GoreWatch: Late October is Wide Open!

GoreWatch has kept me incredibly busy over the last month or so. I've posted several GoreWatch diaries keeping everyone up to date on his whereabouts so that we might guess at his plans. And I have to say, it's been slow going lately.

Since September 1st and possibly earlier (I'm looking back now), Al Gore has booked one new event: the Environmental Conference of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands on November 20th. Everything else has been crickets. Even this site which updates very quickly has been quiet.

Has Al Gore stopped booking new events? Are his booking agents on hold? Will he simply be working on his new book? We can not say of course.

But either way you look at it, he is underbooked after the Nobel Peace Prize announcement. And that is when most people agree has to shit or get off the pot. Looking at his calendar, Al Gore HAS THE OPTION of announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination and running for President. He would have a couple international events to cancel but he would ample time to give notice.

Full details below the fold...

First a few notes on the calendar. All events have citations where possible. If you have new events, changes, etc, please put them in the comments below. I'm tedious about updating this info.

Second, I have added a few primary registration deadlines (including important states like New York, Massachusetts and Virginia). These dates have been slow to gather and I think that's largely because the Draft Gore movement is still digging through all the bullshit government websites looking for the correct unsearchable pdf form like I was doing for New York. (Someone else figured it out by the way.)

Now, the GoreWatch calendar:

September 29 – Scheduled event (Vancouver, BC)

Speaking arrangement at the Westin Bayshore.

http://algorevancouver.com/...

September 29 – Scheduled event (Victoria, BC)

Speaking arrangement at the Victoria Conference Centre.

"The tour did not include Victoria initially, though Gore is scheduled to appear in Vancouver Sept. 29. He will now do the Victoria stop earlier in the day before heading across the water for his evening engagement.
Jacobson managed to land Gore after he hit the Internet and tracked down Gore's agent to feel him out about a possible Victoria visit."

http://www.canada.com/...

September - Declined event (Colombia)
"Officials in Bogota said Gore also called off a planned September visit to Colombia, Washington's closest ally in Latin America."

http://findarticles.com/...

September - Cancelled event (Taiwan)
"Former US vice president Al Gore will not be able to make it to Taiwan this September to address the issue of global warming, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said yesterday. Tien, who invited Gore to visit Taiwan to promote awareness on global warming, told reporters yesterday that she received an e-mail from the Harry Walker Agency, which has the exclusive right to arrange Gore's speeches, saying that Gore had canceled all his scheduled events in the next six months. The visit to Taiwan had been postponed to next year, she added. Tien said the reason for the cancelation was that Gore was considering a presidential bid." Take this with a big fat grain of salt. Gore's schedule was obviously not cleared for six months.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/...

October 1 – Scheduled event (Austin, TX)
Speaking arrangement at the Theatre at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas.

http://www.statesman.com/...

October 2 – Scheduled event (Denver, CO)
Speaking arrangement at Wells Fargo Theater.

http://www.vividseats.com/...

October 3 – Scheduled event (Rio Rancho, NM)
Speaking arrangement at Santa Ana Star Center.

http://www.gettix.net/...

October 6 – Declined event (India)
“The chieftains have invited Gore to their remote village for the award ceremony on Oct 6 where they expect 300,000 local people to attend.  The award will consist of some traditional gifts and a "small amount of money."
A spokeswoman for Gore said he was "very humbled" to hear of the award but did not know whether he would be able to attend the ceremony.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

October 8 – Scheduled event (Cupertino, CA)
Celebrity Forum Speaker Series. Flint Center.

http://www.celebrityforum.net/...

October 9 – Scheduled event (Cupertino, CA)
Celebrity Forum Speaker Series. Flint Center.

http://www.celebrityforum.net/...

October 11 – Scheduled event (Cupertino, CA)
Celebrity Forum Speaker Series. Flint Center.

http://www.celebrityforum.net/...

October 11 – Scheduled event (San Francisco, CA)

Sen. Barbara Boxer Fundraiser; Westin St. Francis Hotel, Grand Ballroom San Francisco, 4 to 6 PM

http://www.dailykos.com/...

October 12 – Nobel Peace Prize Awarded
No scheduled events.

October 17 – Scheduled event (Chicago, IL)

Economic Club of Chicago in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency.

http://www.suntimes.com/...

October 21 – ABC Debate
Democratic candidates debate on “This Week with George Stephanolopoulos”

No scheduled events.

October 23– Filing Deadline for Michigan Primary

November 1– Filing Deadline for Georgia Primary

November 1– Filing Deadline for South Carolina Primary

November 2 – CNN Debate
Democratic candidates debate on CNN. Cosponsored by Nevada Democratic Party.

No scheduled events.

