I am one who holds out the hope that Al Gore will enter the 2008 presidential race. And this is not a slam on Clinton, Edwards or Obama.
Gore is the best candidate to unite the disparate and potentially hostile components of the Democratic Party.
Gore is the best equipped to govern.
Posted by James E. Powell at April 3, 2007 09:39 PMVoters don't like Gore. Only 33% of voters said they'd vote for Gore. Even with Gore in, Hillary is the front runner and has a ton of cash. The Ice Queen is the one to beat.
Posted by muckdog at April 3, 2007 11:05 PMMuck, Gore's favorables inside the party are higher than you give credit for, and when Obama's fundraising totals come out Wednesday, the melting of the Ice Queen will begin its slow, steady drip.
Posted by Steve Soto at April 3, 2007 11:27 PMSteve,
The fact that Al Gore is that popular and he hasn't even declared it stunning. AIPAC's Queen, Hillary Clinton, had better be afraid -- very afraid.
If Gore enters the race for president in say, September, Hillary is toast.
Posted by Christopher at April 4, 2007 04:01 AMvoters don't like gore
gore was elected president in 2000..and don't ever forget it..i won't
Posted by dennis at April 4, 2007 04:18 AMI have been fervently hoping that Al will take the plunge for a long time. Maybe numbers like these will help him decide to do so.
Unfortunately, or not for him actually, his current lifestyle is very very nice. He's making tons of money. He's serving on a bunch of boards of high tech companies. He's having a big impact with his primary concerns, energy and global climate change, and he may be awarded the Nobel Peace prize this Fall.
Throw in the rumor that Tipper is dead set against a presidential bid and memories of past abuse and evidence that the corporate media are still venal hacks willing to distort, obfuscate and lie about him and I'm not so sure he will actually run.
I hope he does because he is, in my mind, unquestionably the best choice of ANY public figure.
Posted by DeminNewJ at April 4, 2007 04:37 AMThrow in the rumor that Tipper is dead set against a presidential bid...
Actually, the opposite is true.
"I think he'd be a fantastic president. He already got a majority of votes of people in this country once." - Tipper Gore on Good Morning America, June 13, 2006
Good for her!
Posted by Christopher at April 4, 2007 04:50 AM
concerning al gore..there is money and there is history and power..i think he wants a legacy beyond being rich..he wants to do whats best for america..i believe he'll run....it's his destiny
Posted by dennis at April 4, 2007 05:38 AMWell, sorry I'm so out of the loop, but who is giving Hillary all this cash, anyway? Hollywood, Dem CEOs, Hi-techers, AIPAC members, small donors? She sure can raise cash, given that I can't really seem to run across an ordinary Dem who just can't wait to work for her campaign or vote for her.
It looks like the party moneybags have decided to make our highest risk nominee the clear front runner, who's going to have a ton of staying power with all this money.
A candidate that most activist "progressives" have no real passion for, a triangulator in the Clintonian policy tradition of finding the failed "middle", whose home base is in the same region as our last failed candidate, a region which is already a complete lock for us in '08 no matter who our nominee.
A candidate utterly open to charges of "dynastism", coming upon the heels of the appalling failure of the disgusting Bush "dynasty". Who WANTS to see more of this "Battle of the First Families"?
Finally, she's the one pulling by far the most baggage behind her, with the highest level of "negatives" of the field. I don't get it.
I'm not saying she can't win, but she sure seems the toughest to get elected. What am I missing?
Posted by euzoius at April 4, 2007 05:56 AMWell, sorry I'm so out of the loop, but who is giving Hillary all this cash, anyway?...What am I missing?
e, I've asked myself these same questions. It's gotta be people longing for the good days of Bill Clinton's former presidency.
It won't be the same however. We all know she is GOP-lite.
Posted by Seven of Six at April 4, 2007 06:05 AM
You're not out of the loop euzoius, you're just out of the Beltway. I have to agree with what you said. She IS the media choice and always has been. They are salivating at the opportunity to dust off all the old, noisome "urban legends" about the Clintons.
It suits their puerile sense of theater and they don't even have to be original. Besides, if their masters want to have a chance of taking the White House, they must select a candidate that the base is not excited about and who will be beholden to the same old monied interests. Hilary got more cash, but Barrack had nearly as much and it came from 30,000 more contributors.
SoS, I have to disagree with your characterization of Hillary. She's not GOP lite. She's pure DLC and, while they are certainly coropratecentric, I think they would still rather beat the GOP and push their own agendas, which are marginally better than the utter dreck we've seen from today's GOP. She personally, might be a good president. I believe that she does share some progressive values and feels genuine "compassion" for the common folk. I just think she'll continue to triangulate , conceding far more than is necessary to chase that imaginary, receding center. She will also have one HELL of a ride from the "liberal media" before she MIGHT get elected. We can do better.
Posted by DeminNewJ at April 4, 2007 06:49 AMMaybe Rove is contributing to Hillary's campaign? Hasn't it been said that the Republicans want her to win because they feel she is the only one they could possibly beat? And, there's nothing we can't expect of Rove!
Posted by ggb at April 4, 2007 07:48 AMLets see, I written Gore, I've donated to Draft Gore sites, I've commented on blogs.
Maybe I need to write Tipper and suggest that her man is needed by all of us.
Please run, AL!
SoS, I have to disagree with your characterization of Hillary. She's not GOP lite. She's pure DLC and, while they are certainly coropratecentric, I think they would still rather beat the GOP and push their own agendas, which are marginally better than the utter dreck we've seen from today's GOP.
I should have elaborated.
She is a polarizing figure to the far right and hardcore liberals. I think this would be Rove and rush's (wet) dream for her to run. I personally think she is not electable. In fact, I'm sure that the USA is still not ready for a Woman, Black or Hispanic to be president, maybe v/p at best. Howvever, I don't care who it is, if it's Hillary, Obama or Richardson, I'm voting for the Dem candidate.
I just think we need someone much more Progressive than Hillary to recover quicker from bu$h'$ nightmare.
Posted by Seven of Six at April 4, 2007 07:59 AMThe Gore Effect hits Clinton and Obama equally. They both lose about 25% of their support.
Of course I don't believe Gore has any intention of getting into the race.
Posted by snark at April 4, 2007 10:19 AMWhat's amazing about Gore's numbers is not so much that he pulls 25% of the polled voters overall, but he pulls 25% away from each of the other candidates! That means that he has broad based support, but it also means that support for the other candidates is rather soft. That's bad news for Hillary.
Posted by buck at April 6, 2007 12:20 AM