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

[Lisette]

If Al Gore enters the race, I will leave the Democratic Party.
People give him way too much credit.
Like Hillary, he has an unspectacular carrer in politics.
Never have understood the fuss about either one

[huffblow]

How can Al save the democrats when he has dedicated his life to saving the planet Earth?

[ballewb]

Super powers, of course.

[CarlsV]

You're an idiot!

[proudcalib]

Al Gore has a long and distinguished record of public service both in and out of government. What on earth are you talking about?

[ballewb]

Really? I might be willing to accept your argument, but I need you to back up your assertions with some evidence. If you do some research and re-post with evidence indicating that either or both of them have not accomplished anything in their careers, I'm willing to give it a look-see. Otherwise, I'm just going to have to go with what I already know about them and disagree with you whole-heartedly.

[Libsrule]

So Lisette you'd rather see another four to eight years of Bush doctrine rather than a democrat who isn't Obama?

Please leave the democratic party now as you are obviously of no use to us anyway if you would rather see another Thug party member be president. I have NO use for Hillary but rather than see John McBush be president I'd vote for her.

I'm not a huge fan of Obambi but if he is the nominee I'll vote for him over Hillary and definitely over McBush.

So go ahead and leave, you're no use to the democratic party anyway.

[bagelmaven]

Yes, I'm good with that too. There are options. Gore/Obama is a slam dunk!! Please just compromise...please Gore/Obama that is my fantasy. When I read the Bloomberg story I thought that's great I could easily support that. I can BUT an Gore/Obama ticket is BRILLIANCE. Sheer brilliance. DO IT PLEASE.

[Fabienne]

Al Gore does not want to run! Can anyone out there understand that? Furthermore, this man has not won a single primary vote. There is no reason, both from his standpoint and the voters standpoint, that he should be the nominee. He is doing fine work where he is. Leave him alone.

[Jay20]

this is actually a great idea. this election should not be about the first female, or the first black, it should be about who can COME in first in November. If it is Hillary or Barack, then so be it. But if it cannot be, then we must nominate someone who can win. Just be happy if Obama is even on the ticket, with the way his campaign is going right now

[Fizzgig]

I agree with those who say it would be a bad idea for Gore to become the "consensus" candidate when he was not running. However, where he could be exremely valuable is that, as a strong and admired leader of the party, he could start - and today wouldn't be too soon - to take the 2 candidates aside and say that for the sake of the party, the election, and the country, they stop the nonsense now. I think that means that Sen. Clinton admits reality and "suspends" her campaign, and pledges to enthusiastically support the nominee.

[Fabienne]

There is a lot of bad blood between Gore and the Clintons and there is no way Senator Clinton could be swayed by him. And it is always doubtful that Gore can win the election. He is stale goods, and he doesn't campaign well. AND HE DOESN'T WANT TO RUN.

[hershy]

We remember Gore and we remember 2000. Remember Nader? Let's think about this lesson for a moment. Let's call it, "When is selfish too selfish?"

Selfish is too selfish...
...whispering to donors that McCain '08 only means Hillary '12.

Selfish is too selfish...
...tolerating leaks, negativity, and delegate gaming to overturn results -- all par for the course.

Selfish is too selfish...
...the math to turn the tables reveals a scorched earth -- and you're okay with that.

Sure, Hillary has the right to run, but now she's got some s'plainin' to do. There's an octogenarian on the high court hanging on by a toenail. He doesn't want to be there, but stays for the good of the country. He knows what will replace him. Let's help him out here. Let's grasp the bigger picture and hold Hillary to a much higher standard. Ready?

[dutchess2]

Does anyone in this world or the next believe the Democrat National Committee can sanction anyway in 'ell's half acre for Obama to arrive at the convention with the most delegates, the most popular votes, and the most states won, only to have a bunch of fat cat democrats take it from him?


Clinton and her supporters need to stop to realize how they look. Clinton didn't care about Florida and Michigan votes not counting until she needed them.... and then she bleated how they were being disenfranchized....

......................but she wouldn't mind disenfranchizing the majority of voters who have voted so far if
it would get her the White House?

IN IT TO WANT IT BUT NOT TO WIN IT.

[IslandGyal]

Where are the 527s when you need one? I can see all Hillary's mis-statements put together in ad for us to see.

[NoRemorse]

FAT CAT DEMOCRAT: Yes, Obama won the most delegates, the most states and the popular vote. But not by much. And he couldn't carry the states with the electoral votes that count in November. I think Clinton is more electable than Obama. And it's entirely within the rules for me to vote my conscience for the Democrats. And Obama's people keep showing total disdain for me - even calling me a Fat Cat Democrat.

[Fabienne]

This misprophesying about Obama not being able to win the large electoral states in the autumn has just been blown skyhigh by the latest polls. He beat McCain in California and Connecticut by a much greater margin than does Senator Clinton. This is all just fiddlefaddle and it's time to move on to other arguments.

