Al Gore

Politicians, Kids and an Audacious Hope

dlindorff — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:39:02 -0400

By Dave Lindorff

I remember back in 1970, when I was a student and anti-war activist in Connecticut, watching an ad on TV for Lowell Weicker, who was running for US Senate. The ad was very powerful: It showed Weicker playing in the yard with his son, who looked like he was maybe 10 or 12. Weicker was saying that when his son was a tot, the US was fighting in Vietnam, and he didn’t want us to be fighting there when his son reached draft age.

I voted for Weicker, a Republican who went on to win a Senate seat where he played a key role in helping to bring an end to the Nixon presidency.

As it happens, the Vietnam War ended five years later, when Weicker’s son was probably 17. He didn’t get drafted, but I remain struck by the fact that we could, back then, even contemplate the idea of being at war for so long.

Today, I have a son, Jed, who is 15. America doesn’t have a draft, but we do have a war in Iraq which has been going since Jed was 9, with no end in sight. John McCain, the prospective presidential candidate for the Republican Party, says America can win that war by 2013. 2013? That’s five more years! At that point Jed will be 20 years old! We will have been at war in Iraq for more than half of a young adult’s life! And worse yet, if McCain has his way—or if President Bush beats him to it and even before the next president is inaugurated on Jan. 19, 2009 decides to, as McCain so light-heartedly put it, “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran”--we will be at war with the entire Arab world. And believe me, we would have a draft then, and my son would be near the top of the list.

That’s the future we look forward to with a President John McCain: permanent war.

Now I know Barack Obama has made some remarks about not allowing Iran to “get the bomb,” and about “not taking any options off the table,” but I think it’s highly unlikely that if he were president we’d go to war with Iran. First off, Obama has called for “unconditional” talks with Iran, as well as with other countries with which the US has disagreements. That’s the antithesis of belligerence, and certainly is the antithesis of the approach of the Bush administration, which equates talking with surrender. Second, where Bush’s whole approach to government has been to create fear and chaos and then to rule as a tyrant while accusing critics of being traitors or cowards, Obama’s whole approach has been to challenge that campaign of fear, and to call for calm and reason. I take some heart from his full-throated challenge to Bush’s and McCain’s charge that his willingness to talk with Iran is akin to Neville Chamberlain’s “appeasement” of Hitler—something neither Al Gore nor John Kerry, as candidates, would have had the guts to do.

Obama has also talked about the US possibly having troops in Iraq for years, but I don’t think that’s what would happen, either.

Think about it. For McCain, war is a good thing. He sees nothing wrong with it. He likes it. He has no idea how to run the country (he admits he doesn’t even understand economics!). So he’s going to end up doing what Bush did—ramp up the wars, and keep the people scared. It’s the only way the Republicans know how to govern anymore.

But whatever one may think of Obama—and certainly he’s taken some lame and politically timid positions over the years as a senator—he doesn’t like war, and moreover, wants to do things domestically as president that endless war would prevent him from doing. Furthermore, this Iraq a war he had nothing to do with starting. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he opposed it from the outset. So what advantage is there for him politically in allowing it to fester through his first term as president? Better to be shed of it right away, take any political heat that might come from calling it off, and then move on to better things.

I think it’s a safe bet that an Obama presidency will see an end to the Iraq war, a rapprochement with Iran.

For my son’s sake, and all our sons’ sakes, I’m voting for Obama this year. I’m doing it not thinking that he will usher in a golden age of progressive politics, but because I’m sick of living through endless war.

McCain promises endless war.

Obama offers at least the hope of peace.

The human race is heading off a cliff. The ice caps are melting, the seas are rising, one-third of the life on the planet has vanished, and species of plants and animals are vanishing with a rapidity not seen since the late Cretaceous Period. Unless we want to go the way of the dinosaur or the mastodon, we don’t have time for wars of imperial conquest, or for petty squabbling anymore. We need to focus on fixing the big things. And until Americans can be talked out from under the table so we can focus our attention on something other than “terrorists,” nothing is going to be done.

Obama hasn’t talked much about these big things, but again, I believe that once he’s in office, and the reality hits him, he will.

Why? The man has two young kids, and unlike our current president (who at best reads a one-page news summary written and delivered by a team of cowering yes-men afraid of crossing him, and who claims to think God works through him), he is actually smart and reads his own newspapers. He also has a smart wife who speaks her own mind.

