Gore: Dem Race Will "Resolve Itself," No Urgency To Intervene

MURFREESBORO - Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday that he expects the Democratic nomination fight will "resolve itself" before the party's convention in late August.

Gore told The Associated Press that he sees no urgency in endorsing a presidential candidate.

"What have we got, five months left?" he said in a brief interview after a speech at Middle Tennessee State University.

When pressed that several prominent Democrats, including Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, have expressed hope for an earlier decision on the nomination, Gore said: "I think it's going to resolve itself. But we'll see."

Gore didn't elaborate on how he expects the nomination to be decided before the convention in Denver.

Neither Obama nor Clinton is on track to win enough delegates in primaries and caucuses to clinch the nomination, so superdelegates like Gore could decide the winner.

Bredesen, another undecided Tennessee superdelegate, is proposing the nearly 800 superdelegates cast ballots in a two-day primary in June after the last voter primary, to avoid a prolonged nomination fight. Bredesen is concerned the fallout from such a battle could hurt the Democratic Party's chances in the general election.

Bredesen said that he spoke with Gore about the superdelegate primary idea after he first proposed it in a New York Times opinion piece last week. Bredesen said Gore called it an interesting idea but didn't plan to get involved.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has stated that he does not endorse the idea of a superdelegate primary, but Bredesen said there has been a better reception with Democrats outside the Washington Beltway.

Bredesen has made his case in several cable news appearances this week and may have another chance to gather support among his colleagues when he travels to a Democratic Governors Association meeting in Montana over the weekend.

"However this is resolved, it has got to have a sense of fairness to it," Bredesen said.

Comments

[joja]

10:47 AM on 03/30/2008

Thanks, Al. We knew we could count on you to inject some sanity back into this fiasco -- NOT!

What Gore's really saying is, he hopes it will resolve itself in a spontaneous call for HIS nomination.

Dems don't like to look backwards, Al, especially when it's a trainwreck they see in the rear-view mirror -- like 2000 turned out to be.

Grow a pair and do the right thing -- endorse Obama for the good of the party . . . and the country. Use some of that Nobel Prize cache you've built up.

[cybersense]

09:25 AM on 03/30/2008

The only way running this campaign would hurt the Dems is if we let it. Many other campaigns in history has already done this and it isn't unusual. There is way too much hype here about this.
Another campaign strategy from Obama camp supporters? Probably, but it isn't going to happen right now, is it?

Well, folks....much "to do" about nothing. You can be very passionate, but some have to learn to keep check on that Passion. We don't know that much about Obama yet. There are still some very good unanswered questions, so making this go on longer is a good thing. There is an issue of judgement, of which he runs his campaign on. We are finding some of the Judgements are now so well rounded.
Without that "above the frey Judgement" he does not have much else to run on except his very good speaking capability. "Change and Hope" ideals have been used before. It's important to go through this now, so if he does win the nomination, he will have a better chance. Deal here is that once this goes to the generals, he will have to do it even more. Expect it and don't be surprised by it.

[cjbushwacker]

01:51 AM on 03/30/2008

The biggest reason Obama has more delagates at this point is because corporate media spent through the entire primary season attacking Hillary Clinton every night on television, while Obama 's campaign was treated as a noble cause. Media Matters documented the this comparing positive and negative remarks. Basically NBC, MSGOP, CNN and Fox influenced the primaries by changing the narrative, Clinton's are sneaky-Obama is presidential. It reminds me of of 2000 when yhey Gore became a serial liar and Stiff, while Bush was the guy you wanted

[RobtBrock]

10:31 PM on 03/29/2008

None of this would be happening if Obama could win the votes of older, working-class white Democrats. He ain't getting it done. BO may limp in with the Dem nomination and lose a hunk of the party to John McCain. Stay tuned.

[joja]

10:51 AM on 03/30/2008

robt --

No, Obama would have the nomination wrapped up if not for the Republican cross-over votes that Rush Limbaugh pleaded for.

Obama will win the votes of the young, the Indies, and even the Republicans (especially since Iraq is going down the tubes, fast), so don't worry about the old, white vote -- wherever it ends up.

November won't even be close if Obama's the nominee. McSame will be crushed.

