Gore 'not planning' 2008 White House run

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060624/ap_on_re_us/gore_back_home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Vice President Al Gore got the same question at a hometown book signing Friday that he gets all over the world when pitching his documentary and book on global warming. Will he run for president in 2008?

"I'm not planning on it, but thanks for encouraging me," was the pat answer given by Gore at the first signing for the book in his home state of Tennessee.

The Democrats' nominee for the White House in 2000, Gore says he has all but ruled out running for president in two years — saying the best use of his time is to educate people about the urgency of global climate change.

The movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," debuted at last winter's Sundance Film Festival and opened in U.S. theaters last month, when the book of the same title also went on sale.

[rainy]

1. Don't most potential candidates say that until the time is right to

announce? Who has come out and said they are running?

[ruggerson]

2. Joe Biden n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

36. Biden declares he's running:

[howmad1]

43. And that's precisely why he'll go down in flames.

As well he should.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

46. He declared too early.

[karynnj]

3. Most tend to say things that are less negative than Gore did

suchas "I'm giving it thought", "I'm not sure yet", "I haven't competely made up my mind". That said - he could change his mind - he is getting a lot of encouragement.

[rainy]

40. plus, if he says yes now the media will say he only made the

movie for political reasons and he as the rest of us would just be ignores and dismissed. This way he can be all about the movie without it being political. See how that works. I still think he will run.

[peace frog]

4. I believe Al

when he says he won't run for office again, that he has found other more rewarding methods of service.

[w4rma]

20. Except he hasn't said that. He said that he has no plans to. (nt)

[peace frog]

21. Parse it any way you like

In my opinion he will not run, and more power to him.

[w4rma]

25. Now you are being accurate.

Rude, but accurate.

[peace frog]

27. Both are true and civil statements

"I believe Al when he says he won't run for office again, that he has found other more rewarding methods of service."
"Parse it any way you like. In my opinion he will not run, and more power to him."

[w4rma]

29. Parse your statements any way you like. (nt)

[peace frog]

32. Rude, but parsimonious

;-)

[IndyOp]

5. I think the fixation about whether he will run or not is a symptom of

what is *wrong* with our system right now -- at least in terms of the media asking the question. The media is fixated on the same old, same old questions -- they won't think more deeply, won't take the time to read his book and ask him questions about global warming, they just ask questions that pander to prurient public interest in "the game" -- Who are the opposing teams? When will the candidates announce so we can start slandering them?

I would love for Al to run - unless he decides not to, unless he believes it is better for the nation that he not run. Better how? I don't know. If I respect him enough to want him to run I should respect him enough to know that he is considering all angles at this point and will be until 2008.

If the lonely nation turns it's eyes to Gore, perhaps it ought to turn it's eyes inward for a while and then towards global warming for awhile, and then, maybe back to Al.

WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE.

On edit: It is often helpful to follow questions with a ?.

[Exultant Democracy]

8. Wow I really loved your post

It framed the issue just the right way. Anyone that is at all interested in Al Gore making another run should get involved with the global warming issue and help make it the center piece of our party platform.

[Riverman]

15. Very Nicely Stated!

[Minnesota Libra]

6. If Gore doesn't run we are royally fucked guys!!! I truly do not.........

.....think anyone else can take on the neocons and have even a decent chance of beating them. :cry:

[saltpoint]

7. Note that Gore is also not planning a plunge into competitive

fishing tounaments.

I think he's definitely in.

[Harper_is_Bush]

9. Good. He should rule it out 100%.

He knows global warming is the most important issue facing the world, and he also knows if he did announce a run all the rightwing swiftboaters would scream about how his movie was a bogus ulterior motive all along. It would detract from the critical message he's sending.

Please Al, announce you unequivocably will not run.

[rucky]

49. Good point about political motives ruining the message...

but hopefully in a year-and-a-half from now, millions of people will have seen the movie, and there will be no reversing of opinion for anybody who walks into that theater.

After that, who cares what the swiftboaters say? I'm not holding onto hope that he will announce anything, but you can't help seeing the movie and wondering.."what if?"

[politicasista]

10. Shame those fake Hil supporters dissed him like that

:grr:

[leesa]

11. It's too bad. I think we really, really need him to lead us out of this

mess. He has credibility. He's already one once and now people know that the GOP are fuck-ups. Since he's ditched the DLC and become a real progressive, he could probably save America's ass because he's respected in the world. A Gore/Feingold ticket would be great.

[jerry611]

12. It's not an electable ticket

The DNC will never nominate a ticket like Gore/Feingold. It's too left-wing. All the GOP would have to do is find a moderate candidate and every single state from center to right...including the south would vote against Gore.

[Erika]

19. The two are far from left wing

Please explain. Gore is a Southerner.

[peace frog]

22. Are you saying southerners cannot be left wing?

And explain what? A Gore/Feingold ticket is too far to the left to be acceptable to the majority of the voting public. The candidates who position themselves in the center will capture the most interest, as the American public is heartily sick of partisan politcs, right as well as left.

