Time Mag Cover: "How Al Gore Could Save The Democrats"

With Democrats beginning to voice fears about a long summer of two candidates sniping over electability, the name of unofficial party elder Al Gore has resurfaced. Gore was tossed around early and often as a potential nominee, complete with his own grass roots recruiting party. However, the former Vice President and Nobel laureate assiduously avoided exhortations to run.

Nevertheless, the Gore question is coming back. Joe Klein is the latest to make the case for Al Gore coming into the Democratic race in the case of a brokered convention:

"Let's say the elders of the Democratic Party decide, when the primaries end, that neither Obama nor Clinton is viable. ... All they'd have to do would be to convince a significant fraction of their superdelegate friends, maybe fewer than 100, to announce that they were taking a pass on the first ballot at the Denver convention, which would deny the 2,025 votes necessary to Obama or Clinton. What if they then approached Gore and asked him to be the nominee, for the good of the party-and suggested that he take Obama as his running mate? ... A prominent fund raiser told me, 'Gore-Obama is the ticket a lot of people wanted in the first place.'"

Meanwhile, Jason Horowitz this week tried to outline the timing of a Gore endorsement:

"If Gore were to weigh in, he would have to do so before the superdelegates begin breaking for either Obama or Clinton," said a former Gore adviser, after laying out the various scenarios that might prompt the former vice president to get involved. "The superdelegates constitute the last true contest in this race. And for many, Gore is someone they talk to, listen to, and whom a lot of them admire and respect. Having him make a closing argument for either candidate would carry significant weight with some of these last-man-standing voters."

And earlier this week, Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) suggested that Al Gore as an alternate coming out of a brokered convention:

"If it (the nomination process) goes into the convention, don't be surprised if someone different is at the top of the ticket," Mahoney said.

A compromise candidate could be someone such as former vice president Al Gore, Mahoney said last week during a meeting with this news organization's editorial board.

If either Clinton or Obama suggested to a deadlocked convention a ticket of Gore-Clinton or Gore-Obama, the Democratic Party would accept it, Mahoney said.

(Hat tip Politico)

Comments

[Jer1957]

Those of us that care about the future of the country require more of a presidential candidate than a repeatedly loudly-shouted 'yes, we can,' by paid campaign staff on TV.

Obama's many financial community sponsors do not now--and never did intend--for him to be president.

Obama, in his prime sponsors' view was merely the right-wing's anti-Hillary marketing gimmick.

Since they have already destroyed the GOP, with the corrupt McCain's nomination--why should the British financial community manipulators of corrupt American politics stop there?

Of course these speculators want the pliable Obama. Chicago's Barack knows which side his bread is buttered on. He cut his teeth in Chicago politics.

Just as I did. And Emil Jones before both of us. Sorry, Barry.
.

[decaturdakota]

Barack Obama as president and Senator Jim Webb as vice president would be the dream ticket.

[whimsicalpig]

why would potential presidential candidate webb want to be associated with a possible obama presidency.

even if obama manages to grab the nomination and by some miracle gtes elected. his term will be a disaster, a jimmy carter re-do of stagnation as the escounced congress answers to their K-street sponsors and virtually ignores the guy in the white house,

anyone with a brain knows no one is going to stop this war for the next decade or more, we WILL NOT leave all the oil unattended.

the economy will be in a recession verging on depression and there will be NO support for any changing of the status quo in the midst of a financial disaster.

the obama followers think they are grabbing the brass ring to wealth redistribution with this guy.

why would webb want to associate himself with this?

[Jer1957]

What a shock!

The same Time magazine, that in the 1930s editorially preferred Mussolini and Hitler over FDR, now gushes over Hedge Fund Manager Al Gore.

No thanks. I am a Democrat not a fascist.

No More Gore. Time to go back to FDR.

Al Gore is very interested in things 'green'--especially green currency in his bank account.
(See election 2000.)

Bil Clinton learned too late that Gore --rhymes with Whore.

[gmundenat]

If Howard Dean had an ounce of leadership capacity, he'd quash this non-sense post haste. This is a distraction, and provides the illusion of a possible solution. Reality check: Hillary will not step aside. Not for you, me, the media, fellow senators, voters, delegates, superdelegates, or anyone else. Dean should crawl out from under his desk and show some spine.

[Nimajoon31]

I'm just as turned off by Obama supporters as I am with Hillary herself. Both sides are full of idiots.

I would be so happy if Gore ran.

[dsegal2007]

As an Obama supporter from Day 1, I could live with a Gore-Obama ticket. I think the odds of that happening are mighty slim--but wouldn't it be deliciously ironic if it turned out that way, considering that it will be Hillary's fault if the nomination has to be negotiated at the convention. If she had any concern for the Democratic Party as anything other than a vehicle for her own ambitions, she would bow out of the race now.

