Posted on 03/07/2007 3:29:44 PM PST by presidio9
Some party faithful say they want Al Gore, a former vice president whose global warming documentary won an Oscar, and Fred Thompson, a former U.S. senator known for his role in the television drama “Law and Order,” to seek the presidency in 2008.
Activists said recent buzz about these two isn’t surprising considering the Volunteer State’s history of national leaders such as President Andrew Jackson and former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.
“Our state’s always been on the forefront of national politics,” said Signal Mountain attorney Jim Hall, a Democrat who served as National Transportation Safety Board chairman while Mr. Gore was a Democratic vice president in the 1990s. “It’s not unusual to see Tennesseans active in leadership.”
Mr. Hall said he would like to see the former vice president run.
However, it’s unclear if Mr. Gore, who lost the presidential race in 2000, and Mr. Thompson will heed their backers’ wishes. Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said the former vice president is dedicated to his environmental mission, recognized at last week’s Academy Awards when his film “An Inconvenient Truth” won an Oscar for best documentary.
“You have to know how much he appreciates the sentiment of individuals and groups that have asked him to run,” Ms. Kreider said of Mr. Gore, who also represented the Volunteer State in the House and Senate from 1977 until becoming vice president in 1993. “I think he has said it best when he’s tried to say he has no intention of running.”
Mr. Thompson, a Republican who was replaced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., in early 2003, did not return messages left at his Nashville office last week.
“I think Fred Thompson is by far the one American who could bring this country together,” said Tennessee GOP Chairman Bob Davis, who served as state director for Mr. Thompson when he was in the U.S. Senate. “There are some good folks running right now, but naturally if a conservative Tennessean like Fred Thompson chose to run, I believe there would be a flood of support all across the nation.”
And, Mr. Davis said, interest in a Gore run is “wishful thinking” by some of his supporters.
“Respectfully, Al Gore is in the past,” Mr. Davis said. “If you can’t win your home state, how in the world can you possibly be elected president of the United States?”
A recent item in U.S. News & World Report magazine mentioned that some “buddies” are encouraging Mr. Thompson to run. And The Associated Press recently reported that some Gore backers have met to try to draft him to seek the presidency.
Steve West, a former mayor of Maryville, Tenn., who has helped raise money for various Republican candidates in Tennessee, said he’s partially responsible for starting the Thompson speculation. He said the top tier of GOP presidential hopefuls — Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — may not have the conservative credentials desired by Republican activists.
“If somebody doesn’t come to the forefront, I don’t think the party will win the (general) election,” Mr. West said.
Mr. Hall said Mr. Thompson, who served as a counsel on the Senate’s Watergate committee in the 1970s, could be a formidable presidential candidate.
“Fred Thompson has always had an appeal as a national politician,” he said.
Vanderbilt University political science professor Bruce Oppenheimer said if either man jumps in, they need to do so soon, as politicos quickly will pick candidates to support.
“You can’t sit on the sidelines and come in at the last minute,” he said.
Gray Sasser, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, said while many in the Volunteer State would love to see Al Gore as president, plenty of others are happy with the current slate of Democratic candidates, which includes New York U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sasser, son of former U.S. Sen. Jim Sasser,Sasser D-Tenn.,, saidD - Tenn DTenn. , ., said Thompson speculation shows the GOP is “searching for an alternative.”
Algore for the comedy, to be sure. I support that.
I'm betting Gore will be the 'RAT nominee in '08. This is gonna be fun!
One of them will take his home state, I wonder who.
Sometimes, I don't who's the worst speaker: Hillary or Gore....
History tells us that it wouldn't be Gore.
So why don't we just abolish the whole thing and have an American Idol competition for the job?
This country is SO finished.
If Tennesee is so proud of Gore, why didn't they vote for him in 2000?
Hiilary is like nails on a chalkboard. Gore is like a tooth pulled w/o novacaine.
I wish Thompson would run. He's closer to being an all-around conservative than any of the front runners, and he's had executive experience.
Me too!
Just today, Gore says he ain't running so it'll be quite a surprise when your prediction comes true.
Go, MANBEARPIG!
Good tag line. Consider it stolen.
Tell me more.
Run Fred run!
I am wondering why the author of this article did no think that it was worth mentioning that Thompson replaced Al Gore.
To the grating sound of Kenny G.
I'm sorry, did I say Gore? I meant Osama.
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