[stepintothelight]

11:18 AM on 04/02/2008

So let it be written ... So let it be done ......
I condemn your people to their desert god!!!

Pharoah ...

[longislandlol]

07:41 PM on 03/29/2008

It should go to the Denver convention-- it should be the greatest event in history--afterall- it will allow our Democracy to choose a historic nominee--

[tbone99]

06:13 PM on 03/29/2008

Wasn't that what he said in Fla?

[MaineMike]

02:50 PM on 03/29/2008

I think this is Gore's way of saying (1) he's not going to stir this things up more than they already are (2) let's take this Democrat vs Democrat thing down a notch.

I think that Obama and the Clintons should ALL focus some energy against McCain. So we can witness who can best fight McCain instead of just speculating about it.

[texanna]

12:25 PM on 03/29/2008

Once again, Mr. Gore has demonstrated why we all would've been better off had not SCOTUS facilitated the coup d'etat of the NeoCons. Everyone that is in hysterics over this primary, take a deep breath, count to 100 and try, just try, to remember that come general election time we are ALL Democrats -- not Obamatons or Clintonistas or any other derogatory name foisted on us by the corporatist media. The corporatist media is the only one benefiting by and continuing the mud fight that they have dragged this primary into. If Sen. Obama's supporters truly believe that all voters are equal in weight, then let the remaining voters in the remaining primaries have their say. In the meantime, if we stop with the stupidity that the corporatist media so enjoys distracting us with, we might get the candidates to focus on the serious things that we should be discussing and maybe we might just end up with a better candidate as a result.

[HumeSkeptic]

11:55 AM on 03/29/2008

Of course the "Dem Race Will "Resolve Itself" . The question is whether by the time it does, the Dem candidate would be in any shape to defeat McCain.

I have immense admiration for Al Gore. But, here, unless he is just trying to calm people down publicly while working behind the scenes, his take is disapponting.

[SCG]

02:47 PM on 03/29/2008

Al Gore is among the founders of the DLC.

[BJohnson]

12:48 AM on 03/29/2008

For those of you disappointed by Gore's remarks, put yourself in his shoes.

He has experienced several Presidential campaigns up close. He has his own sense of how the remaining primaries will play out and how the results will naturally affect the superdelegates, as well as what will really matter in the Fall.

Maybe Al Gore has some inside knowledge that you don't.

Maybe Al Gore knows who Obama wants for a running mate and thinks the news will make a difference....

[geobushono]

07:03 AM on 03/29/2008

Maybe he really did choose lieberman as his running mate. Stupid!!
Maybe his casual approach to the Election results was imprudent. He gave us dumbya!
Maybe it's time to reassess Gore as a political leader. What has he done for us?
Maybe he just isn't all that interested, or the competition for the Presidency makes him dizzy.

[Libsrule]

12:16 PM on 03/29/2008

BJ are you inferring that you think Gore would actually lower himself to being a VP AGAIN? Seriously?

I think monkeys are going to fly out of Madonna's butt first. I keep seeing these moronic comments elsewhere that an Obama/Gore ticket would be a winner. Gore would NEVER lower himself to that level at all.

Never.

Now a Gore/Obama ticket...

[greejambri]

02:13 PM on 03/29/2008

Gore didn't run and he didn't campaign, so having him in the presidential spot would be REALLY UNFAIR! I like Obama/McCaskill or Obama/Webb. ANYTHING that includes Hillary Clinton does NOT get my vote!

[BJohnson]

03:38 PM on 03/29/2008

Again, put yourself in Al Gore's shoes. Would YOU want to go through the ridiculousness of sixteen months of the American primary system? Al had better things to do with his time.

But, I also believe that as a patriot, a Democrat, and an Earth Citizen, with a conscience, that instead of looking at the VP role as lowering himself, he would take it as an opportunity to pursue his agenda with tremendously more force than he can with his current approach.

Who else could possibly be a better running mate for Obama?
* Executive/national/world/life experience
* Demonstrably good judgement on Iraq
* Has had time to detox from Washington
* Trustworthy partner/mentor
* Would preserve legacy of "new politics" if something happens....

