I believe very strongly that Al Gore is without even a close second in qualifications to pull the country and world out of the mess that it's in. Of course that's nothing new. I wouldn't be here writing this if that weren't the case.

The issue is, and I am reasonably sure this reflects the man's personal feelings pretty well, how do we get to that alternate universe where he does that?

The presidential-election process in this country has deteriorated into an absolute shambles. Al says it is a "toxic" process, and that seems an apt description. Beyond the negative impact on the participants, though is the real travesty to the country and to the world: it works AGAINST making the best selection of leadership.

Al tried to get the seat in the oval office following the standard process. He won it and STILL didn't get it. To his everlasting credit he committed himself to tackling the single most dire threat to life as we know it, threw himself into it with gusto, and has demonstrated astonishing success in "winning the hearts and minds" of large parts of the world's population.

The political climate today would certainly APPEAR to be wide open to a strong candidate to jump back into that toxic river and try to swim upstream to the oval office. But Al has been so successful on his alternative path to "senior leader of the world" within the bounds of the climate crisis topic, the question is WHAT is his best path to a position wherein he can influence policy on an even broader basis? The US Presidency is clearly a great platform from which to do great things. But can he get there in one piece? While I am sure he has had, and probably retains, aspirations to the presidency as a career move - an end in itself, if you will, I believe those aspirations are minor in his overall motivation in how to spend his time and energy.

If the answer to WHAT is, in fact, "get in the oval office", then the question of "when" looms huge. Now seems in some respects like the perfect time to, in essence, step forward and say to the American people (and the world) "I know this is hard; you've been abused and are hurting, but take my hand and I'll lead you away from all this"

I for one would react like those parents of the boys in Missouri when they heard their sons had been found alive.

But would it be too soon? Would it hand the enemy (and that is what i consider the evil machine that controls most policy in this country) a card to use against him? Would they spend the next two years saying "see, we told you so - he's a whiney baby who wouldn't admit defeat, and now he's being an opportunist trying to sneak in when our guard is down". That, of course, is an example of the toxicity.

Would it be better to continue to wait, stay out of it, like a basketball team running the clock down to take one last shot at the buzzer? Sink the shot, go ahead by one point, clock runs out, you're champion. Miss the shot and they win. No time left to rebound and put up a second shot.

Well, that's why coaches make the big bucks.

Agreed with everything you just wrote dbciii

He should be President :good:

In order to be President you first have to win the Nomination, in Al's case the Democratic nomination. How soon is too soon?

Well, my free advice is worth every penny you pay for it. But this is my best guess at this time.

The next big thing will be the Oscars, and hopefully "An Inconvenient Truth" will win the Oscar for Best Documentary. I would bet that it will. After that, it will free Al to maintain his emphasis on Climate Change but also expand to other topics.
In May he will come out with his next book, "The Assault on Reason", which will deal more directly with politics, with the media, with how we can get our institutions of democracy to work once again. He will be spending a few weeks promoting the new book and I think how the country reacts will have a major impact on his decision. If the book is a hit, and more and more people jump on the Draft Gore bandwagon, I think he will sacrifice his private life and run. But I would doubt there would be any official announcement until say, a month after the new book is released which would be in late June 2007. He may well wait even a little longer. As long as he is not saying he has definitively ruled out running we have every reason to keep up the hope and play our small part. :D

Time is running out.

With Hillary and Obama rising in the ratings, with Obama they say forming his committee (and entering the race) as soon as this week, there will be no opening.

Sorry, I don't see it.

Al's time will be the Oscars, give or take 3-4 weeks after that.

Then he has passed the point.
If there is no hint by that time, (let alone entering the race), it will be out of sight, out of mind.
They won't come running at the convention because it will all be over the first week of February 2008. So it's just a pipedream.

I sure hope the Oscar isn't just the piece of his father's wall needed to satisfy him that he has done enough. Don't mean to be snide, but it is really just about time for Al to make up his mind.
If he is so worried about the media, or about what Hillary shall do to him, then sad to say he won't run.
He needs to be ahead of the curve, not cowering behind.

Al the choice is yours. Spit or get off the can. Blunt? Well, the time demands honesty and we count on Al for honesty.

the race itself is nasty? It sucks? Yeah, and nothing will change that six months from now when it will be over. Is the Oscar good enough? Is writing a book good enough? Or do you really want to change the world?

You gotta be in it to do that.

If nothing else, your being in the race will ensure global warming is talked about during the debates and the entire race.

What Wayne said is absolutely the way I see it. And I'll push it a little further, pursuant to conversations I've had with people who know more about these things than I do.