[EXDIA53]

23. You see reality!!!

A very rare thing on DU.

[blonndee]

13. I agree. I think we should try to stage some sort of

major grassroots "drafting" program, asking him to run.

[Erika]

18. I'm with you.

He beat out the GOP once before.

[JaneQPublic]

34. I agree. We'll just have to draft him.

Isn't that how Wesley Clark got in the race in 2004 -- a grassroots draft movement?

[Scout1071]

14. The election is more than 2 years away. Why paint a bullseye on yourself

now?

I believe he is really putting long hard thought to it. But I also believe that when the time is right, we will make it known that we accept no other candidate and he will run.

Until then, it's the right thing to do to deny, but leave that little opening.

[qazplm]

28. problem is

the more you say no, not planning, the more you set yourself up for...there he goes again, flip flopping, and the more it looks like crass politics when you finally do say, yes I am running.

He's very young still. I'd say, he should wait until 2012 if we lose or 2016 if we win. By then, he will be almost undefeatable.

[cascadiance]

39. We might even have another Dem president by then! Pelosi?

[Skip Intro]

16. He's also not not thinking about it...

[Erika]

17. Gore should run. He's not afraid of any swiftboaters

or the rest of the GOP crap.

He beat W in the popular vote and can beat any of the weak kneed Republicans.

He's got intellect, charm, and he cares about Americans.

[cobalt1999]

24. I agree

He beat them once and they had all their luster back then. Now, he has only improved in the publics opinion and while the republicans have gone down.

Gore should pick Bob Graham from Florida as his running mate and they'd have a landslide victory.

[hiphopnation]

26. a reading recommendation for the thread

and for those who have not yet read it. it will give you peace of mind, hope, and encouragement irrespective of his plans in '08.

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/politics/17065/?imw=Y

whether electable or not, i'm beginning to think the man might better serve the country outside the beltway. the pejorative mud-slinging and the DLC boot-licking, an elder statesman like gore is above all of that bullshit, IMHO.

[peace frog]

33. Exactly so

and he is doing outstanding public service out of the political arena.

[bigdarryl]

30. Gore

I wish he would stop with this teasing shit and just say I'AM NOT RUNNING I don't want to run i like what i am doing PERIOD!!. instead of this BS i have no plans on running

[mbee]

31. He's not planning a run, but he doesn't need to as he's already

extremely popular and all he has to do is show up at the last minute and WIN which he's already done once! Good for Al - he's outsmarting the extreme R/W Media and keeping them out of his hair!

[Omaha Steve]

35. G.W. Bush = Global Warming BUSH :-) ....just saw Inconvenient Truth

Notice I just changed my Avatar Image. My youngest daughter and her husband treated my wife and I to a noon showing. They both saw it last week. Marta and I loved it. I am now going to buy a made in the USA car of an Asian brand. I'm so pissed at GM over several things. Think GM will notice?

Take action http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/

[rainy]

45. I once knew a Marta in Va. Beach

[Omaha Steve]

51. nope

She has never lived anywhere but Omaha.

[DavidDvorkin]

37. Aargh.

Well, damn it, we're just going to have tell lies about him till he caves and agrees to run!

[Pharaoh]

38. Of course he's gonna run!

It's in his blood, he is revived and he will be one hell of a candidate.

To say he's running now , would only give the corporate media an extra year to pound on him, and "WE" would have to raise that much more money to defend him from the swiftboatin assholes............Al knows what he's doing!:hippie:

[DesertRat]

41. I think your assessment is right on

Al's biding his time. After seeing his movie, there's no way I'll believe he's not going to run. And he'll win. :patriot:

[hiphopnation]

42. read the above posted article

politics is not necessarily "in his blood" - he actually admits that he doesn't have much of a taste for it.

[howmad1]

44. He will run, he will run!

2nd ballot at Dem convention. First ballot will eliminate the losers like Hillary, Biden, et al: and weak candidates like Kerry, Feingold, Edwards and Clark. Then Gore chooses Feingold, Edwards or Clark for VP and we've got us a winning ticket. The rethugs will commit mass suicide with that ticket. Have patience. It's way to early and disasterous to declare. :toast:

[politicasista]

47. ALL of those name you have mentioned ARE qualified

and CAN win. Repeating RW lies and Rovian talking points about Democrats just to promote those you like is NOT going to help us win. Even if you don't want them again, calling them "weak" and "losers" plays right into the hands of the repukes and doesn't help our cause for 06 and 08.

As I have said, ALL of those names listed including Gore are very much qualified to run and win.

[howmad1]

48. I'm sure they may be qualified, .......

....BUT CAN THEY WIN? Hillary, Kerry or Biden winning? Gimme a break. Please, stop hiding your head in the sand and begin supporting candidates that can win overwhelmingly, to cancel the voting machine fraud that we can expect from the rethuglicans.

