I am a fervent supporter of Al Gore. I think he would make an immeasurably better president than any of the current democratic candidates. And in another world, I would keep urging him to run.
But in the last couple of days, after his winning the nobel prize, I have reconsidered. Follow me below the jump to see why.
Anyone who has read Gore's book, Assault on Reason, knows how toxic the current political system in America is to real democracy. We only need to look at the performance of the democratic leadership to see this truth.
They fear right wing smears more than they fear needless deaths of American troops. They fear crazy talk show hosts more than the fear destruction of the constitution. Politics is the art of the compromise, as Barney Frank has said for example in trying to pass a anti-discrimination law for gays that leaves out transgendered people. And he may be right.
But politics also requires leaders who articulate principles. Gore is a leader precisely because he articulates the principles of our democracy and what our country needs today so much more clearly and forcefully than our current candidates and their swarms of consultants.
A Gore run would not change the way our media works. It would not change the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by right wing billionaires to force their ideology on America. It would not change the character of Fox News.
In short, we can't change America through a presidential campaign. Don't get me wrong -- I support Kos and this site's partisan approach to electing all the democrats we can. But electing democrats is not enough to restore democracy. We need different kinds of leaders as well.
I hope Gore remains on the national stage as an example - that all successful democrats have to strive to emulate. By remaining outside the campaign. with our support he can force the entire democratic party to edge back to democratic principles. I will support the democratic candidate who is closest to what Gore stands for.
So, in the end, I agree with Chris bowers at Open Left that the nobel prize and a Gore run don't go hand in hand.
So -- lets celebrate Gore -- lets hold him up as an example that other candidates have to match. But let's remember that changing the toxic environment we are in today means more than just having the hero on a white horse. It is going to be a generational struggle. For that struggle, having Gore as a symbol and leader of a movement is more important than having Gore as a candidate.