John F. Kennedy, for all his faults, had the good sense to look out the Oval Office window at the falling rain, consider that it was dumping radioactive Strontium 90 and other dangerous fallout across the land, and call a halt to open-air nuclear testing.

I’m pretty sure Obama will have the good sense to listen to his scientific advisors, including the Goddard Center’s James Hansen, and that he will initiate dramatic action to try and actually do something to combat climate change.

I know expecting anything good from a politician is a fool’s errand, but I’ve looked at the alternatives. Let’s call it an audacious hope.
_____________
DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. His latest book is “The Case for Impeachment” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006 and now available in paperback edition). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net

An Open Letter to Al Gore

whybaby — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:07:10 -0500

WAITING FOR OUR ONCE & FUTURE PRESIDENT:

(an open letter To Al Gore)

November 2007

Dear Mr. Vice President:

I will come to the point of this letter shortly, but first, profound congratulations for your well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize! It’s a thrill to see you finally acknowledged as the great champion of our planet’s habitability.

Mr. Vice President, you'll always be my favorite President of the United States, whatever you decide in future.

Okay: my intention is to be one more drop in a vast ocean of persuasion in convincing you to re-evaluate how magnificent your accomplishments for America and the world could be as our once and future next President. It’s a great conceit, my writing to you. After all, if President Carter hasn’t yet moved you to reach for the presidency, what chance do I have? But I think of what Gandhi said: "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." These thoughts, hopes, talking points, and dreams have been gathering within me since the stolen election of 2000, and since the end of our 2004 hopes for you.

I remember fondly the days of yore:
The surplus, democracy, & President Gore

Your reasons to not choose a presidential run make absolute sense: You don’t need this job. As a private citizen, you can focus exclusively on your greatest priority, which is to change global consciousness and action on the climate crisis. Politics (as has been practiced particularly in the last 7 years) has been very toxic. The conglomerate media could either ignore or distort what you say, or divert attention to the latest scandal or triviality. A president has to spin so many plates in the air. All of this is true, and it’s a sorrowful thing that great public servants are driven away by partisanship, the money chase, stalkerazzi "gotcha" journalism, finger-in-the-wind policy-making, battle mentality, and general ugliness.

But I have no doubt that you are the best President we never had ... yet ... In fact, you may be overqualified, but we’d never hold that against you, Sir! But, Mr. Vice President, even a visionary can have a blind spot; I wish you could see as so many of us do how necessary it is for you to become our president - again.

Re-Elect Al Gore 2008:

Back to the Future!

Whenever I think of you, your life's journey, and your service to the country, I swell with gratitude and (dare I say) HOPE, that we’ll continue to receive the great gifts of your brilliance, sterling character and honor, far-ranging knowledge and eagerness to teach, incomprehensible bravery, practical spirituality in the real world, ravenous curiosity, bottomless depth of heart, absolute trustworthiness, and humanity.

I dream that you’ll be willing to again claim the power we gave you seven years ago when you carried Florida and the country. I dream you’ll want to help us heal from this nightmare of America held hostage by enemies from within. They are the red, white, and brutal, arrogant Neanderthal punks ripping across the world on nuclear-tipped Harleys, who have dismantled and poisoned everything wonderful about America! Who knew how much we would pine for democracy? Who knew that it could be taken from us so easily? You give us hope and a vision of what could be best in us, and we yearn for your leadership.

You get it! You recognize that looting and pillaging the earth for diminishing resources is the cause of our spinning near the edge of self-destruction, and the impetus for wars of plunder and domination. You realize that the way out is through a whole different relationship to the earth, to nature, to one another. You understand that we could mindfully choose to use reason, science, technology, and faith in our common interests to put us back in balance with nature.

Head of State. Worth the Wait:
President Gore in 2008!

Metaphors and mythical images come to mind when I think of your journey in the world. Maybe it’s because we are living in a Greek tragedy, the biblical story of Exodus, or a Grimm’s fairy tale. We need a hero - yet the hero always has to find his own way first. Some people can’t see you clearly, because you’re just too fast for them, like Superman, traveling at the speed of light, into our future. You who were Roger Ravell’s best pupil are now our best teacher, and we are your pupils. Teach us to see - from the great classroom of the Oval Office. Our president-to-be or not-to-be, that is the question; our once and future next president ... What shall we call you? The world is passing her cup of tears to you, to grok, to drink, to collect more of our tears, and to wipe our tears away.

