Draft Gore Movement Picks Up Steam

All across America, Al Gore supporters nervously count down the days to October 12 -- that's the day when the Nobel Peace Prize is announced. Many expect the former Vice President to win the award, and if he does it will cap a marvelous year of accomplishments -- Oscar, Emmy, Live Earth, bestseller. It will also immediately fuel speculation that Gore will jump into the 2008 presidential race.

Late last spring, when he was busy barnstorming on talk shows to promote Assault on Reason, Gore was constantly asked by interviewers, "Are you going to run?" Though he always said that he was not, he'd embellished his answer with a coy qualifier that left open a sliver of daylight for a possible candidacy. Like he told Larry King, "I am not thinking about being a candidate. I have no plans to be a candidate. But, yes, it's true, I have not made a so-called Sherman statement and ruled it out for all time. I see no reason or necessity to do that."

Around that time, the New York Times quoted Gore as saying, "Having spent 30 years as part of the political dialogue, I don't know why a 600-day campaign is taken as a given, and why people who aren't in it 600 days out for the convenience of whatever brokers want to close the door and narrow the field and say, 'This is it, now let's place your bets.' If they want to do that, fine. I don't have to play that game."

True to his word, Gore hasn't played that game. Could the Nobel become the catalyst for Citizen Gore to tell America, "I'm in!" Furthermore, will he be able to raise sufficient funds, build a campaign staff with field offices in key primary states, and re-introduce himself to Democratic voters as their next president?

One of Gore's favorite lines which he likes using to warm up audiences during slide-show lectures on global-warming is, "Hi, I'm Al Gore and I used to be the next president of the United States." That line will be pure gold on the 2008 campaign trail.

I know of many Democrats who still get angry whenever the subject of the 2000 presidential election is brought up in conversation. Like them, I believe that the election was stolen, and the wrong man got the job. Some blame for Gore's defeat can be attributed to those vexing butterfly ballots which affected voting in southern Florida. A fair electoral system would have mandated a complete statewide recount, something the Supreme Court wrongly dismissed. And so, all that has happened to our nation since then is straight out of chaos theory: the slight turbulence created by a butterfly flapping its wings can set into motion atmospheric disturbance that results in a hurricane on the other side of the planet. Instead of our country being led by Gore who won the popular vote, we've suffered through eight dispiriting years of Bush/Cheney and a catastrophic war in Iraq.

There are a number of Net activists and grassroots organizations also banking on Gore's rendezvous with destiny. They have kept the faith. They are waiting for Gore. But they have also been busy building an independent infrastructure of volunteers as well as conducting an online petition drive urging Gore to run. The most successful web group is DraftGore.com, which was founded by Monica Friedlander, of Oakland, California, four years ago and is its current chairperson.

Last July, Eva Ritchey, of western North Carolina, who is a member of DraftGore.com's five-person executive committee, hand-delivered 100,000 names and addresses on a computer disk to the Gore office in Nashville. Her visit made national news. Now, over the next several weeks, DraftGore.com will pump up the volume with email newsletters, radio advertising, and help create a national network of volunteers. Its main objectives are threefold: to get the word out, to demonstrate that there continues to be a strong, viable nationwide interest in a Gore candidacy, and to be prepared for instant mobilization of campaign support if he does enter the race.

To date, DraftGore.com has collected over 125,000 signatures in its petition drive. And the momentum is accelerating for this unique kind of presidential outreach. Just this past Friday, its web site gathered 10,000 new signers; yes, all in one day!

While DraftGore.com is certainly the most visible group and the one with most clout, it is just one of at least a dozen online organizations all determined to see Gore become our next president. Pro-Gore volunteer groups also have representation in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New England, California, and elsewhere. Go to AmericaforGore.org to see the full list.

In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore talks about radical climate change that can seemingly happen within the space of ten years-of the Earth going from warm to a new ice age. Gore's late-in-the-game candidacy will be the political equivalent of rapid climate change. It will alter the political campaign environment overnight. It will throw into turmoil the electoral strategies of the Clinton, Obama, and Edwards camps. Hillary's lead in the polls will vanish within weeks, and thus exposing her tepid baseline support. Gore should easily become the new anointed frontrunner by pundits and polls. For Republicans, Gore represents an unbeatable foe in 2008. He's bulletproof on the big issues: experience, Iraq, national security, global warming.

Several potential hurdles, of course, lay in wait for Gore. There is his legendary awkwardness as a political campaigner and whether the fault-finding media will shabbily treat him like they did in 2000.

