From what we know, it appears that Al Gore will not run for President. I understand why Gore does not want to run. I understand why Gore does not want to put his family through another run. I understand why Gore does not want to put himself through another run. But this is not about Al Gore. This is not about Al Gore's family. This is the future of our country. Al Gore has a responsibility and an obligation to run. We are at a moment in our history where we need a great leader, a proven leader, and a leader who can unite our nation (and our party). Al Gore is this leader.
[Note: I changed the title, because I think maybe the word "betraying" is too strong and implies that he is committing treason. What I mean is that I think Al Gore would win, would make a great President, would do great things for the country and the world, and thus failing to act would be a betrayal to his potential and to the potential good he can do for the country and the world.]
Time-and-again, Al Gore has proven that he has the foresight and wisdom to guide this nation through these times. He was against the Second Iraq War when the rest of our "mainstream leaders" cowered and deferred entirely to Bush. He was for the First Gulf War -- recognizing that international law and the integrity of states must be respected -- when the rest of our "mainstream" leaders were lost and could not come to a clear position. He recognized the environmental crises long before the rest of our "mainstream" leaders and was derided as holding "fringe" views on the subject. Now, however, he has been able to articulate a clear vision to Americans of the real danger we face -- recall that the Clinton Administration refused to take any real action on Kyoto.
Al Gore can also unite our party. He is respected by the netroots. He is respected (grudgingly) by the establishment. He is respected (grudgingly) by the big money men and the increasingly-irrelevant DLC. We all know that the nomination is his for the taking. Hillary, Obama, and Edwards -- all of whom I respect in different ways -- could not beat Gore. Further, Al Gore has already won a national election three times (twice as Veep and once as the Presidential candidate). With our gains in the Mountain West, he has the potential to win these states as well, given his clear environmental message and (although some may not agree with him) his understanding of the fusion of gun-rights and environmentalism.
Given all this, Gore must run. As I said above, this is not about him anymore. We are told Moses argued with G-d after seeing the burning bush and begged him to choose another, but G-d would not relent and commanded him to return to Egypt and lead his people. Moses, then an old man, was living comfortably with his adopted people and his family, and had already had to flee Egypt once before for taking a stand against injustice. Certainly, Moses personally would have been better off had he refused G-d. Certainly, his family would have been more comfortable and suffered less anxiety had Moses stayed with the Midianites. Yet history would not be what it is had Moses refused his responsibility. I know the analogy is exagerrated and I am not saying Gore is Moses. But the lesson of the story nevertheless applies. Sometimes, people must make real sacrifices and take actions that they do not want to take for the good of their people. I implore Mr. Gore to make these sacrifices and to take his place as the next President of the United States. I truly believe anything less would be a betrayal of this country.
I add a simple poll.