Would Prometheus have stolen fire from the gods, if he had foreseen being chained to a rock, an eagle eating his liver, while Fox News made up lies and trashed him every night? Maybe not. When it comes down to it, no one really wants to live as an avatar; it’s a dirty, thankless job with all that heavy lifting - yet someone’s got to do it. Ask Prometheus, Atlas, and Moses. I imagine it’s hard to have special gifts; being the messenger of new ideas automatically makes you misunderstood and even feared, until the tipping point is reached. It’s just that the Zeitgeist is moving with you now, Al. This is becoming your time. Consciousness is changing - because of you! You have singlehandedly moved us to the cusp of the tipping point! The mountain is finally coming to Mohammed! Surfing the wave into the future is going to be one of the great adventures the world has embarked upon. You are the author and author-ity of how we get to the future safely. Please! - don’t leave yourself out of the story, now that you’ve made the story possible!

You were in the desert some of these past years. Maybe it first felt cold and disempowering, to be in exile, to be silenced by mass mediocrity, and mass mendacity. But maybe the desert also embraced you and lent you the gift of silence around you, so you could finally hear your own truest voice, in harmony with the voice of All That Is. What we do know is that you came back into the agora more yourself, stronger, clearer, more confident and more resilient than ever, with vision and the gift of truth to share. While you were in the wilderness, we too were in exile from our own nation. And we are still in the wilderness, looking for a pillar of fire, and for clear and courageous leadership.

Imagine! - a president who can see the whole complex picture and who’ll use science, technology, the gifts of democracy and the interactive democratic process to repair the country and the world! The fantastic thing is that you don't have to be anyone else but yourself! Your leadership will never again be about politics; you are challenged morally and spiritually to lead the nation and all of humanity, beyond our differences to solutions you understand better than anyone.

As you’ve said, Al: we face the greatest crisis but also the greatest opportunity. Being proven right about everything that has come to pass, and winning the Nobel and every other accolade, gives you the opportunity of a lifetime, the force of the Zeitgeist, truth force, wind at your back, confidence and faith on your side; the presidency is yours to make your own. You will have a Democratic Congress! You will get great things done! You can run your campaign as a national conversation on the true gift of democracy and the Idea of America, and you can make the conversation about the things you want to teach us: that we must heal America spiritually (in terms of what we do in the world, to the world, or for the world) if we are to heal the world itself.

Your focus is not politics, but POLICY. You can show people, institutions, and the press that you are all about something other than toxic and divisive politics. It’s your inclination and talent to create good government. It’s your dream to oil the machinery of democracy, to repair the process of democracy. We’re counting on you! We want our democracy back! So do it your way - completely! Don’t campaign - teach! Don’t debate - converse! Be an example of action, whether you promote curly light bulbs or civil disobedience! Hold public dialogue with those who understand you, support you, want your messages to flourish - Bill Moyers, Charlie Rose, Bobby Kennedy Jr., Keith Olbermann, Randi Rhodes , your homies at Current TV - people who won’t distort your message or your intentions, people who can allow you to blossom before the public. Go Current! Go YouTube! Go viral! You control the message and the means! You can own the conversation and you can become president without having to be a politician.

It would be so exciting and refreshing to hear you explain that you are not an especially good "candidate". That you find politics, the sound bite, the dog and pony show, the constant solicitation of funds, the never-ending campaigning, the ubiquitous P.R. spin, exhausting and at cross-purposes with your goals. And then, remind us what you’re great at, which is synthesizing expansive tracts of knowledge, envisioning and creating our future, innovation, inclusion, support of the Constitution, dedication to democratic principles, commitment to reality and reason, bold and courageous leadership. As president, you can not only save the habitability of the planet; you can also restore our understanding and respect for the democratic process, and reinvigorate what government is and should be!

THE PRESIDENCY IS A MOLDABLE CONSTRUCT. Come as you are; you don’t have to be anyone else. It’s Al Gore that we want! We don’t want a politician - we want a truth force warrior! There are millions of people who love you, Al, all around the world, and they want you to be true to yourself. Be a wonk! king of all media! tree-hugger! Tipper’s fella! man of great faith! midwife to our future! Beatle fan! number-cruncher! comedy star on SNL! lockbox king! deep thinker! planet saver! all you can be! Be President Gore - YOUR way! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOSE YOURSELF.