[ME08]

Any ideas coming out of the mouth of that incredible idiot Joe Klein are automatically moribund...Al Gore is not so stupid as to get himself entrapped again in the shit he put up with in 2000...

[WaveFunction]

Don't make a judgment on our candidate simply because of his supporters.

Judge the man for the President you think he'll be. We're not him. Don't let us cloud your judgment.

[MNDADDY]

"Save . . . " whom from what?

Save you and frat bros for wasting your pizza money on daddy's card?

Get a job and a life

GO DEMS '08

[lacyadjuster]

I think its ridiculous to slam Gore or Edwards for not deciding "right this minute" to pick Obama or Clinton. Frankly, I'm having some trouble with the decision myself. And no, I don't think an Obama/Clinton, or Clinton/Obama ticket is going to beat McCain. I stil believe that Al Gore or alternatively John Edwards were and are the best hope for us Democrats to beat McCain, and frankly, isn't what its all about people? Sheesh.
However, I do dream about the scenario where neither Clinton or Obama get a clear majority in the first go-round at the Convention. Someone then nominates Gore, and all delegates who were committed the first go-round, now are uncommited, and overwhelmingly nominate Gore who agrees to run and selects Obama as his VP. This is my dream, wish and prayer. From anyone's lips for Gore to God's ears!!

[stop7997]

I'd guess that Al Gore's negative numbers among Republicans are about as high as Hillary's. Either one on the ticket would galvanize conservatives to get out the vote, thereby putting a severe dent in the number of pickups in the House and Senate. Both on the ticket? That would be a recipe for disaster for the Democratic Party and the country.
Joe Klein is not for a Democratic victory. He is for a centrist victory and, like so many of his kind, I believe that he would work to sabotage the Democrats if he sees a progressive, populist, grassroots movement taking hold.

[ClevelandTom]

"I'd guess that Al Gore's negative numbers among Republicans are about as high as Hillary's."

I haven't seen any polls but I'd be amazed if that were true.

[stop7997]

Well it was just a guess, from what I hear on conservative talk radio, so I did a little research. This from a DailyKos posting last fall, quoting a Gallup poll:
"When asked about their willingness to vote for Gore should he become a candidate, two polls conducted this spring found close to half of registered voters saying they would not consider voting for him. Clinton performed better than Gore in the Pew Research Center poll, with 43% of registered voters saying there was no chance they would vote for her. So even if Gore were to enter the race and win the Democratic nomination, he would start out with a substantial level of committed opposition." Here's the link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/15/12246/702/406/398260
"Clinton performed better than Gore." Of course, Hillary has done herself a lot of damage since then, but the bottom line is conservatives hate Gore and, in my opinion, his presence in the race would be a big boost for a conservative get out the vote effort. I will say that I think there would be an equal pro-Gore effort from the left, which I don't see happening for Hillary.

[stop7997]

Not a lot of diversity there: two southern white men (neither of which carried his own home state in his respective Presidential / Vice Presidential race).

Don't get me wrong, I like them both, but it doesn't make sense to me as a Presidential ticket.

[Rosanneofpgh]

just stop, stop!!! Gore can carry anybody on his ticket. Although Im hoping he'll draft John Edwards for his VP. That would be a dream come true for me.

[stop7997]

Not a lot of diversity there: two southern white men (neither of which carried his own home state in his respective Presidential / Vice Presidential race).

Don't get me wrong, I like them both, but it doesn't make sense to me as a Presidential ticket.

[sa]

no gore, no victory.
know gore, know victory.

.

[BigBagel]

A bunch of people put some skin in the game and go for it. Two are left standing. Go pull a guy out of the stands and hand him the prize. What a dumb idea.

[sa]

gore has paid more dues
than the other two.

winning is never a dumb idea.

[VicPerry]

Joe Klein has negative credibility, but to be fair, a lot of pundits need to get out of the steam room. Put Al Gore at the head of the line? What does he have, like, a couple of dozen write-in votes? Yes, they will want to piss off ALL the primary voters.. Makes SO much sense. Meanwhile, we are to believe that McCain would run with a Democrat and Obama would run with a Republican. Sure. I wish there were someplace I could go bet against all three of these fantasy scenarios coming to pass, I'd have a summer vacation.

[ddog323]

This will never happen.

Let me explain it to you all: Barack is winning fair and square.

It's non-negotiable.

[Rosanneofpgh]

So did Al Gore and you saw what happened to him, didnt you, dog?

I rest my case.