[DCNana]

If you think your personal opinion should have more weight than the opinions of millions of voters, you are a "fat cat", or something worse: dictatorial. The post-war gen "elders" of the party can't seem to accept that the party's voters want Barack Obama to be our leader--not Hllary Clinton, not Bill Clinton, not Al Gore. They are having a hard time relinquishing any part of their power to a new generation. But Mr Obama has won the right to be treated with respect by the superdelegates, and so have the Democratic primary voters.

[ballewb]

"And he couldn't carry the states with the electoral votes that count in November."

The problem that I have with this argument is that I don't believe that victory in the primary elections translates directly into performance in the general election. So what ifHC can win Dem votes in a Dem election contest? Does that mean that those same Dem voters would not vote for the Dem candidate in a general election unless it is HC? I don't accept that premise. What's to to stop us from saying that BO's performance in the traditionally "red" states would translate into victories in some of them come time for the general election? Both are equally unsupported.

[Kenji]

What is this Democrat National Committee? Never heard of it.

[Boadicea]

A woman and a black man, both well qualified, duke it out for almost a year. At the end, yet another rich white southern male, after sitting out the fight and contributing absolutely nothing to the discussion, walks in and takes the prize.

Not going to happen.

[hollyo]

I don't Al Gore wants any part of it...John Edwards should have stayed in.

[SethBLiNK]

Wow, what a fantastic idea.

Offer America the first viable female candidate and the first viable non-white candidate EVER, and then after more voters show up to vote for both of them than any other candidate for a nomination has ever gotten, do a bait and switch and insert a white male candidate who has already run and lost.

Nice way to make sure that nobody ever believes in the election process ever again.

PS-No disrespect to VP Gore, who I greatly admire and probably would have backed had he jumped in last year, but c'mon.

[NoRemorse]

I agree with this. Wouldn't be right or smart.

[accountability]

I agree SethBlink.

On the other hand with all the ugliness that the supporters of both candidates bring no matter who gets the nomination a whole hell of a lot of people will be pissed off.
Why not piss them all off!
LOL
I was thrilled with the candidates. I support them both. I was 100% Obama for quite awhile but various insights and reasearch gave me a greater understanding of Clinton and there was something that disturbed me that happened with Obama. Still, I support them both. Sometimes I am more pro Obama, sometimes I am more Pro Hillary, sometimes one or the other gives me pause. But I am not anti anyone. (except McCain and the folks that think attacking and hating is being involved and supporting a campaign.
ewwww.

[jsinclair]

Gore is widely respected by Democrats but has neither the charisma, the base, nor the appeal to a broad spectrum of voters that a nominee needs. Plus, voters would feel ROBBED (donation-wise as well as through voting) if the convention chooses Gore.

As VP? Neither Clinton-Gore nor Obama-Gore bring anything exciting or interesting (or different) to the equation. Been there, done that.

Gore in the Cabinet would be a great choice. But his chance as president is over. And VP? Been there, done that. Just....no.

What he should do is weigh in for Obama and end this. But...clearly....he won't.

[accountability]

Jsinclair:
"but has neither the charisma, the base, nor the appeal to a broad spectrum of voters that a nominee needs."
Well, he did win the popular vote in 2000 so that was more than half the voters who supported him, he also won Florida but had it stolen.

As far as Charisma goes... that is what everyone said about the idiot king. He has charisma, the MSM were gushing over him with man crush euphoria. Everybody wanted to have a beer with him.

Look where that got us.
I don't care about Charisma, I don't even care if I personally like the President as long as I believe they are working for the benefit of "the least of these."
I don't think I have ever really hated anyone in Washington until this last regime. I was stunned with the amount of hate and rage I have felt over the last 8 years for someone I don't know. I don't expect to agree with everything a President does. He (or she) doesn't just serve me and my beliefs and desires (dammit) and I don't know what the hell is going on in Washington, why some votes are made, some deals are struck. Basically in a Democracy one gives in on something so they can get something else they believe to be more important for their people or the country. No one is going to be 100% happy.
Maybe Feigold could be convinced.

[LateDave]

accountability

You must be pretty young. I had my 8 years hate for Reagan. I was too young to have my hate for Nixon--I was in the service when he went down and was scared, but not seething. I learned more about him later; he really deserved loathing, along with Kissinger.

But Reagan! The manure! The greed! The bald-faced lying! The fake charisma! The vainglory! The claim by his (His?) worshipers that he ended the cold war! Iran-Contra! Morning in America! Ronald Reagan National Airport! The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan! Aaarrrghh!

[fiascolvr]

This is a new height of nonsense. I like Gore, but jeez.

[morphitologist]

This is the absolute (well ok, maybe not "absolute") height of nonsense. First of all, Al Gore has unequivocally stated numerous times that he is not in any way, shape or form at all interested in running for the presidency. Furthermore, what crackpipe are you smoking that would make you think that Clinton wouldn't have to pull of the miracle of miracles to win the nomination? Obama will clearly own the popular vote and the most states and have the most pledged delegates. We all know the superdelegates wouldn't dream of going against the will of the people, so where's the story?