We are filled with longing to have a president and world leader we can look up to with great pride, confidence, and hope. We trust your mind, your heart, your intentions, your understanding, and your process. Oh, to have faith in a leader again! We want to be proud of America!

But how are we to enjoy any confidence that this or the next Congress will have the wherewithal to catalyze a change in consciousness and direction without you at the helm? What other leader has the knowledge, competence, forward vision, and sense of urgency to nudge us into the necessary paradigm shift, to move us forward? Wouldn’t you tell us if you knew who that leader was? Compared to you, every candidate for the presidency is oh so last millennium! And we don’t have the luxury of waiting for you to lead the country in some hypothetical future election cycle.

The fact is that no one can steer us better than you to ride the wave, beyond the internal combustion engine, beyond our fossil fuelishness, to the gift that keeps on giving - a sustainable and creative future! Please don’t step back, and allow someone inferior to you to take your job! And for your own sake, I doubt that you could have the kind of stage, megaphone, or influence in the world as a private citizen that you could have as our next president. The Nobel Peace Prize will have become your highest moment in life. After that, the next president - if it is not you - will take possession of the microphone and the blueprints for the next 4 to 8 years. It’s just in the nature of power. Will you be dropped from the front page, and from the national conversation? A President Gore is a terrible thing to waste!

When your presidency was then stolen from you/us, it was your deepest regret that you would not get to serve us in your highest capacity. And we are all the worse for it since that happened. You won, but America lost. We wuz robbed! With a single vote, the Supreme Court tipped our democracy into the trash! Fifty million of us are waiting for our votes to be counted, our dreams to matter, our planet to be healed, our children to come home from war, our alliances re-engaged, our futures protected, our Constitution defended. This is the moment!

Those of us who have long respected, admired, and loved you, see you clearly even through the distorted filter of the right-wing press. We have been on board with you a long time, awestruck by the brilliance of your ideas, your prescience, delighting in your fabulous sense of humor, moved by your devotion to the original principles of America. But now, others who only saw the false media concoction, are seeing you more clearly, through your works, your mission, your passion. The veil is lifting; world leaders are already there; now the rest of America is recognizing how much you can offer as leader of the free world.

NOW, YOU AND WE HAVE JUST ABOUT REACHED A TIPPING POINT. America is at last ready for your truth force. We who believe in your vision, your intentions, your goodness, we say to ourselves: "If we build it, he will run". We have been saying it to ourselves and one another for years now.

If we build it, will you run?

We ARE building it. But if you allow someone else to take the reins of power, who will lead this new "Marshall Plan" of the environment? What if that other president is mediocre, uncommitted, short-sighted, unprepared, or partisan? What if there is no interest at all, no Marshall Plan of the environment? What if that other president is indifferent to the loss of our civil liberties, the balance of powers, the separation of church and state?

It’s not sufficient for you to be a prophet, a prophet who has finally been heard, even a Nobel Peace Prize winning prophet. We need your leadership, at the top. We need you to steer this ship out of these dangerous waters, while action is still possible. Don’t abandon us to mediocrity and mendacity and mis-leadership! If we thought that there was someone who could lead as well as you in this time of reckoning and consequences, we’d leave you in peace!

Don’t let this cup pass from you, Al. It’s filled with the tears of the world.

As you call it a moral imperative to reverse global warming, we who love and admire you must remind you that it is your moral imperative to reach for the highest office again. You are the Gold Standard on this issue; everyone knows this, and you are our absolute best choice for leadership in this challenge/opportunity.

More than even for the climate crisis, we need you to help save our democracy, which is imperiled! Without our democracy, we have nothing! In your 2006 Martin Luther King day speech, you reminded us how many storms our nation has weathered without our giving up our freedoms to a fear-mongering authoritarianism. Fascism with an American face - it’s come so quickly! As you’ve said, there’s no room for each new outrage heaped upon our democracy, because there have been so many other outrages, one after another, too many to count. Wrapped in the flag, they shred the Constitution on a daily basis.

