Will Gore run?

[jefferson_dem]

Not do you hope he will run but do you think, in the end, he will be among the choices for the Democratic nomination?

[Totally Committed]

1. I had to say YES....

I find it hard to believe the current crop is all we get to choose from. It's just too damned depressing.

TC

[saltpoint]

2. Voted 'yes' although I'm satisfied with the current field. There's a lot

of talent in it already, a lot of passion, a lot of hope.

While I'm not strictly speaking a Gore Democrat -- I'm more of a Bill Bradley Democrat for purposes of the current poll -- I acknowledge his gleaming citizenship generally and his integrity especially, not to mention that he's reviving the environmental movement almost single-handedly.

[disndat]

3. Yes

I think he is champing at the bit. I read that he has lost a lot of weight. Probably waiting for the Nobel Peace prize decision.

[BeyondGeography]

4. I voted no but I hope he runs

It's not our best field until Gore is part of it, and I could enthusiastically support him if he got the nomination. I just think he's reluctant to trade the life that he has and the focus that he's able to give to climate change for the life of a candidate.

[Tesla]

5. Run Al Run!!

[tmlanders]

6. I voted "no clue"

but I really, really, REALLY hope he does. But I wouldn't blame him at all for not wanting to go through all the crap that comes with running against the Retards. If he doesn't run I hope he will consider a Cabinet position -- Secretary of the EPA, maybe??

[Jack Bone]

7. I wish there were a "maybe" option to choose..

I think that's where Al is right now...and who can blame him?? His been down this road a few times...he knows what it takes to win...and he knows what it takes to sustain a victorious campaign.

In todays political climate, who can blame him? I think he's looking for us to stand up and demand a change in our political system...for us to show some backbone, so he knows that he's not alone out there "on point"..

so yeah...Maybe...it's up to us!!

[Apollo11]

8. There's a chance he will run

But it only makes sense if he really wants to be a candidate again.

We know that Al Gore has wanted to be President since the mid-1980s.

It's hard to believe that he has completely given up on his lifelong ambition.

But on the other hand he tells us that he has fallen out of love with politics.

I think that Gore is keeping his options open. Hasn't made up his mind yet what he will do.

If you ask me - I think GORE-OBAMA would be the strongest ticket in 2008.

The best thing we can do right now is sign the Live Earth pledge at www.liveearthpledge.org

Then convince your friends, neighbors, family and co-workers to sign it also.

By getting behind Al's current work, we can make it more likely that he will decide to run.

And even if he doesn't run - we can help him shape the debate leading up to 2008.

"If (Al) was going to run in the future, of course I would support him. I think he'd be a fantastic president. He already got a majority of votes of people in this country once, and so that says something."
-- Tipper Gore on Good Morning America, June 13, 2006
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2069724&page=1

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF AL GORE
By Eric Pooley
TIME Magazine -- May 17, 2007
Let's say you were dreaming up the perfect stealth candidate for 2008, a Democrat who could step into the presidential race when the party confronts its inevitable doubts about the front runners. You would want a candidate with the grass-roots appeal of Barack Obama -- someone with a message that transcends politics, someone who spoke out loud and clear and early against the war in Iraq. But you would also want a candidate with the operational toughness of Hillary Clinton -- someone with experience and credibility on the world stage.
In other words, you would want someone like Al Gore -- the improbably charismatic, Academy Award-winning, Nobel Prize-nominated environmental prophet with an army of followers and huge reserves of political and cultural capital at his command.
...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1622597,00.html

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

Sign the Live Earth Pledge: www.liveearthpledge.org

Then ask all your friends and family to sign it too! :-)

Visit Al's site www.algore.com and read his blog http://blog.algore.com

Sign the petitions at www.algore.org and www.draftgore.com

:kick:

[YOY]

9. Hope so, but until he does Obama's my man

n/t

[closeupready]

10. I really honestly think he's not going to run. The silver lining is

that perhaps he's worked out a deal with Hillary, he'll support her and she'll appoint him to the EPA? I mean, I have to think he's worked out some kind of arrangement that would land him in a good spot from which to continue advancing his goals.

[Apollo11]

11. No way has Gore done a deal with Hillary

You only have to look back to what Gore said when he decided to endorse Howard Dean back in December 2003. From the Transcript on CNN.com

AL GORE: I've spent a long time thinking about national security and national defense, and I've heard a lot of folks, who in my opinion made a judgment about the Iraq war that was just plain wrong, saying that Howard Dean's decision to oppose the Iraq war calls his judgment on foreign policy into question.

Well, excuse me. He was the only major candidate who made the correct judgment about the Iraq war.

(APPLAUSE)

And he had the insight and the courage to say and do the right thing. And that's important...

(APPLAUSE)

... because those judgments, that basic common sense, is what you want in a president.

