Gore for President? Again? With Al Gore being declared the joint winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the pressure is intensifying from lobbying groups who want to see him make a run for the US Presidency which many right thinking people believe was stolen from him in the debacle of 2000.
I must admit... it is a hella tempting prospect. Clearly the Republicans need to go. (Of course, as a black person and a person of a liberal political bent, I never thought they should have been there in the first place.) And I suspect many Americans now bitterly rue the mistake they made in 2000 by 'electing' George Bush over Gore. So that nostalgia factor is heavily present.
And then - God knows, you got to respect how Gore came back from such a devastatingly close presidential race in 2000. He could easily have let himself stay embittered and mutter 'I wuz robbed' all the days of his life.
But he did not. He grew a beard and then he got a life. Used his stature as 'almost president' to raise major interest and bring attention to a serious issue that was important to him. In so doing, he has raised the profile of the issue tremendously, given it the attention it really deserves and forced people worldwide to have a conversation about it. Anonymous scientists without the 'brand recognition' of Gore could have tried futilely for years (as they had been) to get people pay attention to how crucial climate change is.
It's funny now if you consider how Gore's image has been revamped. There was a time when he was thought to be dull and wooden and uninteresting. People underestimated and undervalued him and he did not win as he deserved. Now his public image is far, far better than that of Dubya.
So will he go for it? I'm torn. I have been excited at the prospect of a female US president (Hillary) and even more so at the prospect of a (sexy:) black one (Barack). The US is still the most powerful and influential country in the world and having either of these people as president would be a powerful message and symbol.
But at the end of the day, I just want the Republicans to lose. And for the Democrats to win. And for some sanity to return to the White House.
And I think Gore has the best chance. I think the Republicans would really quake at the prospect of a Gore 2.0 (or 2.8?) candidacy.
So I think I would tentatively lean towards a Gore presidential run.
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Gore's accomplishments since he "lost" the presidential election have likely been greater than anything the presidency would have enabled him to achieve.
When you're trying to raise money for an election, you have to cater to the interests of those with the money. In the U.S. that means big corporations.
To run again would be a step backwards. Maybe Gore appears not so boring because he has found his calling in life: to demand and encourage better stewardship of the environment.
Plus, I'm excited at the prospect of a female or Black president.
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