Each day that you do NOT close & triple-bolt the door of presidential possibility, I allow myself to believe you WILL be a candidate. You, Al Gore, brilliant, scholarly, passionate, a man of faith AND science, a long-view big picture visionary, global teacher, and activist, have toiled in the trenches of this fight (your life's work) for 30 years. No one is more knowledgeable, committed, or prepared to meet this challenge than you. Your greatest opportunity to write a global syllabus, raise consciousness, change national energy policy, protect earth's resources, heal our broken relationships, and insure our planetary future is as our President. Love of country compels you to become our nominee and then our President.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish". We want to be proud of our leaders again! Must we be resigned to presidential candidates who either cannot lead or who cannot win? Must we hold our noses to vote? Everyone else is inferior to you! Sure, I’d love to have a woman president one day: I’d be happy if Barbara Boxer took office after being your Vice President for the next eight years. But Hillary Clinton? Dear God, she is just one of the current crop of spineless Congressional weenies who has been altogether willing to give the sonofaBush - enemy of democracy - free rein to stage his Rodeo of Hell all around the world, and on our dime too! She and her cowardly colleagues, too many lame, damn, dumb Dems, need to sit in their naughty chairs for the crimes of indifference and enabling. And if you do not see the leadership elsewhere, you must ultimately come to the conclusion that yours is the vision and you are the visionary.

In a recent MSNBC poll, 59% of the respondents said that you should run for the presidency in 2008. And 54% of them said they would nominate you. You came in second in Democracy For America’s pulse poll - and that was as a write-in! A recent Zogby poll found you to be the first choice when respondents looked at your credentials, experience and values. Draftgore.com is registering hundreds of new supporters every day! The signature count on their petition approaches a quarter of a million. You’re a force for change, even if you don’t want to be its focus. A cyclonic force for great good.

To perhaps state the obvious, I’m one of the Draft Gore minions. I work with MASS4GORE, one of the 250+ national groups, and more specifically my local western Massachusetts group in Amherst. I’ve collected over 700 signatures in our nomination drive to get your name on the Democratic presidential primary ballot (and we already have the thousands of signatures that are required). Other states are doing the same. I ask folks the question: Would you like to have Al Gore on the ballot?

For the most part, there are two common and predictable kinds of responses: the first is the excited reaction - "Ohmigod, did he announce? Is he really running?", and I practically have to peel the eager person off me to stop them from grabbing my clipboard and pen, before I instruct them how to sign carefully.

The other response has an element of frustration dipped in annoyance: "Well, sure but ... come ON, he SAID he’s not running! Leave him alone - he's doing great work as it is! Why push him back into politics?"

Why indeed? These are the two reasons:

1) There is no one besides yourself who can offer the stunning breadth of qualities necessary to lead us out of the shambles of the dark neo-con nightmare of conquest and tyranny. We need every gift you have - a quicksilver, open, brilliant mind which sees the big picture, asks the necessary questions, and takes the long view, decades of leadership experience, commitment to democratic principles and the Rule of Law, love of learning & teaching, integrity, moral force, initiative, courage, wisdom, humility, tenacity, vision, faith, electability, orientation to the future, self-sacrifice, noble patriotism, humanitarian priorities, and worldwide respect - to usher us into a new era of American innovation and cooperation with others and with the planet itself.

2) Can a great citizen ever do more than a great President? The presidency alone can offer you the widest platform, megaphone, pulpit, and classroom that you will ever have, to use yourself for the highest possible purposes, those of restoring our Constitution and democracy, and of changing the consciousness and direction of America and the world at large, to reach for a future which is sane, liveable, creative, and full of promise. Without the presidency, your continued influence upon America and the world AFTER January 20, 2009 will be at risk; someone else would be creating the syllabus for the 21st century; someone else would have the microphone and the world stage.

So Draft Gore keeps on keepin' on - unless you insist we stop. Because it’s our democracy.

The Tipping Point is closer than ever,
The Tipping Place: the Oval Office,

And, we need at least one Tipper in the White House.

You are holding the treasured collective dreams and ideals of America and the world on your shoulders: Could America have the greatest leader, steward, protector, and champion if you were to decline your rightful role as President? Al, are you listening???!!!!!!! Your country is calling on you !!!!! I still hear the echoes of your battle cry near the end of the 2000 campaign, before this 7 year nightmare began. You cried out, "I’ll fight for you!". We voted you in. We chose you to lead us. And then our country was stolen right from under us. We still choose you - more ardently than ever before. What is this nation without your leadership? We are lost and led astray by stupid, evil, reckless troglodytes. You won before. Be our President again!