Our country has been weakened in our ability to fight the war against terror because of the catastrophic mistake that the Bush administration made in taking us into war in Iraq. It was Osama bin Laden that attacked us, not Saddam Hussein.

(APPLAUSE)

Saddam Hussein is a bad guy and he's better off not in power. We're all better off. But it was a mistake to get us into a quagmire over there.

So don't tell me that because Howard Dean was the only major candidate who was right about that war, that that somehow calls his judgment into question on foreign policy.

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/09/se.01.html

You can also watch the video here:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/09/elec04.prez.gore.dean/

In light of the above, I don't see how Gore can endorse Hillary before the primaries.

Maybe Gore could endorse Wes Clark or Barack Obama. But not Hillary Clinton.

[closeupready]

12. I wonder if he would make a deal if he felt that it would serve higher interests

better than "sticking to his guns" (as they say)? He doesn't seem like the type, but he's been in politics for a long time, and knows how things actually get done.

[snowbear]

13. I think that ANY candidate would try to make him Secretary of the Interior

..... if (and that's a big IF) he was interested in going back into politics.

He just doesn't sound all that interested right now though.....

[Apollo11]

16. Gore has "zero interest" in a cabinet position

Here's part of the transcript of one of Al Gore's recent appearances of CNN's Larry King Live (May 22nd, 2007):

KING: Let me get another call in from Lexington, Kentucky. Hello.

CALLER: Thank you, Mr. King.

Mr. Gore, given the foreign policy expertise that you have exhibited on Mr. King's show tonight and the expertise that you gave to the administration of President Bill Clinton, would you consider the secretary of state position in a Democratic presidential administration?

GORE: Thank you for your kind words, but, no.

KING: No cabinet position?

GORE: No.

KING: No federal position?

GORE: No. Not because I don't have the greatest respect for what an honor it would be to serve in such a position, but I have -- I have zero interest in doing something like that.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/22/lkl.01.html

It's interesting that Al Gore has not ruled out seeking the Democratic nomination and running for President himself, but he does rule out serving under someone else.

:kick:

[Larkspur]

18. I too found it interesting that Gore emphatically said he would not serve

in a cabinet position but was not the same way with running for Prez. This convinced me that Gore was keeping his options open as to whether or not to run for the Presidency.

[Apollo11]

19. I agree - he is keeping his options open

That comes across from what Al Gore said on CNN back in May.

GORE: Look, I don't know why it's ordained that as soon as one presidential campaign is over with, the next one begins right away. I'm one of those who doesn't like to see the Christmas goods put into stores right after Halloween.

And I think the American people are not well-served by having an endless campaign. We are 500 days away from the next election. So why just sort of close up the field and say, OK, this is it. Place your bets. I don't have to play that game.

KING: No, you don't. But -- and I don't mean to be coy, but why not take the Sherman approach? Why not say, I don't want to run, and if nominated, I won't serve?

GORE: Or whatever. Well, I see no reason to do that. Why would I do that?

KING: Because when you don't, you leave things open.

GORE: Well, look, I'm 59 years old, 59 is the new 58.

KING: And you're 40.

GORE: Well, I have not closed the door at some point in the future to consider being a candidate.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/22/lkl.01.html

PS - I have no idea what Larry King meant with "And you're 40." Maybe I should check my TiVO.

[illinoisprogressive]

14. Jefferson, I came to the conclusion he would not run last summer

I am pretty good with my instincts. I saw him or heard something about this time last year and it dawned on me he was not going to. and I honestly don't see why he would. Give up his Hollywood style, the praise, the devoted following, the accolades for what? political mudslinging.
His heart just is not there any more.

[Apollo11]

15. He hasn't ruled it out

Here's what Al Gore told Rolling Stone magazine last month:

"I think there are a lot of good reasons not to run for president. But as you know, I haven't completely ruled out getting involved in the political system again at some point in time - there's no reason to do that. I hear myself repeating the same phrases, so forgive me if you hear that too. I really am focusing on this larger - make that different - kind of campaign. I won't say larger, because I know there's no position that can even approach the position of president in terms of the ability to influence events. But the way our political system operates in the United States today, the politics of reason faces a head wind. The skills that are rewarded in this communications environment include a lot of skills I don't think I possess in abundance. Some people catch on earlier than others that they're not well suited to the career they've chosen . I'm fighting through the denial right now."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15051572/al_gores_fight_against_the_climate_crisis/5

He has said it also on many of his recent TV interviews, that there's no position that comes close to that of POTUS in terms of the ability to influence events.

He is also very vague about what "some point in time" or "some point in the future" might mean.

Back in 2003, Gore had explicitly ruled out seeking the nomination in 2004.

Up until now, Gore has not definitively ruled out running again in 2008.

:kick:

[BringBigDogBack]

17. No.

Would be nice tho.