[politicasista]

50. I am NOT hiding my head in sand

I like Gore, I like Clark, I like Edwards, but I would never trash another Dem just to promote those three men. You think you are helping Gore, Clark, and Edwards by dem bashing, you're not. You are helping Rove and the repukes. They love it when we call good Dems like Kerry "weak" and losers. I am not a Hillary fan, but she (and Kerry) have every right to run if they want to.

How do you know they can win overwhelmingly? None of these men/women will wave a magic wand and command that the media be fair, that the repukes play nice, that the smears disappear or that the voting machines perfectly work to count all votes. It takes a clear, strong, unified effort by the Dems in the 50 states and strong grassroots. The candidate can NOT do it alone.

Right now, I am focused on 2006. If we don't have Dem controlled Congress, a fair and balanced media or fair voting, 2008 will be very tough for ANY dem that gets the nominiation.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

52. Agree, there will be a draft Gore committee formed before the convention.

Al Gore is first and foremost a true American patriot who will do anything within his power to help his country. When he says he will not accept a draft before the party convention then we will know for sure he isn't interested in ever being president.

[rhett o rick]

53. Push Hillary as the candidate to draw Republican smear and

run Gore at last minute. Great strategy.

[hiphopnation]

57. wow

that really is a great strategy...i wonder if that's what they're up to

it would totally catch the rove smear-machine off guard, throw some sand in their gears.

[LibDemAlways]

54. Gore has already survived one turn through the

repuke smear and slander machine - and came out the popular vote winner and would be sitting in the WH still if the votes had been properly counted.

Any Dem nominated is going to be fiercely swiftboated and attacked with fury, but they've already unloaded everything they had on Gore - and he still won. If he runs, he's the only Dem IMHO who could win by a big enough margin that it would be difficult to steal. Not that they wouldn't try.

[rainman99]

55. Gore would be perfect because he didn't vote for the war.

Doesn't have to talk about it. And he can say 'what in the world
happened since I left'.

[AmericasReporter]

56. He'll run..It is too early

OK Next..


START THE REVOLUTION
START THE IMPEACHMENT

[JNelson6563]

58. I never "planned" to have kids.

My daughter is 17 and my son is 14. :toast:

Funny how well these "unplanned" things can go sometimes. B-)

Julie

[ozone_man]

63. But he's not running.

;)

Seen Inconvenient Truth yet? He'll run or we'll draft him. One way or another.

[jerry611]

59. Need to give up on Gore

If he doesn't want to run, then he doesn't want to run. Why vote for someone that doesn't want the job anymore?

Gore is also too partisan. He is too far to the left. And the American people are sick and tired of partisan politics. Americans want someone that is going to bring both sides together and move forward. As good of a man that Gore is, I don't think he can do that. His politics on issues like the environment will launch a firestorm of political debate...in the end, nothing will get done.

[Rene]

60. Tell Gore to be sure the door doesn't hit him in the backside on

the way out. We don't need Gore and we don't need Kerry.
They both proved to be gutless, indecisive, and would not fight for their stolen Presedential wins.

The Founding Fathers would probably have their heads hung in shame over their post-election failures.

Biden thinks everything is a joke and can't lead anyone out of a paper bag. He's only worth something to the banking industry.
Noone pays any attention to non-descript Edwards.
Hillary's gone way down the wrong path of militarism and poll-watching and has lost her connection to REAL American people. (a shame.....I r e a l l y liked Bill)

We've got General Wesley Clark and Senator Barbara Boxer.....the two fiercest, finest L E A D E R S in our nation today. Constant and consistent in every way.

I'll follow them thru the hell of straightening out the mess the * administration has made thruout the country and the world --- and thru seeing that every appointee * has made is out of government and defense business.

[jerry611]

61. Clark needs to raise his stock....Boxer has no chance

Clark can probably pull it off or at least get close, but he has a lot of work to do. He isn't well-known enough at this point to make a serious run.

Boxer is just a more left-wing and outspoken version of Hillary. She doesn't stand a chance at even winning the nomination.

Personally, I don't see a woman winning the presidency right now. It is possible, but very unlikely in my opinion. I think the country can handle a female president, I just don't see any woman in our government that has a pair of balls that are needed in order to be leader of the free world.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

65. Gore fought until SCOTUS ruled against him

in Dec. 2000. Then he continued the fight. Did you know there was a press conference scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001 to release this report..

US Commission on Civil Rights. “Probe of Election Practices in Florida During the 2000 Presidential Election,” (September 11, 2001).

http://www.usccr.gov/vote2000/flmain.htm



it was cancelled of course.

[rhett o rick]

62. The point is moot unless we democrats come up with a different strategy

than was used in 2000 and 2004. The Republicans have a solid platform that they all agree on. They have a very well working propaganda machine and smear organizations. On the other hand, Democrats are all over the map on issues like THE WAR. Democrats are divided on Internet freedom and flag burning and which judges to be filibustered. Also, when the Republicans cheat the Democrats concede. Just because the polls are against Bush/Cheney don't believe for one minute that McCain can't win in '08.

[bdamomma]

64. just a suggestion let's focus on November 2006

first.