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it - lead us (kicking and screaming if necessary!) to save ourselves, the country, and the earth, that is. It’s clear that your life's work calls you to partake of the sacred and holy mission of HEALING THE WORLD that very few are so gifted to offer. It's in your karma, mission statement, and DNA. You ARE doing meaningful work. It's just that we DID elect you to be our President, and we're still waiting for you to bring your gifts to our country, our democracy, and our planet AS PRESIDENT. Being a superhero has got to be very hard work, but there you have it; you are the smartest, most decent guy in the room! You deserve to set the agenda for the next 4, hopefully 8 years. Without you as president, it’s hard to imagine that America can ever fully recover from the hemorrhage of principles, alliances, human treasure, material resources, ideas and ideals. You are the best president we never had ... yet! So we, who already honor the enormity of your contribution to the world, beg you - step up, Al: we’ve never needed your leadership more!

Back by popular demand! President Gore!

Back by popular demand! Democracy!

The country and the world are awakening to your wisdom!

Jeremiah is at your left, and Cassandra is at your right!

The shofar has sounded!

The hundreth monkey has come over to the light!

Mercury has gone Direct!

The tipping point is at hand!

Prometheus has been freed from angry and jealous gods by the people!

His liver is a renewable resource!

Our will is a renewable resource!

We will vault you to the height of power, if only you say yes to your destiny!

I answer the doubters with as much faith as I can muster:

"IF WE BUILD IT, HE WILL RUN".

We toil in the vineyards of a growing nationwide, even worldwide Draft Gore movement, and pray that you will.

Make the spirit of America Gore-geous again.

I wish you:
- the peace that only can come from following your soul's path.
- a toboggan for your mobius-strip life adventure.
- the sharpest ballpoint pen for your fiercest battles.

- deep, old, and abiding friendships 360 degrees around you.
- the softest cushions for the great unexpected.
- Tipper and your children around you, and the hokey, everydayness of family life.
- to be seen and known for whom you truly are.
- the ability to be alone, even ordinary, in your fame, when you need it.
- the knowledge that your great works can never be undone.

May God bless you, sir, as you rise to your full God-given greatness.

With great reverence for you, my hero, democracy's hero, the Constitution's hero, and the planet's hero,

Dinah Kudatsky

Amherst, MA.

A personal postscript:

My mother, Bella, has asked me to tell you about her. She is proud of being a naturalized citizen, and still remembers her first vote - for FDR. Bella is 94 years old, with many health problems. For some months recently, she was even on home hospice. Amazingly, she has improved, and is trying to use her limited time and energy meaningfully. Though she doesn’t expect to be around to welcome in your presidency next year, she is very much hoping to live long enough to see you announce your candidacy. On good days, she has even been out helping collect ballot signatures for you, and she got the mayor of her town to sign. She had me make her some "Re-elect Al Gore" bumper stickers for the backs of her manual and power wheelchairs. My mother is clearly the coolest senior on the block; but more importantly, she tells me that being a part of this "campaign" fills her heart with hope, and has given meaning to the last chapter in her life.

Bella asks that when you take the oath of office, help to heal the nation by placing your hand, not on the bible, but on the Constitution of the United States. She, like millions and millions of us, wants to be proud of her country once again. Now, you wouldn't want to disappoint a nice old lady, would you?

Al Gore

Tom Dawes — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:39:27 -0400

Al Gore will be more valuable to the nation by continuing the campaign to keep climate-change andglobal warming before industry, Congress and the President, regardless of the results of the 2008election. He has the brilliance of Jefferson, the determination of John Adams and the curiosity andentrepreneurship of Ben Franklin. He can be the go-to person for scientists, inventors business owners and policy makers who want to make a contribution toward turning our economy green. He is in a position to extract from all the candidates for federal office a pledge to lead us toward keeping the planet a safe place to live. For example, 1.5 billion people now are dependant on runoff from glaciersfor their water supply. How will they survive if the glaciers disappear? Tom Dawes

Gore Is Looking Better Than I'd Have Bet

davidswanson — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:49:51 -0400

He's for single-payer health care.

He'd restore the Fourth Amendment.