Gore is the first to admit his own limitations as a crowd-pleasing vote-getter. "Most people in politics draw energy from backslapping and shaking hands and all that. I draw energy from discussing ideas," Gore told New York Magazine in 2006. Yet one of the biggest surprises about An Inconvenient Truth is his persuasive and genuinely captivating performance. He's the best science teacher you never had. Absent is the wooden Democratic nominee clumsily duking it out with his flat-footed Republican opponent in three 2000 presidential debates. The old, stiff Gore is stashed away in a lockbox. The new, limber Gore is a man on fire.

What has been so refreshing about Gore's comeback following his demoralizing defeat in 2000 is that finally freed from the choke-chain grip of consultants and advisers, he could openly express his outrage over a broken political system hijacked by democracy-destroying zealots from the Republican Party.

A pivotal moment of Gore's resurrection was marked by his speech at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club on September 21, 2002 where he voiced strong doubts about the White House's ill-considered decision to go after Saddam Hussein who had nothing to do with September 11. The media did an instant double take. They asked, "Who is this new Al and why didn't he talk like that during the last election?"

He continued giving speeches that criticized the Bush administration -- its frontal assault on civil liberties, penchant for secrecy, institutionalized dishonesty, lack of accountability, endorsement of state-sanctioned torture, and the Iraq War. He astonished listeners with searing eloquence and astute insights. His confidence to let it rip and speak his mind grew with each talk.

It's this type of candor and perspective that has endeared him to Democrats and independent voters. Assault on Reason solidified his wise-man stature and turned more Americans into Gore believers. And it's this groundswell of genuine support that has found voice and hope in groups like DraftGore.com, which, on its home page calls Gore "the conscience of the Democratic Party."

Even if Gore doesn't win the Nobel, it would be premature to count him out yet either. The call of fate, duty, service, and history just might be too great for him to ignore. Gore's entry in the presidential race could be the ultimate October Surprise.

Bill Katovsky is editor of the just-published "The World According to Gore: The Incredible Vision of the Man Who Should Be President," SEE LINK HERE: http://www.amazon.com/World-According-Gore-Incredible-President/dp/1602392323/ref=sr_1_2/105-7036262-0242026?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191231941&sr=1-2

Comments

[Atticus]

Gore? He would be eaten alive.

[solarenergy]

I agree that Assault on Reason has a clarity that is unmatched by any other living politician. The book is basically a comprehensive indictment of everything wrong that the forces of corporate greed have committed.

It is not a rant against Bush. It is a clear-eyed assault on the anti-progressive movement, and Gore's ability to see this movement in a historical context is as insightful as any scholarly analysis I've ever read.

This is the man. This is his time. He will run, and it will happen soon.

[SimonHelms]

Al not only got huge support from democrats at home. Meanwhile he has a big community of supporters worldwide, e.g. the German group on

www.algore2008.de !

You may find an english petition on

www.algore2008.de/petition_en.php

cheers, Simon

[Freedomfinder]

All I can say is if Al does not run,my vote will go to a third party.Call me a spoiler all you want but I am sick of the lie that dems and repubs are two parties they are one of the same!
Just look at the dems do they look or act as the party of FDR?I would say not, they have fallen asleep after the 2000 election and morphed into repubs.Until they get a spine and realize that YOU need a 2/3 rds. majority nothing will change.
We need a more progressive party, one that is awake with the courage for a REAL change.When Pelosi said that impeachment was off the table I knew we had been duped,oh Cindy my check is ready where do I send it?And I don't live in California either.

[Alvin4NY]

I agree. Pelosi and her unwillingness to even talk about Impeachment has soured me on politics, and the lines do seem blurred. It feels like they all have dirty hands, and everyone fears exposure. Sadly, a new President from Democrats or Republicans is not going to change that.

[PeppermintTwist]

I have wanted Al Gore to become president since he first ran in 1988. As impressive as I found him way back then, my deep admiration and esteem for him has only grown since then. The 2008 election will mark 20 years since he first ran. There is a certain symmetry in that and, like a fine, vintage wine, I think Al Gore's time has finally come. The country, the world, and the planet desperately need his vision, leadership, experience, integrity, knowledge, intelligence and core decency. Gore is a true visionary leader and, even though the next president, whoever he or she is, will inherit a profoundly awful situation because of eight terrible years of the Bush administration, Al Gore is the one person who could possibly lead America out of the abyss and into the light again. I pray every day that he will get into the race. Run, Gore, RUN! We need you.

[MidMo]

Have you supporters forgotten that he did NOT even carry is own HOME state? Same for edwards in 2004.

