We're getting close to crunch time ... diaries are being posted about the deadlines to file in various state primaries, and it seems that if the issue isn't decided by Halloween it's going to be much harder to get Al into the nomination process. Theoretically he could drop his hat in a week before the Democratic convention, but that's not the way Al plays (nor should he).
dKos and other polls over the past year show overwhelming support for the candidacy of Al Gore. So -- what reason could there be for Al Gore to not run, yet remain viable, with the American political process?
The answer: the absolute mess in Washington left by the Bushies. (cont'd)
Back in '93-94, Vice President Gore spearheaded a task force designed to improve federal governmental efficiencies. The answer was "Reinventing Government", or "ReGo" (which Al once joked is "Gore spelled sideways". It was a series of associated white papers and presentations talking about how to make our government function more effectively.
Contrast the notion of "a more effective government" with eight years of cronyism and everything else done under the Republican aegis. (It's exhausting to tabulate, so let's call it "Brownie".) Besides a runaway military-industrial complex, the Brownie factor infuses and corrupts the tops of every agency and department of the Executive. Does anyone really think the ship of state can be reversed in just the next four years?
When you view the magnitude of the Bush Mistake that must be undone -- and try to restore budgetary balance -- and get our troops extricated from the quagmire of the Middle East -- it's clear that whoever becomes the next President is going to be forced to do some unpopular things, almost immediately. This is likely to make the next President a single-term officeholder.
If Al Gore sits out this 2008 election cycle (and stays out of the administration of the upcoming Democratic President) he can avoid making those decisions, and remain a viable, fresh alternative in 2012.
This is a strictly political calculation, designed toward the end game. It means saving your last best shot for the buzzer. And it gives us four more years to prepare. What do you think?