He favors leaving Iraq "as quickly as possible" and seems to possibly understand that our presence there is the root of the violence.

Will he throw out NAFTA??

Gore Derangement Syndrome

Bob Fertik — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:57:43 -0400

Paul Krugman mostly nails it:

What is it about Mr. Gore that drives right-wingers insane?

Partly it’s a reaction to what happened in 2000, when the American people chose Mr. Gore but his opponent somehow ended up in the White House. Both the personality cult the right tried to build around President Bush and the often hysterical denigration of Mr. Gore were, I believe, largely motivated by the desire to expunge the stain of illegitimacy from the Bush administration.

And now that Mr. Bush has proved himself utterly the wrong man for the job — to be, in fact, the best president Al Qaeda’s recruiters could have hoped for — the symptoms of Gore derangement syndrome have grown even more extreme.

The worst thing about Mr. Gore, from the conservative point of view, is that he keeps being right. In 1992, George H. W. Bush mocked him as the “ozone man,” but three years later the scientists who discovered the threat to the ozone layer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2002 he warned that if we invaded Iraq, “the resulting chaos could easily pose a far greater danger to the United States than we presently face from Saddam.” And so it has proved...

Which brings us to the biggest reason the right hates Mr. Gore: in his case the smear campaign has failed. He’s taken everything they could throw at him, and emerged more respected, and more credible, than ever. And it drives them crazy.

My only quibble is saying "his opponent somehow ended up in the White House."

Bush stole it. And if we don't repeat it every time the issue comes up, we become accessories to the crime.

Al Gore Should Endorse Obama For President

Lichele — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:24:52 -0400

I feel strongly than ever that Al Gore should endorsed Barack Obama for President 2008.

Gore supporters - Tell DFA you want Al in their next Poll!

NYPopulist — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:45:53 -0400

In March of this year, Democracy for America conducted its first pulse poll. Not surprisingly, Obama and Edwards split the vote, each finishing in the upper 20s. Who came in third place, however, was the most interesting result of the poll - "Other" finished ahead of the likes of Hillary, Richardson, and Kucinich with 12.4%. The vast majority of those votes I'm told were for Al Gore, but we all know that number is not a true representation of how many DFA members support a Gore candidacy, so Draft Gore organizers have started a petition to get him listed on the poll ballot alongside the other candidates.

In December of 2003, Al endorsed DFA favorite (and brother of DFAs Jim Dean) Howard Dean for President. Especially since then, Gore has risen within the progressive community and many have hoped he'll decide to jump into the '08 race, especially with Hillary running away in the polls. Al Gore has not ruled out a Presidential run and has specifically said that he probably wont under the current circumstances. When asked under what circumstances he'd run, he replies something to the effect of "I don't know, but I'll know it when I see it."

Folks, it is August of 2007, and in my case, seven months before my state's primary. Contrary to popular belief here on this site, you do not need to be supporting a candidate as of right now. Why settle for 2nd best before the most qualified candidate has yet to make up his mind? Gore has proven himself to be the most visionary leader in the field, was the first candidate right about Iraq, and has single handedly made global warming a national issue and legislative priority.

Including Gore in the DFA poll is but one step in "changing the circumstances." It's about a much larger project to create a groundswell of support, both on the ground and on the 'net, so that it will be hard for Al to deny us a run. Ballot drives are being conducted all across the country, including in New Hampshire where polls have shown he would win if he were on the ballot.

So sign the petition and let DFA know that you want to see the your candidate, the best candidate, included in their next pulse poll later this summer.

http://DFAPetition.AmericaforGore.com

Netroots for Gore Launches

NYPopulist — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:05:16 -0400

So many of us are waiting for Al to jump into the '08 race. To all those people, I say it's time to stop waiting and start becoming active in the effort to draft Gore. He, of course, has not ruled out running, and most people, myself included, see him as the most qualified man for the job. He was the first major politician to oppose the Iraq invasion back in 2002, he has single-handedly made global warming a national issue and continues to do so, he is for single-payer health care, and has been prescient on a number of other issues like the Internet. Not to mention, he's already won a national election before.

To all those who want to desperately do something, but don't know what, join Netroots for Gore. Netroots for Gore currently has over 250 members, almost all of which are bloggers, who represent the online arm of the Draft Gore efforts. We write and recommend diaries, break news, respond rapidly to attacks, and once we get done registering as a PAC, will begin raising money. So please join if you haven't already, and lets make the words President Gore a reality.