What if your country asked you to serve, to fill a crucial role at a crucial moment, in front of a national and international audience, would you go sit in the corner and suck your thumb?

Obama HAS done the hard work, and Al Gore is big enough to respect that. It's exactly because he doesn't NEED to be President that he would be willing to serve as Vice President.

People of principle, like John Quincy Adams who ended one term as U.S. President in 1829, keep looking for ways to serve. JQA spent the next 17 years of his life serving the citizens of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Al Gore is capable of doing the same for the world.

[kaafir]

10:12 PM on 03/28/2008

The anti-Hillary bias in the MSM is astounding. Dan Abrams of the View on MSNBC interpreted Gore's statement as hinting at asking Hillary to get out of the race!!!!!

[situationcritical]

12:32 AM on 03/29/2008

It's truly astounding. Hillary, like the other Clinton, may be hated by the media, but not the people.

[Manx]

02:36 AM on 03/29/2008

According to the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Hillary's favorable rating has dropped to 35 per cent, the lowest since 2001. That's just a few points above George W. Bush's ratings.

[VivaZapata]

06:44 AM on 03/29/2008

actually, whether deserved or not, she is quite hated by large groups of Americans. blame Limbaugh or any of the other smear artists, but she is, nevertheless, hated. I don't like her for her corny and condescending way of speaking to people and her vote to authorize the war in Iraq and set the stage for war against Iran (Kyl-Lieberfish). I voted for her the first time she ran for senator but against her the second time. same with new york's senior senator, Chucky Cheese. I could never vote for them again.

[idontthinkthisishelping]

09:56 AM on 03/29/2008

It actually seemed blatantly anti-semitic to me. Surprised Dan didn't pick up on that, too.

[batguano]

08:21 PM on 03/28/2008

I suppose this abject failure to lead is due to Al's DLC connection.....along with the wicked witch Shillary, the failed ex-prez Bill, Joe Lieberman and the other corporate shills; the Republican wing of the Democratic Party....the DLC. I thought there was a change here....that this man was genuine.....but I'm not sure now....I truly hope I'm wrong.

Bill Richardson recently show that he had the integrity and good judgment to forget the "old boy" business as usual....politics as usual and follow his instinct...to endorse Obama. I would Al showed as much, instead of this evasion of responsibility.

[Manx]

07:53 PM on 03/28/2008

With all due respect, we know the primary will eventually be resolved. The question is how, when and at what cost to the Democratic party? I'm disappointed in Mr. Gore's comments, which seem casual and laidback in light of the crisis we're in. Maybe, he's been out of the loop too long. I was hoping that he would be one of the adults who would walk into the room and tell Hillary that it's time for a reality check.

[sk7326]

11:19 PM on 03/28/2008

There are 4 months to the convention. There is plenty of time for this to iron out. It could be suicidal, but with a Democratic Party in chaos, but when you look at the polls, McCain is ONLY TIED. Think about that! McCain is tied with a party that is having an extremely contentious nomination process. It's pretty crazy. Gore might be a bit laissez-faire here, but there is so much time to the convention that you really can't get that crazy.

At some point, Hillary will stop. The numbers will not add up and she will recognize that she could be Senate majority leader without a ton of difficulty. (certainly she will have more muscle than toothless Harry Reid) There will be plenty of time for humpty dumpty to get put back together.

Remember, McCain is a pretty terrible nominee.

[disgusted48]

06:40 PM on 03/28/2008

Wow. I was just daydreaming that we were coming to the end of Gore presidency. Eight years of intelligent governance. It was such a beautiful dream. Now back to reality. Who keeps voting for these republicans and why?

[VivaZapata]

06:47 AM on 03/29/2008

DIEBOLT does and because the joint is corrupt from maine to california, texas to minnesota.

[Fitzy]

06:31 PM on 03/28/2008

Seldom does a day go by when the Clinton campaign does not launch a new attack on Obama. Hillary's popularity ratings are dropping. It's annoying that the Obama campaign has to spend so much time defending Barack. However, if we sit back and let this nomination process play out, perhaps it will be the demise of the Clinton machine. I, for one, would like to let them hang themselves so we no longer have to hear from them. Let it be over once and for all. Perhaps there are some members of the DNC who feel the same.