There appear to be two major schools of thought on the possibility of a Gore candidacy in 2008:
- A Gore presidency in 2008 is crucial. No one else sees Iraq, the loss of civil liberties, and the climate crisis as clearly as Gore does. His leadership in the White House will be crucial in guiding us through the next decade.
- Gore will have more credibility, and have more freedom to rally the fight against climate change, if he remains a private citizen and adopts an advocacy role as an "elder statesman."
Gore, being more perceptive than most, saw a third possibility: that he could do a great deal of good fighting the climate crisis by becoming the world's leading eco-businessman.
Many people in both schools, however much they disagreed with each other, reacted in much the same way to Gore's announcement that he was joining Kleiner Perkins, which was followed by the news that his office had called a halt to efforts to put him on the primary ballot.
They thought he was selling out.
I am a supporter of a Gore candidacy, but I said I would respect his decision if he chose not to run. I don't think he's sold out, and I'll attempt to make a case in his defense.
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