Netroots for Gore

WHERE IS GORE FOR PRESIDENT?

frombloodtogore — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 05:00:12 -0400

is it just me? Ok so he lost in 2000...or something. but he did preside over the Senate meeting to concede victory so who am I to say?

I feel he's still the most capable person for the job,

---with the possible exception of Hillary, but I dont think she is as strong candidate.....she claims to not know that Bill cheated....so just how smart is she really?

1988-2004: The Submerging Democratic Majority

Gore4US — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:24:26 -0400

1988-2004 Election Analysis: The Submerging Democratic Majority http://www.geocities.com/electionmodel/TruthIsAllFAQResponse.htm#HistoricalElections

The Democrats actually won all FIVE elections by an average 8.9 MILLION vote margin. That’s the True Emerging Democratic Majority. Don't believe it? Run the numbers yourself.

This analysis is based on the 1988-2004 Election Calculator model. The model first estimates the number of returning voters by adjusting prior election recorded vote totals for uncounted votes and mortality. An estimated turnout percentage is applied to this value. As preliminary NEP vote shares were not available for 1988-2000, Final National Exit Poll shares (which were matched to the recorded vote) were assumed for the base case. In 2004, however, preliminary 12:22am "pristine" vote shares were available, so these were used instead.

The model used Census-reported total votes cast as the base case assumption. The pool of potential returning voters was assumed to include all who cast votes, rather than just those whose votes were recorded. Uncounted vote rates based on the Census are much higher than the assumed 3.0% rate in prior models. Another assumption change is the mortality rate. Annual voter mortality, estimated as 1.22-1.30%, is more accurate than prior models which assumed the total US 0.87% mortality rate.

The new base case assumptions had the effect of increasing Democratic vote shares compared to prior models. For example, the Election Calculator indicates that Kerry won by 53.0- 45.9%, a 9 million vote margin. The prior True Vote Model had Kerry winning by 52.6-46.4%.

Following are the key results based on AVERAGE CALCULATED 1988-2004 Vote shares:

- The Dem share was 3.8% HIGHER than the RECORDED share.

- The GOP share was 3.2% LOWER than the RECORDED share.

- The Dem share was 1.4% HIGHER than the PRELIMINARY Exit Poll.

- The GOP share was 0.1% HIGHER than the PRELIMINARY Exit Poll.

Voter turnout of prior election Dem, GOP and Other voters is calculated as:

Turnout = prior election (recorded vote + uncounted votes - voter deaths)* voter turnout percentage

The True vote for the Dem, GOP and Other candidate is calculated as:

True Vote = shares of returning (Dem + GOP + Other + New voters)

Summary Statistics (1988-2004)


	Calculated
	TRUE Vote			Exit Poll		Recorded			Calculated Dem
	Dem	Rep		Dem	Rep	Dem	Rep		Margin (mil)
Average	50.9%	43.0%		49.5%	42.9%	47.1%	46.2%		8.86

2004	53.0%	45.9%		50.8%	48.2%	48.3%	50.7%		8.96
2000	51.1%	46.0%		48.5%	46.2%	48.4%	47.9%		5.66
1996	52.0%	39.3%		52.2%	37.5%	49.9%	41.4%		13.36
1992	47.9%	35.0%		46.0%	33.1%	43.3%	37.7%		14.71
1988	50.2%	48.7%		49.8%	49.3%	45.6%	53.4%		1.61


1988-2004 Avg	Total	Dem	Rep	Other	Margin	Dem	Rep	Other	Margin
Calculated	111.5	56.76	47.90	6.86	8.86	50.9%	43.0%	6.2%	7.9%
Recorded	102.9	48.47	47.66	6.74	0.81	47.1%	46.2%	6.7%	0.9%
Prelim Exit poll	102.9	50.84	44.28	7.93	6.56	49.5%	42.9%	7.9%	6.6%
Discrepancies
Calc - Recorded	8.7	8.29	0.24	0.12	8.05	3.8%	-3.2%	-0.5%	7.0%
Calc - Exit poll		5.92	3.62	-1.07	2.30	1.4%	0.1%	-1.7%	1.3%
Exit - Recorded		2.38	-3.38	1.19	5.76	2.4%	-3.4%	1.2%	5.7%