be great. Gore worked closely with Clinton, but he wasn't the "boss". We know he will be good with the budget. We know he would appoint competent people. We know he would be good with the economy, and we know he would be great for the environment. If any president could lead us towards using new energy sources, Gore could and would. Gore acted more like a president during Katrina then Bush.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#15)
    by jondee on Tue May 09, 2006 at 09:38:05 AM EST
    Did Bush get his itinerary mixed up and mistakenly think he was doing an interview with Field&Stream's German correspondant? If that wasnt an unconscious negative self-assessment of his Presidency, I dont know what would be. But, I'll give Jim a few free pointers and suggest we spin this as yet another example of Bush's Jacksonian common man touch and salt'a the earth wisdom. Hell, all he'd have to do is throw in whittlin and I'd vote him President for life.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#16)
    by jondee on Tue May 09, 2006 at 09:47:59 AM EST
    Of the current crop of ladies of the evening, Im going with "Roxanne" Edwards, though there are things about "Veronique" Gore that I like. Although I still havnt gotten a satisfactory answer as to why it was that Gore didnt go for Bush's jugular in the debates the way he proved he was capable of when he went after Perot.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#17)
    by desertswine on Tue May 09, 2006 at 10:57:52 AM EST
    Catching that fish was indeed the high water mark of the bush presidency. It ranks just above bush running a bicycle into that British cop and sending him to the hospital.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#18)
    by jondee on Tue May 09, 2006 at 11:08:57 AM EST
    'N Pecos Bill hisself couldna cleared as much brush as ole Georgie. He aint like them eastern e-lites - why, that good ole country gal Annie C. even says so..

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#19)
    by Rick B on Tue May 09, 2006 at 11:11:06 AM EST
    KDog, Kinky is running for Texas governor for material for his next book. Were he to win, the shock would kill him. I suspect he is safe. If the Democrats want to lose the Presidency in 2008 they'll run another Senator. Hillary included. But Al isn't going to run for President again unless he is sure he'll get the nomination and the election appears dead certain. Al is the nearest the Democrats currently have to a potential candidate of either party who brings credible approaches to the real problems this nation will be facing in 2008. But he doesn't have a position on the Iraq war that I know of - that is, what to do next rather then if we should have done it. Ultimately there is a strong chance that the invasion of Iraq will elect the next President, even as we watch the ice sheets turn to water and steam around the world.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#20)
    by chemoelectric on Tue May 09, 2006 at 01:08:40 PM EST
    IMO Gore is clearly the best candidate of those whose names are batted about, for the simple reason that he knows and understands (as well as one can) the most important problem today, which is The Global Climate Change. Another advantage is that, if my judgment is sound, his opposition to Bush's Iraq war would not make him foolishly anti-war-in-general like Neville Chamberlain. Also he was elected President in 2000, without conceding at the first opportunity like Kerry, and so it would be good symbolically if he took office; better late than never. However, I think Al Gore is assembling a 'campaign team' for the obvious reason, to support his campaign to save the world from total destruction by human-generated climate change.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#21)
    by BigTex on Tue May 09, 2006 at 03:08:23 PM EST
    Can we get Kinky Friedman to quit his governor's race and go for the presidency? I get a kick out of that guy.
    Not likely Kdog. Kinky is polling better than the Democrat candidate former Congressmand Chris Bell. He's in this fight for the long haul. He won't win, but as long as he pulls more than Bell he will get into the debates, which gives him a legitimate chance of threatening Strayhorndog for second. The voters here are either proPerry or anti-Pery. The anti crowd will split their vote, but Kinky has a legitimate chance to pull into second place before all is said and done as the democrats who are currently supporting horndog siwtch their vote to someone who is not Perry but has a better chance of effecting change down the road. Re Gore, he's about as trustworthy a toad. Earth in the Balance is known for having major factual errors in it. Gore will say whatever furthers his goals. That's why he lost in 2000, the trust issue, that's why he won't win if he runs in 2008. This last election proved that George Sorros can't buy the Presidency.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimcee on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:35:33 PM EST
    It is bad enough that the Democrats lost two elections to GWBush who the first time around didn't come off too well and still beat Al Gore by the electoral college vote, fair and square regardless of those folks who are sure he stole the election. (Hint: if the NYT and the others who did post-election research came up with the same result then it is time to retire that nonsense). John Kerry seemed to be the guy to beat Bush because he was just so much better than that yahoo Bush was but...he lost. To a weak incumbent, mired in a war, who appeared inept and out of touch and with the media goose-piling on him. Not to put too fine of a point on it but the Dems have been fielding candidates that are patrician, condescending, out of touch, conceited and media illiterate. If AL Gore is the next man for the Democrats then they are not only going to lose but it also shows that they have no deep-bench to go to. Who are the next wave of young Democrats and why, if they exist, are they being ignored? Gore...loses Kerry...loses Edwards...loses Biden...? Ford...? Leiberman...? Hillary...?????? Its time the Democrats find a new coach because they aren't doing well against the crummy team that is today's Reublicans.

    Re: Is Al Gore Going to Run? (none / 0) (#23)
    by jondee on Tue May 09, 2006 at 07:50:19 PM EST
    O.T, but did anyone else see where that old hussie Rupert Murdoch is schedualed to host a fund-raiser for Hillary? My guess is that, aside from hedging his bets, master and commander would like to see an eminantly beatable Dem as the frontrunner.

    Is Al Gore Going to Run? | 23 comments (23 topical)