Thursday, February 01, 2007

"Run, Al, Run." Here's Another Notable Case For Al Gore Running and Winning


In his February 8th Rolling Stone piece called "Run, Al, Run," Tim Dickinson begins with the following:

"A stiff vice president campaigns on his administration's legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in the race, he re-enters the fray. Promises to change the course of a disastrous war founded on lies. And charges to victory. I'm referring, of course, to the 1968 campaign of Richard Milhous Nixon. But four decades later, history has a chance to repeat itself for Albert Arnold Gore.

"If the Democrats were going to sit down and construct the perfect candidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to improve on Gore. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has no controversial vote on Iraq to defend. Unlike Barack Obama and John Edwards, he has extensive experience in both the Senate and the White House. He has put aside his wooden, policy-wonk demeanor to emerge as the Bush administration's most eloquent critic. And thanks to "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore is not only the most impassioned leader on the most urgent crisis facing the planet, he's also a Hollywood celebrity, the star of the third-highest-grossing documentary of all time."

Dickinson is dead on. As I've said for over two years now, Al Gore is the Democrats' best hope for regaining the White House in 2008. The will he or won't he charade has gone on too long, and Dickinson essentially predicts that The Goracle will soon toss his hat into the ring, and he cites several of the nation's leading political pundits to back up his contention:

"He's running in a nontraditional way, which has been powerful," says Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic consultant. "It has made him look much more interesting than if he had just been the former vice president sitting out there and thinking about a run...If Howard Dean could raise $59 million on the Internet, the mind boggles as to what Al Gore might do."

"Gore may have more money than anybody within days of entering the race," said
Joe Trippi, Dean's 2004 campaign manager, who believes Gore could raise $200 million or more on the 'net.

"There are millions of people who call themselves environmental activists, but until now, no one has ever been able to make the environment a voting issue," says GOP strategist Frank Luntz. "Gore took the environment from deep inside the newspaper and put it on the front page for the first time. He would be able to say to people, 'If you really care about global warming, you have to vote for me.'"

"Gore seems committed to being a late candidate," says Bill Clinton's former strategist Dick Morris. "He's not going to be out front as a playmaker. He's going to wait and see if there's room for him."

"Jumping in too early is a huge mistake for him," says Tony Coelho, who chaired Gore's 2000 campaign. "If the party wants to have Hillary, there's nothing Gore can do or say to stop it. But Barack Obama could be a godsend for Gore. Obama makes Hillary look like just another politician, as opposed to a fresh woman's face. He could slow her up, and John Edwards can create further doubts."

And the Hillary, Edwards, Obama slugfest could be a big boon to Gore, according to David Gergen, who's former bosses include Nixon, Reagan and Clinton. "If the three of them fight each other to a bloody draw, nobody emerges as the cherished front-runner. Then you to turn to Al Gore as someone who is not scarred up by the battle. He would look very formidable.....If Gore secures the nomination, his chances of victory would be strong."

The push for Gore is becoming louder and stronger. Clearly, the top strategists are really starting to stir, and the pressure on Gore--from a timing perspective--is intensifying. Make no mistake: Al Gore saying he's not running is not Al Gore not running. He will run. And he will likely win. As Dickinson writes, "he would also have history on his side: Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, both of whom won the popular vote but lost the presidency, reached the White House on their next tries." And let's not forget Nixon, the other Comeback Kid. That Gore is now a Nobel Peace Prize nominee only makes him even more attractive.

2008 presents Al Gore with truly the best opportunity in his political career to capture his life-long dream of becoming president. Don't think for even one second that he will not seize the day. He's just playing it smart.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of providing film school scholarships and grants to women filmmakers. As many of you know, Adrienne was brutally killed here in NYC on November 1st. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

GORE/OBAMA 2008

I pledge my voice and my blog to get the message out between now and the next election.

Anonymous said...

What is it with you and that most evil of evil, Frank Luntz? Everything he says is double speak, right out of 1984. He may look harmless like Captain Kangaroo, but underneath is the most despicable man in America.

Anonymous said...

There is only ONE person that can get this country and world back on track and that is Al Gore. He is waiting this field of candidates out and will jump in at the right moment. His name is always being mentioned not only on the talk shows but also in the polls, why? because the others all know he is a winner and will win in 2008 (again).

Look, the GOP has no real contender, NONE. Rudy and McPain are toast so who else have they got, NO ONE! The Dems are going to weed the many wanting to run in a hurry even before this summer. It's going to come down to Hillary, Obama, Gore and maybe Edwards. Biden already after his first day is done even though I see nothing wrong in his remarks but the media can make the most out of anything except what they should be looking for, remember the square box shape on the back of Bush during the second debate?

Al Gore is smart and has learned a lot from 2000, he has had 8 years to make his plans and we can only hope he listens to US and runs.