November 5 – Filing Deadline for Illinois Primary

November 16 – Filing Deadline for New Hampshire Primary

November 20 – Scheduled event (Turks and Caicos)

"Former US Vice President Al Gore will be the keynote speaker of the first ever Environmental Conference hosted by the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, in collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy and the National Coral Reef Institute, to examine the mutual interdependency between local actions and global initiatives."

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/...

November 20 – Filing Deadline for Missouri Primary

November – Unscheduled event (Israel)

“While on the subject of global warming, former US vice president Al Gore, who is now making a career promoting global warming awareness and ecological threats in general, is scheduled to come to Israel in November to boost sales of his book The Inconvenient Truth, which laid the foundations for his documentary film of the same name. The Hebrew version is to be published by Ziblin Youth Communications.”

http://www.jpost.com/...

December 3 – Filing Deadline for Maryland Primary

December 3 – Filing Deadline for New York Primary

December 4 – Filing Deadline for California Primary

December 13 – Filing Deadline for Tennessee Primary

December 14 – Filing Deadline for Virginia Primary

December 17 - Filing Deadline for Arizona Primary

December 20 – Filing Deadline for Connecticut Primary

December 21 – Filing Deadline for Massachusetts Primary

December 31– Filing Deadline for Florida Primary

January 2 – Filing Deadline for Texas Primary

January 7 – Filing Deadline for New Jersey Primary

January 22 – Scheduled event (Gothenburg, Sweden)

On January 22, 2008, Gore will go to Gothenburg to receive the award at the city's public Save the Climate Event. "This will be an unforgettable evening with prominent artists - and with a speech by the most important opinion maker today on Planet Earth," Edman said.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/...

January 29 - Filing Deadline for Kentucky Primary

January – ABC Debate
Democratic primary debate yet to be scheduled for “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”.

Thanks again to all who have contributed. Your help has been much appreciated.

So what do you think guys? For a while, I figured the second half of October was empty just because it was such a long way off. But as every day passes and we get closer to the late-October dates and early filing deadlines, Gore's schedule remains relatively open.

One last quick note: Gore mentioned in his Emmy acceptance speech that we should expect some news about current.com in October. If an event is announced to coincide with this, I will post a GoreWatch immediately.

This is an Al Gore friendly diary in which organizing, calls for donations and conversations about meetups are absolutely welcome. This is a Draft Gore movement; not a movement in which we depend on him entering. We are trying to tell him that we want him for President. Think Dwight D. Eisenhower.

-fink

[Update: New title NOW with exclamation point because we're falling off the main page.]

•  Tips and recs

  And find your local meetup:

  http://draftalgore.meetup.com/

  -fink

  by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:23:31 PM PDT

  •  Thanks for Doing this!

    by Abraham Running For Congress When I Turn 25 on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:27:18 PM PDT

•  October is Magic month

  Nobel Peace prize anouncements

  My dream  Gore08

  otherwise

  Edwards 08

  by jimmyboyo on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:27:46 PM PDT

•  Gore has no rationale to run...

  ...unless he goes in for a British style NHS, Canadian Style UHC or the French damned thang.

  what's he gonna do now?

  by Salo on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:36:02 PM PDT

  •  If you're referring to Hillary's health care plan

    I doubt her speech about health care will be in the news much if he announces. Hell, his Emmy was just as big a story.

    And Al Gore is my candidate on EVERY issue including health care. If you do search the blogs for diaries from last Thursday, you'll find a real gem about Al Gore on healthcare.

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:40:30 PM PDT

    •  he'd have double down.

      Single Payer or bust.

      by Salo on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:14:04 PM PDT

      •  He already came out for single payer. n/t

        by Sinister Rae on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:21:38 PM PDT

    •  So Hillary finally took Al's advice

      The rumour is that as VP, Gore advised a more incremental approach in order to get the legislation through. Hillary froze him out and did not welcome his advice, hence a very strained relationship between the two.

      by never forget 2000 on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:47:13 PM PDT

  •  Rational rationale

    I'm not clairvoyant. But it is not hard to find logical arguments for his running. Mine are here.

    by MakeChessNotWar on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 10:18:59 PM PDT

•  Thanks for this as usual

  On the Tonight Show a couple days ago, he said the new CurrentTV website would be launching October 15th.  Here's the link to the appearance, which is also absolutely hilarious.

  by NYPopulist on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:39:00 PM PDT

  •  Funny! Thanks...n/t

    by la urracca on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 05:49:56 PM PDT

  •  LOL... pretty funny.

