Weird notion about a Gore candidacy in 2008.

[Parisle]

--- I can't exactly put this in fully documented terms,.. or really as anything more than a "gut" intuition,.... but here's what I'm thinking. There are obviously a lot of people in the country today,.. people who voted for Bush in 2000, but who now wish that George Bush had never been elected/selected. Gore should have been the president in 2000. If he were to run in 2008, it would offer those disillusioned voters a chance to do something that the vast majority of people never get to do -- go back and correct a terrible mistake,... to put things right again,... the way they were supposed to be eight years ago. God help me for thinking it,... but I believe that a significant number of voters would look at a Gore candidacy in exactly those terms. Anyone?

[Megahurtz]

1. Yes.

Thought that a long time ago.

[kimmerspixelated]

2. This is a fantastic Eureka moment!!!

Seriously, this rocks! Just think of the POWER behind that idea!!!

[Parisle]

7. It IS a powerful idea....

--- It's been the plot of some several old Twilight Zone episodes, eh? We've all experienced that wistful longing to be able to go back and correct our past mistakes,.... to marry the girl we "should" have married,.... or say NO to some proposition that got us in a lot of trouble. One bad decision can change the entire course of history,...

[zonkers]

9. Yeah but the part of the TV plots you are leaving out is that when you get what

you wish for, whether its a Genie's wish or a chance to redo an event in your life, there is always some unforeseen snag you didn't count on. You cant go back. Gore has to run on the energy of "Now" which is fine for me. He is more vital and relevant than ever.

[NanceGreggs]

3. Agreed.

When there were rumours about him running again in '04, I thought his alleged 'loss' in 2000 would count heavily against him.

Now all of that's changed, and the concept of 'this was the RIGHT guy all along, and now you have a chance to do something about it' would have a very positive psychological impact on voters, IMHO.

[peacetalksforall]

4. Yes.!

[AtomicKitten]

5. It will give us an opportunity to set right what so wrong in 2000.

It will be a reckoning. Count me in.

[countmyvote4real]

6. Yes.

I want Gore.

[Spangle]

8. He is saying the things people want to hear.

It's not just about the 2000 election. But because of the issues he has been talking about and some of his comments to the press about issues in the news, he is SAYING what people can relate to. His statements does give everone a momment of wondering what would have happened, if HE was the president, and not Bush. People KNOW things would have been different.

And it seems like he has answers. REAL answers. Since Gore hasn't been thinking of running for office, any office, he hasn't had to worry about polls and what his 'advisors' think. He is speaking from the gut, living his life showing his true concerns and cares. Not just giving lip service.

People SEE that.

If he runs, it would be wrong to keep bring up the 2000 election. Gore's MESSAGE would get lost in all that. The 2000 election PROVES the voters will vote for him. And that he can (did) win the election. But people change, depending on who is running. Who their choices are. Gore wouldn't be running against Bush. He wouldn't be running as "I'm better the Bush". And he can't run on the idea thaqt "He is different then Bush", cause the GOP guy is going to have to run on that as well. EVERYONE is sick of Bush.

So while everyone might be excited at first, in the end, Gore's message (if heard) will be what causes people to vote him into office. People will get sick of hearning about the 2000 election and some will vote against him just because they are sick of hearing that he deserves to win.

[Justice]

10. you read my mind

There are other candidates I love, but I agree with you - except on the "correction" part - we can never every really correct a terrible mistake because we cannot bring people back to life -

I literally wrote this letter to Al Gore today in my head while driving back (hour and a half) from an appointment. I am going to send it to him. It is not scripted - these are my basic points.

Dear Mr Gore, or Al,

I am writing to ask you to run for president in 2008.

We are in terrible shape. Morale is low, people don't believe in their government - they've lost faith in the office of the presidency. They've lost faith in the separation of powers. You are a person who could have lost faith in Americans and America because of what happened to you in 2000. You could have become a corporate director on several boards, cashed in, and lived a lovely, successful life. Yet, you chose not to lose faith - you chose to take a risk and put your heart and soul and reputation into a great cause. What better person to led us out of this dark time than you - you can lead us - we need a great leader to inspire us.

We've lost standing in the world. People suspect us of being selfish, foolish, reckless. We need a leader with gravitis - someone who has a reputation in the international community - people know you by your deeds as VP and by your deeds with climate control. You have credibility upon which you can re-establish the credibility and reliability of the US.

Please run Al. Not because you need to, because we need you to. Not because we are tarnished by war, but because we are a great nation, and have many great things left to do in this world.

[Uncle Joe]

28. I like your letter Justice

:thumbsup:

[Justice]

35. thanks - I rephrased it a bit yesterday on point one

I think Al Gore should run because he had his gut ripped out of him in 2000 - and yet, somehow he found a way to move on with a renewed sense of purpose.

