Ron Fournier asks,
Is Al Gore Running for President Again?
Al Gore is running to California, New York, Utah, Washington, France and points in between to promote "An Inconvenient Truth," a film chronicling his elaborate slide shows to educate people about global warming.
But is the former vice president running for president again? The answer, he says, is no. Some Democrats are not so sure.
"I'm a recovering politician on about Step 9," Gore told The Associated Press. "But I'm on a different kind of campaign now -- to persuade people to take action to solve the climate crisis, and it's always easier when you're focused on one thing."
A Triumph of Destiny Over Adversity?
Of all the potential 2008 Presidential Candidates, the word "destiny" most comes to mind when thinking about their preparation to become President. Gore has been born and bread for this job.
For most of his adult life, Gore was focused on the presidency. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1988 and served as vice president under President Clinton from 1993-2001. He narrowly lost the 2000 presidential campaign to George W. Bush, despite collecting more popular votes than the Texas Republican.
He's a richer man for his loss -- literally. Gore is a senior adviser to Google Inc., a member of the Apple Computer Inc., board and co-founder and chairman of an investment firm.
Gore is a longtime opponent of the Iraq war, which makes him a favorite of liberal Internet-savvy Democrats who dominate the party's emerging "netroots." And with his advocacy of climate change awareness, Gore is the leading voice on an issue that Republicans and Democrats alike say is gaining prominence among voters.
It's an issue that inspires passion in Gore, something his fellow Democrats say he lacked in 2000.
Speculating Pundants
Why is Joe Trippi bringing up the possibility of Al Gore running as an independent? I've never heard anything to even remotely suggest this? Is Trippi just fishing for coverage?
"If he's the guy we see today, I think he'd be formidable," said Joe Trippi, a Democratic consultant who helped run Howard Dean's Internet-fueled presidential campaign in 2004.
"I think the real danger is if he were to run as an independent. If he did that, he would wreak havoc on the race in 2008," Trippi said. "He could say, 'I've been out of the system and we have to do it in a different way. I want to lead the way.'"
Kathleen Sullivan, chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said Gore looks better each day Bush is president.
"For some people, it took six years of George Bush to wake up and realize that Al Gore was the real deal," Sullivan said.
Saturday Night Live Fantasy: No War, No Deficits, 19c/gl. Gas
Over the last six years, Al Gore has not only humanized himself, and thrown off the image as a stiff nerd, but has become a cultural hero, comedian, and iconic underdog. The essence of the American "dramatic dream."
Speculation about his future heightened last weekend when Gore opened NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with a skit in which he pretended to be the president of the United States looking back on six years of accomplishments.
No global warming. No war in Iraq. No budget deficits. And gasoline at 19 cents a gallon. The nation's big crisis under a President Gore: "Glaciers that once were melting are now on the attack," he joked.
"The global warming issue has been good for him because he approaches it with a great deal of passion, something he was lacking in 2000," said Mark Byrnes, political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
One can not buy campaign advertising as effective as this. SNL comedy goes straight to our hearts. And we laugh without question because we recognize the truth. But also reinforce the truth by recognizing and laughing at it. It is not possible to "Swift Boat" this kind of collective awareness of what a terrible opportunity we missed. How poignant though, when the comedy is over and we realize what tragic, numerous and in many ways, irreversible, optional, and self-imposed calamities that the election of George Bush has afflicted our world with.
I wonder how much of Al Gore's resurgence and appeal consists of an unconscious, yet powerful, desire by American's to symbolically right this wrong. Are we seeking to achieve psychic penance -- yearning to fullfill an unspoken collective need to tell each other and rest the of the world that we recognize our error and apologize for it?
Al Gore Insists His Priority Is Raising Awareness On Global Warming, His Signature Issue
"An Inconvenient Truth" is keeping Gore on the road. He attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, earlier this year and was in Los Angeles on Tuesday for a movie preview.
He will attend a Washington preview Wednesday before heading to France for the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. The movie opens May 24 in New York and Los Angeles, the day a book of the same name goes on sale.
His focus, Gore said, is on global warming rather than the presidency.
"If I can use the experience I gained from the years I spent in public service to better communicate that message, I'm going to do my best to accomplish that and just hope I can reach people to the best of my ability," he said.
Conclusion
Whether Al Gore runs for president almost seems secondary to the importance of his work on global warming and other global environmental and social issues. Global warming is the "hotest" of the many other global issues, Al Gore is calling our attention to but symbolizes and embodies so many other critical needs for our future, such as the need for all countries and peoples of the world to change our parochial national level thinking and recognize our planetary role in influencing the fragile global environment we need for survival.
Although my favorite 2008 plan would have President Al Gore and UN Secretary General Bill Clinton, Al Gore would certainly be credible and qualified as our next leader of the UN as well. How encouraging to have a plethora of highly competent, passionate, and attractive Democratic statesmen. Keep up the good work Al Gore.
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Gore Portal: Draft Al Gore for 2008! Ned Lamont for US Senate in 2006!!