I'm growing increasingly tired and annoyed with prognosticators, pontificators, and pointy-headed loudmouth pundits who are paid to opine on whatever silly shenanigans the news shows cook up for them to chatter on about. It's silly. It's pointless. It only serves to beef up ratings for CNN, MSNBC and Faux News and the empty careers of these has-beens (I mean, COME ON! Dick Morris? Juan Williams? Pat Buchanan? Is this the has-been all stars?) who are desperate to seem relevant while parroting whatever talking point has been decided on that day.

[rmetz74]

Gore has repeatedly said he's not interested in the Presidency, and he's remined neutral until now so that he can help negotiate a compromise. This is just the media speculating it's way into a distraction.

[mhoiles]

Exactly - right above this was some chat about bloomberg/obama. The us media is extremely irresponsible and the voters have continued to b!tch slap them with their vote!

[Davee1]

I wish it WERE just media speculation, but I have a client (I am an exercise physiologist) who is a prominent local politician, who told me about this a few days ago. He got his info from "Washington insiders", whatever that means. I agree with the majority of the sentiment here. I like Gore, but subverting the will of the people like that is a BAD idea.

[rachel88]

Then why even have an election?

[scottco]

Have we really had an election for president lately?

[LeftLeaner]

Good Point, the Supreme Court GAVE BUSH the election in 2000

and BLACKWELL /DIEBOLD (who promised the election) handed BUSH the elction in Ohio in 2004.

The DEMS always seem to get screwed no matter what the deal is.

It's too frustrating for words.

[accountability]

good point scottco.

After all Gord did win in 2000. Maybe it would be good for him to clean up this mess, get the greening of the econiomy started and then turn it over to someone else.

Ok, I could live with that.

Feingold?

Seriously. There is nothing wrong with this going on. Why shouldn't it? I don't think it is bad for the party, I think the media is bad for the party and for elections and democracy in general. I think they need to be disentangled from corporate interests and get back to being the 4th estate and keeping the public informed and investigating the power brokers to make sure everything is on the up and up.
Go ahead, keep entertainment "living" sports, whatever, but get news and politics out of the corporate structure. Then the glorified heads who are in it for their own notariety will either go back to broadcasting sports or being entertainment reporters or whatever else will pay them what they are getting now, and the people who really have a love for reporting and investigating will do what they do best... right now I don't know who they are. There is no clarity, it is all the same sludge.

[pychicfakes]

I agree, exactly. people have spent money and time, just to have take it from both of them. That's crazy

[jmcallahan]

Much ado over a nothing Time piece that is getting far more attention than it deserves.

[rmetz74]

Amen. Ridiculous invented excuse for a story.

[pigsatthetrough]

One way that Gore could save the Democrats. He could do what McCain was tempted to do, and jump to the other party. If he becomes a Republican, and gets the nod for VP with McCain, that would ensure a Democrat victory. Otherwise there really isn't anything he can do, except of course (seriously) he may have some suasion with some of the superdelegates.

[Bushgirlsgonewild]

.

Ludicrous teem to use – there is no ‘saving’ necessary.

I believe the current count has Clinton with a 56 superdelegate advantage but she’s behind in the pledged delegates by about 120. I think the ‘superdelegates’ not yet committed will go for Obama enough to put him over, and I do think Al will endorse Obama or he won’t endorse anyone.

In any case. Time magazine is hardly the place to find intelligent coverage of an issue like this.

Also, Obama has nothing to fear from McCain – hear me now and believe me later: Obama’s vetting has been accomplished – McCain has run out of ‘charm’ and will undergo a righteous challenge from the media (finally), if for no other reason that the way the surge will collapse this summer.

Obama / Gore might be a good ticket.

.

[kash79]

Just to correct your number: Hillary has about 37 super delegate advantage and he has about 160 pledged delagate advantage. Just to keep this in context- she had 96 super delegate advantage and 9 pledged delegate disadvantage leading into Feb 5. Obama covered a lot of ground in the last two months. Infact, he won more super delegates and pledged delegates following the March 4 primary- thanks to MS, WY, California final count and Iowa second-phase delegate assignment.

I'm not saying this to dissappoint anyone- it's not only that Hillary should win 64% of the remaining vote and 65% of the remaining super delegates- but the fact that she has not made any delegate progress since Feb 5 makes it clear. She is just hurting the party by her adamancy.

At least she should stay away from attacks and siding with McCain for the sake of the war, economy and the country. If She can pull a mircale well fine otherwise she has the responsibility to protect the party. If she remains devisive and continues her kitchen sink even if she wins the nomination, she'll end up hurting a lot of democrats and will hurt the chances in 08.

At least stay classy Hillary. Attack McCain not Obama- it's best for you and the party.