America has had its guts ripped out because of the Iraq war - we are sick about our leadership, we are shaken in our faith in government, and we (this is really true) can't really figure out the way forward.

Al Gore can show Americans by leadership how to find that renewed sense of purpose.

He has to run and be president. I don't think anyone else is up to the task (I really like all of the Democratic candidates - I'd vote for whomeever is the nominee - they would all be so much better than what we have now or any Repubilcan candidate - this is not about dishin' anyone).

[Ninja Jordan]

11. Unfortunately he isn't running for president.

[Terre]

15. Don't count him out just yet

Do watch Keith Olbermann on tonight's repeat if you can. You might not be so SURE of your statement after you watch it.

If you missed this article, take some time to read it. It's not long.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17064370

"He certainly has the right political climate. How many political candidates are being nominated for Nobel prizes and winning Oscars?" said Dylan Malone, co-founder of AlGore.org and organizer of a political action committee trying to draft Gore. <snip>

In 2002, Gore asked Malone to stop a draft effort he had begun; Malone did. Malone started up again and, so far, Gore hasn't waved him off.

[Guaranteed]

34. "Just yet"? His "campaign" is growing. not waning.

You say that as if he's just barely hanging on, now.

Personally, I think that if there was a chance that he was going to run before, that chance has only gotten bigger as his campaign as snowballed.

[Labors of Hercules]

12. Al has said repeatedly he is "not planning" to run in 2008.

and on CNN today he said in fairly clear terms that it would take a great deal to convince him to run.

My question is... WHAT WILL IT TAKE?

[CJCRANE]

24. It's all about the timing...

he's writing a book at the moment called "The Assault on Reason". Maybe he will announce after the book is published...

on edit: to be published in May. Here's the description on Amazon:

"Book Description
A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason. At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism.

We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions.

How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste."

[Marnieworld]

13. Considering how "I told you So!" could be his campaign slogan?

I think so. He was right about Global Warming and he was right about Iraq. More than that he has spoken out about the Constitutional issues now, how he is against the Unitary Executive theory and how un-American it is, he is literally the Anti-Thesis of what's there now. Ironically since remember Nader saying that they were identical. Thanks Ralph! :eyes:

[unblock]

14. it worked for nixon!

ok, not a great analogy,....

:evilgrin:

[immoderate]

16. LOL!

Funny!

--IMM

[PresidentObama]

17. I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I believe it just as strongly...

Gore runs, he wins. Not only because America knows what we've gotten in the last eight years instead of his leadership, but because many Americans understand the facts that Gore didn't lose in the first place. They understand he didn't get the fair chance he deserved, he's absolutely credible as an anti-war candidate, and he excites the Democratic base.

Hell, the man has showed little interest in running again (at least in public) but yet the media runs wild with the idea and the buzz alone is phenomenal among Democrats.

[OnionPatch]

18. I always had this thought

partly because so many people I know have mentioned how much they wish Gore had been our president instead of Bush. I think Al should run. And his slogan can be "Back to the Future" the one that should have been, that is....

I'm still holding hope that he will run. I have told people before that I wasn't "planning" on doing this or that for the precise reason that it gave me an open door to change my mind.

[alittlelark]

19. I feel as though the thread I just read was 'staged'

I'm not sure why exactly.... parts of it seemed so connected and WRONG.


I need to shower now.

[Parisle]

20. Well the original post wasn't "staged"

--- I just tossed it out there. Enjoy your shower.

[alittlelark]

22. uh....yeah.

I'll enjoy my shower....

[crispini]

21. Yes. It's like a psychic do-over.

Powerful mojo there. I have thought this often. :bounce:

[Hawkowl]

23. Brilliant!

I've never heard it put that way before. Very, very powerful all American theme: everyone deserves a second chance--especially shrub voters!

[RestoreGore]

25. But Mr. Gore wouldn't...

He even claimed he didn't run in 2004 because it would be about 2000 and not the future. So what makes people think he would want that now? And what makes people think many wouldn't ask him why he didn't run in 2004 againstt all odds if this "planetary emergency" is so crucial? I really cannot see him "flip flopping" were it, especially in light of the books he has written, his speeches excoriating Congress on the whole and this TOXIC system, and his own words about a system people seem very content for him to reenter.

And again, the fact that this military/ industrial complex system is not going to be defanged by then, nor is this country going to have the level of citizens informed on issues enough to discuss them Democratically and seriously instead of basing votes on popularity and media hype (if they even count on the whole) is but one great hurdle.