    I would have written it as him partnering with Twyla Tharp & Julie Taymor to create a multimedia Broadway show based on AIT, but that was still pretty amusing.  The other night we were joking about how he'd get a Tony.

    by latts on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:54:15 PM PDT

  •  good video!!

    by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 10:21:22 PM PDT

•  I don't know for sure, but plans can be

  changed if need be.

  by shpilk on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:01:51 PM PDT

•  Clearly he's clearing his calendar

  for October monster movie marathons.

  by Junior Bug on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:12:05 PM PDT

•  So no news is good news?

  I'd vote for Gore in a heartbeat, in the primary and the general.  But it's a bit of a stretch that an empty schedule implies plans to run, don't you think?

  Reminds me of Life of Brian: only the true messiah denies his divinity!

  by amitxjoshi on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:15:12 PM PDT

  •  Encourage him to fill in those dates

    http://www.ipetitions.com/...

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:19:03 PM PDT

•  My daughter's birthday is in October

  I'm fairly certain there won't be another cause for celebration that month.

  Unless . . . of course . . . . your daughter's having a birthday too. :)

  by livosh1 on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:16:37 PM PDT

  •  I don't have a daughter, but

    I'm having a birthday!  Does that count? :)

    by Sinister Rae on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:22:23 PM PDT

    •  Sure!!!

      Hope you have a happy and healthy one!

      by livosh1 on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:25:42 PM PDT

      •  Thanks! n/t

        by Sinister Rae on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:29:46 PM PDT

•  it's like "Waiting for Goredot"

  **

  by gnat on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:22:17 PM PDT

  •  No waiting. Drafting.

    We are drafting Al Gore. We won't give him a choice!

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:25:39 PM PDT

    •  from Sartre to Spartacus

      I certainly hope so. I am Gorecus.

      by gnat on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:28:49 PM PDT

•  fink - Current TV

  You might want to link to Current TV (not current.com), whose address is:  http://www.current.tv/

  by Terre on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:28:45 PM PDT

•  I hope your speculation is correct. n/t

  by Kentucky DeanDemocrat on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:35:55 PM PDT

  •  boy, me too n/t

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:46:21 PM PDT

•  me three n/t

  by superba on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 06:59:00 PM PDT

•  So what do you guys think?

  What do you think Al's plan are? Conjecture is healthy good sport.

  -fink

  by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:04:59 PM PDT

  •  I unfortunately don't have a clue

    He's got to be thinking about it and has to know that he'll never get a chance like this again (especially if a Democrat wins in 2008).  The stars have literally aligned for him to run.

    We'll know by the end of October...that's about all I can say with certainty.

    by NYPopulist on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:33:12 PM PDT

  •  Still curious about Oct 17th

    A rally is forming around the Oct 17th event. I wonder if there's anything there or if Gore would announce at another media event.

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:37:31 PM PDT

    •  I'll be there and will try to give Al our ballot

      petitions. If anyone reading this is collecting signatures, please email me at [e-mail]

      If you come to my DFA group's next meeting on Oct. 4, you can get your petitions notarized for free:  http://www.dfalink.com/...

      It really sux that Illinois' filing deadline is so ridiculously early!

      by Jim in Chicago on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:51:39 PM PDT

      •  Nov 5 right?

        Do I have that deadline right for Illinois?

        -fink

        by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:52:58 PM PDT

        •  Unfortunately, yes

          90 days after August 7 (1st day of circulating) = November 5, so that should be right.

          After all, the state NEEDS to have the petitions in 3 full $%#^ing months before the (moved up) primary. [/snark]

          by Jim in Chicago on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 08:13:58 PM PDT

          •  How's the effort going?

            Sorry to be nosey but I like hearing news from states I generally don't. Do you need Al's signature?

            -fink

            by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 08:18:18 PM PDT

            •  Yes. I'll try to get that too.

              ;-)

              by Jim in Chicago on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 08:52:21 PM PDT

  •  Wasn't there a Taiwanese article saying he'll run

    back in June?

    I believe there was a diary with a link to a Taiwanese paper quoting someone that his Calendar was clear after Live Earth because he was considering a run for the presidency?... I'll see if i can find the diary link...

    by DoctorWho on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:38:03 PM PDT

    •  I left it on the calendar.

      But the article within an article stated that Gore had cleared his schedule for 6 months. It got a lot of people excited at the time but, Gore having been all over the place, was quickly discredited.

      -fink

      by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:40:04 PM PDT

•  He is accepting his Nobel Prize. DUH.

  Then after that world wind tour, he will announce.

  Trust me. The Brazorian Oracles are hardly ever wrong.

  by pinche tejano on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:40:07 PM PDT

  •  Your lips to God's ear. n/t

    by never forget 2000 on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:48:23 PM PDT

•  I Say October

  Don't think Gore's schedule points to this, but other coniderations suggest this will be the case.  

  by gobigblue on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 07:56:15 PM PDT

•  Michigan Needs 12,396 Signatures By Oct. 23rd !!!

