Posted on 03/08/2007 6:16:56 PM PST by NotchJohnson
Among potential Democratic candidates for president, he may be the best of them all.
He’s a Vietnam vet. He’s been against the war in Iraq since the beginning. He’s leading the fight against global warming. He served as congressman, senator and vice president of the United States. He’s star of one of the most successful documentary films in history. He just won an Oscar. And he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yes, Al Gore’s on a roll. So why doesn’t he run for president? That’s what a lot of Democrats are asking. And even some Republicans. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, former Republican congressman, recently wrote a column practically begging Gore to run. After all, advised Scarborough, Gore “has to know that while fame in Hollywood can be fleeting, history may finally be breaking his way. 2008 is looking like Al Gore’s year.”
That’s one Republican’s opinion. Here’s the opinion of one Democrat: If Gore does decide to run for president, I think he would be making a big mistake.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see Al Gore in the White House. He’d make a great president. And if anybody deserves to occupy the Oval Office, he does. After all, he won the 2000 election by over half a million votes — and there are half a million reasons why we’d be better off today if the Supreme Court hadn’t denied him, and us, the crown.
Nevertheless, I still I think it would be a mistake for Gore to run. First of all, let’s be frank, he wasn’t that good a candidate in 2000. He’s much stronger now, much looser, and much more comfortable in his own skin. I wouldn’t want him to go back to obsessing over earth tones.
And besides, while the media builds him up now, they couldn’t wait to bring him down once he became a politician again. Take the latest flap over Gore’s personal energy use. The morning after his Oscar triumph, a self-proclaimed “non-partisan” think tank accused Gore of talking the talk but not walking the walk on energy conservation. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research reported that Gore’s Nashville home consumed 220,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually, 20 times the national average. Horrors! Is the man a hypocrite on his own issue?
Hardly. Consider the inconvenient truth. The so-called “non-partisan” Tennessee think tank is actually a spin-off of the very partisan, Exxon-supported American Enterprise Institute. They launched their attack against Gore on the very partisan Drudge Report Web site, where it was immediately picked up by “fair and balanced” Fox News. And, of course, they misrepresented the facts.
True, Gore’s utility bill counts 221,000 kilowatt hours a year. But that’s for a 20-room mansion with two private offices, one for Al, one for Tipper; a guest house; and special security measures. To offset that heavy energy consumption, Gore does, in fact, practice what he preaches. He signed up for the local utility’s “Green Power Switch,” where families can calculate the carbon footprint of their residence, and buy offsets — used to provide wind and solar energy or plant trees. Through offsets, Gore has reduced his own carbon footprint to zero — which costs him an extra $6,000 a year.
See what I mean? No matter how much good Al Gore does for the planet, his enemies lie in wait to try and destroy him, just like they did in 2000. Eight years later, I’d hate to see him go through that painful process all over again.
And why bother? Today, he’s a rock star. He’s one of the most popular people on the planet. He’s doing more good, and having more fun, than he could ever enjoy as president. Together with Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey, Al Gore is living proof that you don’t have to be president to make an important contribution — and that, in fact, being president might prevent you from doing so.
So my advice to Al Gore: Don’t do it. At least not yet. Who knows what’s going to happen between now and December? The Democratic field of candidates represents the greatest collection of political talent since Thomas Jefferson ran against John Adams. But Clinton could stumble, Obama could fade, and Biden, Dodd, Edwards and Richardson could fail to ignite.
And then, who knows? But for now: Don’t run, Al, don’t run.
Sounds as though the only award Albore hasn't won is the 'most pounds shed' from Weight Watchers!
Al Gore has exactly the same chance of being elected president as the polar ice caps have of melting due to man-made global warming.
And exactly the same chance of the press salivating over "the possibility".
I didn't notice all this speculation when, say, Dan Quayle had been out of office for 6 years.
Is this scrappleface? I wonder what the SEC has to say about AlGore's movie now that his "carbon credit" scam is public knowledge. Was it a mock-u-drama or a prospectus?
Snowball in hell comes to mind.
He was there six months .....
Press went from having a show on CNN (when people watched it) to having his own blog. I would think he is bitter for many reasons.
Very well said! lol
Is this guy real?
>>>Oscar Today, White House Tomorrow?
Hell no.
Is this Scrappleface?
Are the tags still on that uniform? Don't rifles work better if there is a magazine in them?
Proof that this is B.S. (but you instinctively knew that)http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009649
Is this a joke?
Al, if you run now, you might be able to fool enough idiots to squeak out a 51% majority.
But please wait until your Mother Earth religion is exposed for the utter complete scam-sham that it is. Then, your "electability" will no doubt be firmly established.
Is that gun pointed at his face? Holy smokes, and he was VP?
Heh, one of his handlers was smart enough to remove the magazine...
Oh God help us.
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