And if all of these people who voted for Bush in 2000 feel such pangs of guilt, then why wasn't there a GROUNDSWELL for him in 2004? Sorry, I only see all of this now as politically expedient talk because of who else in the field now and his popularity regarding his climate campaign, and not based on principle and it is a big turn off, especially when the one issue he is focusing on gets tossed to the side in all of this political talk already as it is, and I fear that is exactly what would happen if he broke the momentum on the achievements he is making with it now, which actually should be rubbing on US to continue those achievements in our everyday lives.

I don't think Mr. Gore would want a "sympathy" vote. I think if he truly wanted it it would have to be on HIS terms this time, and this country in my view is simply not ready yet.

[tblue37]

26. I love Gore, but I also thinkt he press would savage him again,

just as they did in 2000--if only to validate their past behavior.

On the other hand, I think that might add to the public's growing awareness of the duplicity and self-dealing of the corporate press in this country.

[halobeam]

27. k & r

[Indigent A-hole]

29. Gore Won't Run

Here's my thinking- I doubt Gore will run when his partner and friend's wife is attempting to become the first woman President of the United States.

He has seen that he can do great things for our nation and the world through his environmental activism- why would he scale back and try to fit in the "shoebox" of American public opinion again? So he can be visciously attacked by the right-wing slur machine yet again?

I doubt it. I'd love to see Gore as my President (he WAS!) but it looks like he has chosen his path.

[paulk]

30. If these people you mention do, indeed, exist...

How do you explain his high negatives? He has higher negatives than any of the announced candidates. If the numbers are to be believed, there's very little proof that people are going to be willing to see a Gore presidency in the terms you outline.


ed for sp.

[Barack_America]

31. Why is this considered a good post?

How do you go back and erase the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis?

The correct message is to make sure you know what you're voting for, because you can't erase the mistakes they make!

[Parisle]

32. Okay, Kristi,.. This is for you and Paul (#30) above,.....

---First, Paul,.... per your comment about "proof," ... I believe I stipulated that this was a "gut" intuition,.. and not a documented phenomenon. However I still feel there is a significant incidence of this type of sentiment out there; it's human nature. And I wish you had stipulated whether you were referring to Gore's negatives within the democratic nominating process,.. or throughout the general electorate (the ones who actually ELECT a president, eh?) How do you explain (for example) Falwell's Pavlovian response to a Hillary nomination? I have negatives with Gore, myself,.. but I still feel he brings more to the table than any other candidate. What negatives were YOU referring to, anyway?

--- And Kristi, I said nothing about erasing the deaths and disaster of this administration. The "terrible mistake" to which I alluded was the election, itself. The psychological aspect of "correcting" or "atoning" for that mistake does not even need to be real,... people will still "feel" it to a certain extent,.... just the same way that buying stuff "on sale" makes shoppers feel they are saving money, when they actually are not.

[paulk]

38. I don't put much faith in gut reations, myself

The poll I'm referring to (48%)is recent and is of the general electorate - it wouldn't necessarily hurt Gore in a primary.... but - he would still need to fight that negative perception in a general election.

I made the point not because I dislike Gore - if he decided to run, he would immediately jump up near the head of my list. But, I think a lot of people are just ignoring the fact (and it is a fact) that Al Gore is still disliked by a lot of people - he would have a much larger hill to climb than many of his supporters seem willing to admit.

[Guaranteed]

33. There could be some truth in this. Basically, to redeem themselves

for their mistakes they have to do what they should have done last time.

[Apollo11]

36. Gore - Obama 2008

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

Make a date with Al Gore on the David Letterman Show -- February 14th!

Read Rolling Stone magazine: WHY GORE SHOULD RUN -- AND HOW HE CAN WIN
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13248532/why_gore_should_run__and_how_he_can_win

Get ready for Al Gore's next book - The Assault on Reason - out in May!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600877.html

Visit the following pro-Gore websites:
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com - Sign the petition! :)
www.draftgore2008.org
www.patriotsforgore.com

:kick:

[Apollo11]

37. Not sure about Letterman

According to the latest rumor - it might be tomorrow (Tuesday 13th).

But Al Gore is not listed among this week's guests on the CBS website.

[politicasista]

39. I saw Gore on the Grammys last night

He looked cool and relaxed with Queen Latifah.

He seems to be in a better place right now. However, if he changed his mind, I would vote for him in a heartbeat, although he looks like he more committed to stopping Global Warming and other projects.

[Apollo11]

40. Gore - Latifah 2008

It's about time we had a Queen on the Democratic ticket !! ;)

In Gore We Trust :)
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com - sign the petition!

[Uncle Joe]

41. I believe you have a good notion Parisle

It's not Bill Murray's Groundhog Day, however I believe putting Al Gore in the White House where he belongs would go a long way to righting a terrible wrong.