[NotObamaGirl]

Obama has not won a single blue state with more than 100 delegates [except for his home state] nor any of the critical swing states [Ohio and Florida]. Barack is ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination by winning a bunch of red state caucuses in which a tiny percent of the Democratic electorate actually had their say. You're right that Barack is winning fair and square, but he's ahead by winning red states (which will never go blue this November) and small blue states. This will not get him into the White House.

Gore as the nominee would be a dream come true!

[WaveFunction]

AH! So that's how you win!

I always thought it was winning the popular vote and delegate count. Turns out you have to win just the 'important states.' My bad.

You Clinton supporters with your budget mobility goal posts! Very sneaky!

[AnnaList]

I think Joe Klein has his own agenda. Al Gore is a very decent and intelligent man, who would have made a great president. That, however, is the problem. Gore should have fought for himself, for the sake of the country, and for those of us who voted for him. He didn't, and as a result we find ourselves bogged down in Iraq, four thousand lives lost, nearly thirty thousand injured, a weakened military, a rotten economy, a shredded Constitution, dificient health care, and war profiteers laughing all the way to the bank. It would have been better to have run the risk of a Constitutional crises. Even that could not have been any worse than what Bushand Cheney have done to this country.

[J E Mugford]

Al Gore does well in his role as elder statesman and respected promoter of the environmental movement. While his endorsement of Obama would probably seal Hillary's fate cleanly, his further role in the campaign should be limited to focusing Obama's policies regarding environmental concerns and working to promote those policies. The idea of him participating as a running mate in either the top or second spot is silly, and would be detrimental to the causes he cares about.

[lissielu]

The only thing Al Gore should do is back Barack Obama. His silence is the sign of a coward.

[ddog323]

Agreed. You know he hates Hillary.

The only thing I'll cut him some slack on, is if he's waiting for a crucial moment to intervene. But I'd say the party tearing itself apart is pretty crucial.

[ron071]

lissielu is urged to expand her thinking beyond the box and realize that we need Gore uncommitted if a resolution becomes necessary.

[stlswest]

John Edwards is also disappointingly silent.

[richardgordon]

That is a stupid statement. Clearly half the democrats are backing Hillary and half for Obama. Gore has staked out an important position on Climate Change. Believe it or not Climate Change is an issue that is overwhelmingly more important than petty politics. Especially the bickering that is going on in the Democratic Party right now. The best thing Gore could could do is remain silent until the next president is elected. Then, whether its a Republican or Democratic President who is elected, Gore achieves far more influence by working with whoever comes to power. If he backs one candidate over the other and the candidate he endorses loses, he loses an awful lot of influence with who ever is elected. The issue of Global Climate Change is far too important for Gore to gamble on which candidate will win. He needs to be able to work with whoever gets elected President.

[WaveFunction]

Interesting and thoughtful answer. But do you honestly think McCain will give a damn what Al Gore has to say?

Al Gore could put his weight behind one of these candidates right now or very soon and end this contest and make it very easy for them to walk to the Whitehouse, where he would have unfettered access to them and possibly be put in a cabinet position or at the head of a Global Warming task force.

[dajay]

Yeah, Al Gore should back Barack Obama, because the spoiled brat Obama supporters want him too.

Okey, dokey. Keep the dream alive in the Twilight Zone.

[WebForce1]

I don't understand whay Al Gore is so revered in the Democratic Party.
He is a champion for the environment, and has a Nobel Prize to show for it and I give him all due respect in that regard.
But let's not forget that it was Al Gore that bought into the Republican propaganda machine and distanced himself from Bill Clinton in the 2000 campaign.
Had he remained true to his friends, as Clinton was ready and willing to campaign for him, he would have won the election and George W. would never have set foot in the white house.
In a very real sense, Al Gore's lack of judgement cost him the White House, and put all of us through this eight year nightmare.

[Jocalo]

I seem to recall sex scandals and impeachment putting the Democratic party on shaky ground. Rove used Clinton fatigue and the idea of restoring morality to the white house to "win." Gore should have run a less wonky, more personal campaign, but not using Bill Clinton was smart. Clinton was in the national doghouse and his hijinks brought out the conservatives like ants at a picnic.

[kristin]

George W., with much help from Karl Rove and some from the SCOTUS, stole both elections

[dawlishgal]

So Gore distanced himself from Clinton, perhaps because Clinton behaved like a twelve-year old in the first blush of puberty and besides that, broke the law when he committed PERJURY! Do you honestly think that Gore wouldn't have welcomed Clinton's campaign efforts in the unlikely event that Clinton had managed to behave himself?

Gore's big mistake was taking on Lieberman as his VP candidate and even bigger one was not sucking up to the press the way Bush did.