"Thinking ahead to the next presidential election, if the 2008 Democrat primary for president were held today and the candidates were Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Mark Warner, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Harold Ford Jr., Evan Bayh, Barack Obama, and Wesley Clark, for whom would you vote?"

That is not that bad because Gore has been under wraps for the most part for four years and he has not even mentioned 08 unlike most of the others.

You can put whatever spin you want on those numbers, but I think it's distressing. Gore has been highly visible throughout this campaign. Of course, if he were to actually say (or hint) that he would run, those numbers might turn around very quickly. I just don't understand why everyone likes Hillary so much! NO HILLARY!

I would be thrilled if Al Gore ran in 2008! I've caught him on television a couple of times since the war in Iraq started, and I was so impressed with the fire and the passion Al Gore displayed. At the end of one speech I actually jumped out of my chair and applaued wildly. :D

Al Gore was no where to be seen in this election to most people. Hell, we didn't even get to see him on TV or anything and we are his most hardcore supporters who find anyway to watch or listen. It was all about Clinton and Springsteen for Kerry. Trust me, most people consider Gore out of it. However, if we start spreading the word and getting people's interests aroused, it will be different. Gore would also be a lot higher if not for Kerry, who will not run next time, and Edwards, who in my opinion is done in politics. If they had not been included that is 23% that would be up in the air. It's really not that bad.

Maybe so, maybe so . . .

I agree that if people's interest could be aroused, then Al Gore stands a very good chance. So long as Hilary stays out of it. I think she could hurt his chances. And Giuliani? Come on! Wouldpeople really rather have him running our country? Say it isn't so..

Unfortunately, I think Hillary is going to be very much IN it. The Clintons are a strong force in the Party, and she (and Bill) are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Well perhaps Hillary will opt out, considering Bill's recent health problems. And Bill Clinton said last week that he no longer has the same love for or passion of politics he once had. So, maybe she won't run.

Ha...Hillary put Bill over her ambitions! I would like to see it.

It's a thought anyway. :)

What is wrong with people??? PRESIDENT AL GORE is the only hope. Wake up out there!!!

I'd love to see Al Gore run in 2008, and even more than that I'd love to see him win. He's inteligent, well spoken, passionate, and a much over-looked great leader. So, he's already got my vote.

And don't forget PRESIDENT AL GORE has more integrity than anyone on the planet and the hypocrite right-wing thugs can't handle that.

Amen to that. Sometimes I think Al Gore is only one in a handful of people on this planet with any integrety at all. I would have given anything to see him thoroughly trounce W. in this last election. As it is I'll just have to settle for knowing how irritated he'll be when it happens in 2008. Provided Al can be convinced to run.

Those numbers don't tell the whole story.

Dean was nowhere at the beginning of 2003, but by it's end was the frontrunner. A lot can happen in 1 year, and 4 years is an eternity in poltics.

4% is not good, but it could be worse for Al.

Chris, thanks for pointing out some important facts concerning the results of this totally early poll. In addition, Al Gore is the only democrat at the national level who fought to have the uncounted Florida votes counted. The evidence is beginning to pour in that all of the votes weren't counted in Ohio and New Mexico and it changed the outcome for 2004. Kerry's running like a scared rabbit instead of fighting to have these uncounted votes counted like Al Gore did in 2000 will damage him greatly. Kerry's failure to capture the support of the democratic party base that Al Gore had will also damage him as will his support for the Iraq disaster and the rest of his repug lite routine. The dem party base whose votes weren't counted in 2000 didn't like Kerry's sweep the stolen 2000 election under the rug and ignore the important issues faced by the party base that the election stealing Bush is so bad on and they showed it by mot supporting Kerry. I also think that Al Gore being the only democrat at the national level to stand up to the election stealing Bush and expose how terrible he is will also hold him in good stead with grassroots dems. Grassroots dems are clearly fed up with the dems at the natioal level who refuse to stand and fight for we the people.

Hi Everybody-
I used to be CLAY on the draftgore board. I had that here too, but I can't figure how to log on to it, so I took another name here.
I was also on JK board.