Anonymous said...

Just this morning I blogged about a speech Hillary gave that essentially aped Bush's position vis a vis Iran: the military option should not be taken off the table.

Her language was nearly verbatim what she said back in 2003 in support of Bush invading Iraq and we know how well that mess turned out.

After what will be 8 years of George W. Bush, we've simply got to do better than Hillary, McCain, Biden or Edwards.

Button Gwinnett said...

It's time to rectify the past, do some damage control, and start building once again for the future. I would welcome the chance to support Al Gore once again, and right the wrongs of 2000.

Nice template, btw. ;-)

Anonymous said...

NOT! How 'bout regular Ameican Kucinich, instead of high octane hypocrites like Gore/Bush-OFF!!

Anonymous said...

Richardson cannot see the immigration problem clearly because of his ethnic bias. He's proved this by his comments on TV.

Anonymous said...

Where did this picture of Gore come from? Photoshop? He looks like a sea turtle coming out of the ocean. Global Warming has turned Gore into a scary sea turtle. For it's next trick, Global Warming will raise the global temperature 1 degree in the next 100 years. It's funny though, in the last 1000 years, the earth has been warmer than it is this decade 6 times.

Anonymous said...

As per anon. 9:10:

Global warming has seared the brains of Republicans to the point that they can't see to the end of their noses. That's not a terrible loss since brain-power was never their strong suit.

Unknown said...

I like Gergen's take on this. Makes sense, I think.

Anonymous said...

Global Warming Killed Anna Nicole Smith!! Al Gore, please save us...

Anonymous said...

Help! I'm stuck under 120 inches of Global Warming snow. Al Gore, please dig me out... Where's the Bush administration and FEMA on this one? This is totally racist. I don't get government assistance just because I'm white?

Anonymous said...

hey 10:53 Anon, are you really this big of a nitwit? In your peabrained logic, it could be ridiculously warm for almost the entire Winter, but as long as it's freezing and snows for about a week that's all you need in order to refute everything ALL major scientists (even those hired by the Bush gov't) warn about global warming. People like you deserve to be snowed in so that the rest of us don't have to deal with you...

Anonymous said...

hey 10:53 Anon, are you really this big of a nitwit? In your peabrained logic, it could be ridiculously warm for almost the entire Winter, but as long as it's freezing and snows for about a week that's all you need in order to refute everything ALL major scientists (even those hired by the Bush gov't) warn about global warming. People like you deserve to be snowed in so that the rest of us don't have to deal with you...

Anonymous said...

Help!! I'm stuck under 120 ft of Global Warming snow and the only thing liberals want to do is ridicule me for being stuck under the snow! Al Gore, where are you?? I'm stuck under Global Warming!! Liberals who think Iraq would have been better off with Saddam and his sons think this American deserves to die under Global Warming snow!! Al Gore, save me!!

Anonymous said...

al gore is a corporate whore. Heard of TechNet? He blows these jerks daily.

NO Gore!!! Kucinich is the only candidate standing up for the educated middle class.
Are you a scientologist? This whole obsession with Gore is nothing else but a cult.
If Gore runs, it'll spur third party alternatives and we are gonna get stuck with Rudy. Get off the kool aid, man.

Harrison said...

My thoughts exactly!

Harrison said...

Sorry, just to clarify, I meant Gore is awesome. In regards to the earlier post, I respect Mr. Kucinich for keeping us honest and keeping the Democrats left, but what this country needs is an eight year does of Al Gore.

Anonymous said...

I am no fan of Bush, but Bush is in power because of Gore.
In Gore's Inconvenient Truth, he says, " I strongly disagree but have to accept the courts decision". What a crock!
Watch Fahrenheit 911 and you will see Gore presiding over the Senate hearings to hear complaints of voting fraud, and not one of his Senators was willing to vouch for hundred of thousands of uncounted or invalidated votes. These people probably voted Democrat and it is totally incredulous that he would not support these people's votes.
It really makes you wonder " What the Hell is his agenda?"
If he hadn't "turtled" Bush would not have had his way with the country.
Count the dollars that could have been spent on this environmental crusade Gore is running.
I don't trust the guy and think about all the people who voted Democrat and this guy pissed away their votes.
Does it seem plausible that this Inconvenient Truth is his pre-election campaign?

Anonymous said...

andy, you're off your meds again. they are going to have to put you back in the rubber room.
***************
ps: why is al gore your hero? he uses more electricity in one month than most americans use in a year. also, rather than flying coach, he uses a private jet that spews the toxic fumes from 1200 gallons of jet fuel, on a single one way trip. if he really believed his own bs, would he do that? i thought this was an emergency? but one guy, a "has-been who never was," just goes his merry way burning carbon like he's on death row. forget sean hannity, debate me. i'd cut you to ribbons. with facts. not cranky liberal craziness.