[Karlita]

He's had my vote since day 1. I wrote him a letter to tell him so.

I truly believe that Gore is the best chance this country has for any kind of decent future.

Gore '08!

[Rowland]

Not only must the United States find energy efficiency for itself, it must lead the world by showing how quality of life is vastly improved by moving to a green society. If this is not done, no matter what we might do, the imitation of our lifestyle will swamp the planet. We must do and lead others to do.

In order to carry all this out, there must be a commitment on a scale rivaled only by the national effort in WWII. In fact, it must surpass that by an order of magnitude. Further, this must come at a time when we have maxed out our credit with China and other nations.

On a practical basis, only the election of Al Gore with a mandate that is truly impressive will enable the United States to convince creditors, friends and foes that we have turned about face from the profligate life we have continued after WWII in using up our resources and throwing the tailings in the yard. Any other candidate and the political wrangling that is sure to follow the election of a lesser light will put our creditors in a wait and see mode that will swamp us before we can carry out such an undertaking.

This time we must hold up an authentic icon to the world in order to expect a rally around our effort and undertaking. Our margin of error and patience for our undertaking has been squandered and yet we must spend our way out of the maelstrom we have created.

[hayduke]

something happened, I read The Assault On Reason and I was floored. He IS a politician and could be playing me….but my god is that book like a laser of clarity in this darkness. Just perfect. He is light years ahead of Obama or Clinton (Edwards is all right with me though but still not as good as Gore) and he would win AGAIN. He has to run if he truly believes what he say in The Assault On Reason.

[lbolle]

Now that Hillary stupidly ignored her constituents and signed off on the Kyl/Lieberman amendment, there is no doubt in my mind that our only hope is Gore getting in. I've already promised to get as involved as I can in reelecting him and I plan on making good.

[Merrysunshine]

Would he pick Joe Leiberman again as his V.P.?

[nypoet22]

Egads, i hope not. speaking as an american and as a jew, lieberman is not someone i want to represent me, ever.

[zendem1]

He's not running. And who can blame him. He's got a great gig, grandkids, and a pile of money. I wouldn't subject myself to that running for President crap either.As much as I'd enjoy seeing him snatch it away from Hillary.

[Atticus]

All you Gore enablers need a reality check: Gore's not going to run because he's smart enough to know he would instantly go wooden again and implode-- just like last time.

[Pyrum]

He's not going to run. Hang it up already!

[runswithscissors]

I can see it now. Gore wins in 08, and then the GOP tries to prevent him from runing for re-election because he's technically already won two terms.

[PeppermintTwist]

runswithscissors, I love your comment! Way to make a point!

[pcmedia]

Something New In American Politics...

California Draft Gore Poised to Put Gore’s Name on Ballot
Volunteers in All 53 California Congressional Districts Working to Get Gore on Ballot -
Organizers of California Draft Gore, a grassroots campaign to put Al Gore’s name on the California presidential primary ballot, announced today that the campaign has volunteers located in or assigned to all of the state’s congressional districts.
Originally convening on websites like algore.org, meetup.com,and draftgore.com, California Gore supporters quickly built the infrastructure necessary to take advantage of the California Election Code, which allows for a candidate’s name to be placed on the ballot if at least 500 registered Democrats’ signatures are obtained from each of the state’s 53 congressional districts.
“In less than sixty days we have filled almost all of the campaign coordinator positions,” said Patrick McGovern, the Los Angeles regional campaign coordinator. “With estimates of over 1,000 volunteers statewide, we are a broad cross-section of Californians.”
One of the first of many Gore ’08 groups to move beyond petitions and pleas, the California campaign’s well-organized grassroots volunteers are optimistic about its chance of success. California Election Code allows signatures to be collected from October 8th through December 4th. “There's no doubt we’ll succeed. The only question is, how quickly. The sooner it's inevitable that Al Gore will be on the ballot, the sooner he'll take notice," mused San Diego coordinator Ben Cooper. "We want Gore to realize that we've ignited the ‘new movement to rekindle the true spirit of America,’ he described in The Assault on Reason. We’re not trying to pressure him to run. We’re planning to inspire him.”
Why Gore? “Of all the choices, he’s the best.”
"We are re-writing the how-to manual on American democracy. The national Ballot Campaigns are truly significant because they are run by real people not political spin machines and special interest money", Marta Jorgensen, Central CA organizer. "And it's about time..."
Visit www.california4gore.org.
See www.americaforgore.org for more about the Draft.
And you thought you've seen it all...