We need this time for AL GORE to give us a direct EARLY sign.

It is either HILLARY OBAMA OR GORE IN 2008

We must at all costs make sure Edwards is NOT the candidate. He is a big reason
Kerry lost. He was very obnoxious in all aspects, and his blindsiding Kerry to pick him was without a doubt the WORST mistake.
He brought nothing in and stopped a better veep candidate from fighting back early on and helping the ticket.

hillary I am afraid is going for it. If she wants it, she will be next to impossible
to stop.

So it is going to have to be early...

I would think Al could easily get it. (He could have gotten it this time, had anyone listened to me (us), and he could have gotten the nomination without the DNC
help too, had he only entered...

I think many of us here would take exception to your description of Edwards and your take on the coming election. Many think Hillary will not be running, although clearly others of us think she will. I think we can fairly well rule out an Obama run, however. Yes, he's a promising young talent, and someday, one would hope he'd be presidential material. But by 2008, he won't have had enough experience to be considered a credible candidate, and at the risk of sounding racist (which I'm most definitely not), I don't think this country is ready yet for a black (or any color other than white) President. I don't even think the majority of Americans are ready yet for a woman President, which is only one of many reasons why I hope Hillary doesn't run.

I think the key here is going to be unity (among Gore supporters), and I'm very afraid that, as with last time, there's just too much divisiveness and too much difference of opinion and too many big egos for all the Gore groups to work together. I would hope that we'd all be able to put our differences aside this time and work together. Maybe we learned our lesson last time around. But the first thing is going to have to be a show of interest by Gore himself, and I doubt that would be coming so early in the election cycle. Some people have proposed beginning work now to write to people within the DNC and DLC to show our support for Gore. I think this is probably a good idea. Gore supporters will need to use their weight to influence things in whatever way they can to make it so Gore can run in '08 if he chooses to. I hope you'll continue working with us and the other groups to make that happen.

At the risk of correcting you, you are sounding rascist and your facts are wrong.

Edwards is dirt. He sabatoged John Kerry from the start, and he sabatoged
the democratic hope. By Edwards and his religous followers yelling that Kerry had no charisma, was ugly, better pick me, the rightwing Press picked it up, and it haunted Kerry the whole time.
When Kerry needed someone to go negative on Karl Rove and Roger Stone and
all, where was Edwards? Who knows??? He was not seen in August and September at all. Last I heard then he was in Kansas???(We lost Kansas by what 64-30???)

John Edwards is the #1 sole reason we lost in 2004.
Had they taken Graham, they would have won Florida
Had they taken Gephardt, they would have won Ohio
Had Gore won, he would have won in a landslide -BUT HE DIDN'T.
Had DEAN been the candidate (and Al either on the ticket or behind him), Dean would have won. They could not have smeared Dean, but the DEMOCRATS sabatoged Dean as much as Rove did.

HOW can you say Barack doesn't have any expericence, yet back the low life
scum that is Edwards?
Edwards had NO experience in politics at all and became Senator for some ungodly reason.
He is an ambulence chaser lawyer who should not have beenn in politics.
He decided after less than a year to run for President
Barack Obama in 2008 will have been a state senator for years,is very religious, is the most charismatic person to come since, well, since Al Gore was young, and will have been a regular senator for 4 years (Edwards disappeared the last 2 years.
When Dick Cheney said that crushing line, his only mistake was, he should have said THREE times not first time. That was a more devastating blow than Lloyd Bentsen said about Dan Quayle. And we all know now why George 41 Bush took
Quayle, even though it was absord at the time-to later deflect National Guard records against W. Those Bush's always think ahead.
Obama has already had more great ideas than Edwards.
Edwards actually helped to write the patriot act, can you believe it???
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???

Edwards gave a horrendous speech at the convention. Boring.
Barack Obama gave the best speech at a convention I heard in 20 years.
Right up there with Al's Speech in NY this year.