  I just received the following email (which I assume is legitimate!) - looking for volunteers to help in Michigan to get Gore's name on the ballot (in the last poll of likely Democratic voters, Gore received 36% of the votes, above Hillary's 32%)

  URGENT    Help needed to put Al Gore on the January Primary ballot

  To:        Michigan Supporters of Al Gore

  From:    Bob Alexander and Doug Kelley

              Michigan Draft Gore Co-Chairs

  URGENT:  As a result of the latest developments, including the newly-enacted Michigan Presidential Primary law, nominating petitions with the signatures of 12,396 registered Michigan voters must be submitted by OCTOBER 23 in order to put the name AL GORE on the January 15 Michigan primary ballot!  

  We are writing to ask your help in collecting petition signatures.

  The two-sided legal-length petition form is attached to this e-mail.  However, if you do not have the paper & capacity to print it, please reply to this e-mail with your full name and postal address, and we'll immediately mail you three petition forms and instructions.  

  If you print your own forms, let us know so we'll keep in touch.  

  Each petition is only for ONE county.  Before a voter signs, print the name of the county on the blank line below NOMINATING at the top of the petition.  Signatures of registered voters on one petition page must all be from the same county.  After the petition is filled, or you are finished, the circulator signs & dates the petition in the lower right.

  If people say they signed a Gore petition weeks or months ago, explain that THAT petition was urging him to run; this NEW petition is to put him on the ballot.  And if they ask if he is running, you can respond that we anticipate that he WILL be by late October; submitting these petitions keeps the door open for his entry.

  As you may know, Al Gore WON the August 14 Detroit News/WXYZ statewide poll of Democrats likely to vote.  The results:  Gore, 36%;   Clinton, 32%;   Obama, 16%;   Edwards, 8%.  Gore can WIN the Michigan primary if you will help us get him on the January 15 ballot!

  Please send us an e-mail reply with your full name and postal address!

  This huge effort will cost thousands of dollars in printing, postage, etc., so contributions will be greatly appreciated.  Checks can be made out to & sent to:  VOLUNTEERS TO DRAFT AL GORE FOR 2008, c/o D. Kelley, 910 Sunset Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103.  (The organization is properly registered with the Federal Election Commission.)

  With best wishes, and thanks for your efforts,

  Bob Alexander and Doug Kelley

   East Lansing         Ann Arbor

  Fink - you will probably want to add this to your GoreWatch...

  Should we/I make this into a separate diary, perhaps?

  by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:00:59 PM PDT

  •  Priority

    If you write it, I'll help you promote it. With the tight deadline, this should be action item number one for the Draft Gore movement.

    -fink

    by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:03:54 PM PDT

    •  Do you think...

      it's okay for me to copy/paste in the entire email I was sent?  (like I did above - not sure about rules for this...)....

      I need to get to sleep soon (have to get up early tomorrow, unfortunately)...

      Would it be better to post it now (when probably not too many people will see it), or wait until tomorrow evening??

      by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:07:43 PM PDT

      •  Hmm

        It's okay to copy and paste since it's an email. If you posted now it would be up for the morning crowd.

        It's urgent enough news to get attention from the Gore crowd.

        -fink

        by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:10:05 PM PDT

        •  Okay - I'll post it....

          should the mailing address (and maybe email address of the person who sent me the email) be included as well??

          I will not have any access to email during the day tomorrow (unfortunately...)

          by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:14:24 PM PDT

          •  I'll make some noise.

            I'll post links over at algore.org and the google group.

            -fink

            by fink on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:21:25 PM PDT

            •  What's happening in Florida??

              Do you know if anyone has started organizing a petition drive for Florida?  Their deadline is coming soon also (and surely Gore would win the Florida primary in a landslide, after what happened there in 2000 ????)

              by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 09:59:32 PM PDT

•  Considerable evidence link

  My thinking on why he will run is here.
  What you can do to help is hereand at AmericaForGore.

  by MakeChessNotWar on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 10:11:10 PM PDT

  •  Have you heard anything yet from the...

    Michigan Draft Gore people (like how to get them connected with the americaforgore.org website, etc.?)

    by kimberlyweldon on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 10:19:48 PM PDT

    •  This diary has prompted me to bring it up.

      I'll be emailing the steering committee in a moment.

      by MakeChessNotWar on Tue Sep 18, 2007 at 10:22:29 PM PDT

•  Oct. 5 & 6 - Los Angeles

  Oceana Fundraiser

  by practivist on Thu Sep 20, 2007 at 11:57:48 PM PDT