Look out, here comes Al Gore

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Look out, here comes Al Gore

Submitted by Rob Richards on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 1:48pm.

— I found this on Raw Story. I've always liked Al Gore and have hoped he would run for president again. His views on the environment have always been spot on. He basically predicted events like Katrina back in the 80's. It seems that history, and Dick Morris, like Al Gore as well. —

CHILLICOTHE GAZETTE

Like a completely refurbished "pre-owned vehicle," Al Gore seems to be positioning himself to Hillary Clinton's left and greener than John Kerry for a run at the 2008 Democratic nomination for president. His slogan might well read "reelect Al Gore."

The former vice president's slashing attacks on the administration and his stalwart, if misguided, opposition to the Iraq war leave him without the complications and complexes that will devil Clinton as she seeks to appeal to the unforgiving left of the Democratic Party.

And Gore may be a man whose time has come in his party. It was he who warned of climate change and predicted its consequences. Hurricane Katrina was just a fulfillment of the prophesies Gore wrote about in his late-1980s book "Earth in the Balance." He has been an energy-conservation nut for years, and his obsessions with alternatives to oil will play better and better as we come to realize how our addiction to oil has led us to dependency on the dealers of this particular drug - Iran, the Saudi royal family and Hugo Chavez.

The Democratic base's anger at Gore's defeat in 2000 was assuaged by the worse Kerry defeat of 2004. The idea he was an incompetent candidate has been replaced in Democratic iconography by the idea he was cheated out of the presidency. The hiatus has healed his reputation with the base in much the same way the negative rap on Nixon for losing in 1960 was ameliorated by the Goldwater wipeout of 1964.

History indicates that candidates who won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College have all come back to win revenge in subsequent elections. Andrew Jackson, cheated in 1824, won in 1828. Grover Cleveland, cheated in 1888, triumphed in 1892. Samuel Tilden, who won the popular vote in 1876, never ran again, but he dealt away the White House in a deal for the withdrawal for federal troops from the South, allowing the Ku Klux Klan to take over. (By the way, for a great history of how this era kindled the racism we have lived with since, read Eric Foner's new book, "Forever Free.")

Read the full article here.

Rob Richards's blog
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I honestly don't think it's a

Submitted by eelcozy on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 5:36pm.

I honestly don't think it's a great idea for Gore to run again. What makes the democratic party think he'll win THIS time?

But if comes down to Al and Hillary...uh...well, as much as I would like to see a female president, I think America just might not vote that way.

I am almost ready to put down

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 6:55pm.

I am almost ready to put down my pen and say, "Anybody but Bush in 2008."

I kind of like the sound of that. ABB 2008.

However, we have elections at the end of this year!!!

Let's worry about November 2006 first people. PlEaSe!!!

Besides, Dubya has reached hi

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 6:57pm.

Besides, Dubya has reached his term limit. If they run Cheney, I will definitely say, "anybody but Cheney, 2008." - goes the same whether they run any neoconservative.

In my opinion, it's the "Anyb

Submitted by Rob Richards on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 8:10pm.

In my opinion, it's the "Anybody but Bush" thinking that cost Kerry the election. He never took a stand on anything, except for the fact that he wasn't Bush. Let's not vote for someone based on who they're NOT, let's vote for someone based on who they ARE.

If Al Gore runs in '08, and sticks to the issues he's talking about right now, I'll support him. If it comes down to Gore vs. Clinton, I'll go with Gore. Hillary has been supporting the war in Iraq, and Gore has come out against it. Gore has been talking about the environment and our dependence on oil since before it was cool. Hillary has been vomiting DNC and DLC talking points. Gore has been talking straight about, among other things, presidential powers, the environment, and the constitution. Al Gore is the only person I've seen so far that has this country and the people in mind. He was VP for 8 years and has been close to the political world since he was a child (his dad was a senator), giving him the government experience that we need right now to turn things around. We can only wait and see.

I do agree with Rob W that we should not be looking past these next elections, they are extremely important. My fear is that people are going to vote for democrats, just because the candidates are not republicans. We've had some extremely far right pseudo-conservatives in power for awhile now, and I'm afraid that the pendulum is going to swing way left. To some reading this, it may not seem so bad. I think having radical liberals in charge could turn out just as bad as it is now, as they would surely legislate their values against the will of regular people with different values. We need to start picking leaders who keep ALL of our best interests in mind and come up with reasonable solutions that work for everybody (in the world).

Vote your conscience? - Well

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 03/13/2006 - 10:36pm.

Vote your conscience? - Well that's hard to do when you don't know what to believe because these people say one thing and do another.

The answer is to vote for someone who has a proven track record of putting the best interests of the people first.

What are the best interests of the people? Some examples might include:

affordable healthcare
healthy ecosystems
clean water
quality educational opportunities
safe communities

Examples of not putting the people first:

Voting for the Iraq War
Okaying the godzilla like monstrosity of the pentagon budget
standardized testing, so teachers have to teach to it
voting against minimum wage increases
organized labor busting behaviors
tax breaks and incentives for giant companies (which should pay every dime of taxes that are owed)
etc. (please add)

Rob- Yes, absolutely, vote y

Submitted by Rob Richards on Wed, 03/15/2006 - 12:25pm.

Rob-

Yes, absolutely, vote your conscience. Put your values in one hand and the values of a candidate in the other, and vote for him if it feels right. I agree with you that all of those things should be taken into consideration before choosing, and I think that that is a part of voting your conscience. What I want to get away from is people voting for one issue: candidate A supports abortion so I'll vote for him. Well candidate A happens to be terrible on the environment, but as long as my platform on the abortion issue wins then I'm happy. I'm talking about holding candidates accountable, forcing them to take a stand on issues and setting themselves apart from their competition by showing that they have a balanced agenda.

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