Edwards is selfish. (remember how he hogged the spotlight at the Victory dinner?)
Edwards offers nothing, brings nothing to the table.
Edwards could not win a state. He lost 90 percent of the popular vote in the primaries. The only state won, after Kerry already clinched was his own, which he lost big in the general election. There is no call for Edwards.
He has no vision, nothing. He was trying to run on big hair and a crooked smile.

Bobby Kennedy he was not.

Al Gore himself knew he was nothing. That is why he backed Dean.

OOH-BY THE WAY GORE FANS-WHERE WAS JOHN EDWARDS IN 2000 DURING THE RECOUNT??? NOWHERE. YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT. HE DID NOT BACK AL GORE AT ALL.
Only Ed Rendell was by his side. If anyone should be on a Gore ticket besides Obama, it is Ed Rendell.

But you and I can argue all day. If Hillary wants the nomination, she is 1/2 way there already. Only Al Gore could stop her.

Ok people, tone it down. We are all here for one reason--to support Al Gore, not tear each other down by arguing like 5 year olds. Please don't make me use the warning system.

OOh..Clay I take it your really do not like Edwards! :lol: ya think?

I agree about Obama..MY NEW SENATOR!!

He teaches Constitutional Law too(brains to go along with everything else)...He would be a good choice for VP but I don't know if he would accept it or not, not having completed his six year tenure as Senator. I really don't see the race factor being a negative with him.

But I must say the very best speech given during that convention was Sharpton's.

Welcome Clay....

I think :D And after being banned on the JK board for a few times for saying that, I am happy I can say it now.
Sharpton was great too. Being from NY, I have heard hiim speak for 20 years.
If only he didn't have the baggage from his early days, which was not his fault
"They" just had to bring him and Maddox and Mason down and they did.

Anyhow onto Obama---
That is right. Obama has real brains. Not an ambulance chaser like Edwards.


What a victory for the Senate.

I rememeber the first time I heard his name. I was talking about how Harold Ford
was too young to take the veep by four months. And somebody said Obama.

If only more people had heard of him.

I don't think race would hurt him (just please protect him from the nuts)
All we have to do is win our base plus there are pockets of the South that would come out for him, and in florida too.

I really think the key is Florida in 2006 and getting the governorship back.

Does anyone know-Jeb is out with term limits. Can Bob Graham run again for Governor? He served 2 terms in the 80s. Can he run for another after the big break in between? Is it 2 consecutive terms or 2 for ever?

Need a very strong candidate for Florida.

I wish we could all start a campaign and stop TIM RUSSERT ON MTP from asking every single candidate to swear they are / are not running. It is not fair, and no candidate will give away his hand too early anyhow. But trying to catch him in a lie. I am sure Edwards said that if anyone thought to ask in 1998, and I am sure Bush said he would serve the whole term too as Governor in Texas. It is a stupid question.

John Edwards was on Al Gore's short list for veep in 2000. Granted, he didn't choose him, and I think the choice of Lieberman was a BIG mistake, but I don't think your statement is accurate, or Edwards wouldn't have been on that list in the first place. Also, as I pointed out in another thread, ALL of the 9 candidates dissed each other during the campaign. They had to in order to win the nomination. I'm not a big Edwards fan--I could take him or leave him--but I disagree with your vehement hatred of him.

Edwards brought nothing to the ticket this time. He didn't even help in his home state. I doubt he'll be a real contender in 2008.
As far as Hillary, many are looking at the electoral map and don't think Hillary will be able to win in any of the Red states. That may diminish her chances even if she runs (which I don't think is a given).

I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers. Hell, the next election is four years from now. Anything can happen between then and now. If Gore does give it another run, those numbers won't mean a damn thing.

Howdy, I'm a newby,

I just wanted to say that I think the fact that Gore's name is even mentioned is a great sign. Fact is, those type of early numbers never stay consistant by the next Presidential election. It depends on who continues to make an impression as the 4 years pass.

I hope Gore considers another run.

Excellent to have you with us, Dem4ever, and I agree 100% with what you said. :good:

Thanks earthmother...I'm happy to be here!