Gore doesn't have to file until mid-November to be in the first primaries. But that's too late, for sure. More likely, he'll do the whirlwind book promo thing in May, June, and possibly even July, assessing the political waters as he does that, just like Wayne said. Based on that and the strength of the draft Gore movement (which is gaining every day), I think we can look for an announcement perhaps in August, maybe September.

And btw, ReelectGore--Hillary and Obama aren't continuing to climb in the polls. In fact, it's Al who's numbers are going up, and with each thing he does, they go up even higher. Obama has already leveled off, from what I've seen, and I think he's going to start falling before long. Hillary? It's a bubble waiting to burst. Her numbers have gone down some as well recently. And when only Dems. are polled, her numbers really drop (and Gore's surge).

Gore has time. But while we're waiting, it'd be really great if more of us who claim to be hard-core supporters would actually work toward a Gore candidacy. Get up and join us by registering at meetup.com to be an organizer. Spread the word. We make it easy for you. We pay your registration fee. We give you materials and agendas for your meetings. We guide you through the entire process with support and TLC.

Two of our members, Wayne and Julia, have signed on as meetup organizers. Whybaby is looking for a group to join. Apetersen, a new member here, has agreed to sign on as an organizer. I hope more of you will contact me and take that first step toward really working to put Gore in the White House. Wouldn't it feel great to know that you've actually DONE something to make it happen?

I hope that after Gore hears what Bush has said on 60 minutes that it will give him the go ahead and announce.

I've been so involved with keeping this Gore meetup thing going that I haven't had a chance to even watch the news, let alone a show. What did Bush say on 60 Minutes?

I didn't hear the 60 minutes thing either and would like to have that run by us here. But I have to add comment to the discussion on when Gore runs. I can only imagine the amount of disillusionment Gore must feel in the "whole process" of campaigning for President. It's mindboggling, the amount of frustration he has had to endure, and continues to do so. They will never stop slinging the crap at him, slamming him for this and for that. He's been totally on the "inside" and knows what it's all about, beyond our faintest inkling. And he held the title, for crying out loud, for a few brief moments. He made it, and then had it yanked away, and everyone just stood there with their mouths open. If I were him, I'd have the attitude that "if they want me, they're just going to have to "give it to me". I think I'd just force a draft. To H - E - double L with the campaign process. Iowa, New Hampshire, blah, blah, blah. I'd be thinking.......just impeach the puppet and make me it. Now that's how I see it.......for what it's worth.

And so I see him just marching on with his life. He sees a problem that makes the presidency a pittance in the importance of it all. And if we do want him to lead us; we're just going to have to make it happen. Drafting someone into the run has happened before, a long time ago. It won't be easy. It will take a monumental surge. A monumental surge is what it is going to take.

Yes, a monumental surge, Julia. Absolutely. That's why I've been begging others here to join you in volunteering to be meetup organizer. We've quadrupled the number of groups in less than a month, but we need more rapid growth. We need an explosion!

I hope everyone here will consider if they have it in them to be a meetup organizer. If so, CONTACT ME ASAP! :good:

I would dearly love to have a Gore for President meetup in my area (Hampshire Co./western MA.) But as I've said before, my family's health situation just doesn't allow me to make a responsible commitment (even though I might be able to be present for meetings). My mom's been hospitalized twice since Thanksgiving, and she's just hanging on (and feeling lucky to have lived to see a Democratic Congress). My sister's M.S. is worse, and she needs my help too. So I'm heading for Boston a lot of the time. But enough about that. I would just like to know if there is anyone on this board who lives in western MA. who might consider facilitating a meetup. Or do you know anyone who lives in western MA that is not on this forum but who supports an Al Gore run? I would certainly like to be helpful, and be a part of it as much as I possibly can, if someone else can take charge of it.

About Our Hero's timing (in the context of other candidates), I'll reiterate some opinions I've seen posted here, but so it goes. He can and should certainly wait for months, maybe half a year. Barack is about to jump in within the next five minutes. He will be the flavor of the month (I agree with EM), and the press will make him the anti-Hillary. What's delightful is that AG doesn't have to suffer the slings and arrows or general idiocy of being pitted against Hillary (like some WWF rumble), for the moment. Obama will be injuring her left flank, and she may have to become more anti-war, but Obama will have already claimed that territory. So has Edwards. So has Kucinich, even though he doesn't have much of a chance. So she's too late, and she can never get (back) into the good graces of the progressive wing of the party. There are now so many voices against the war and the escalation (including Chuck Hagel and other Republicans) that she can never unring that DLC bell of hers. But she will fight back against Obama, and hit his inexperience. And let's face it, he's got great potential, but he's still wet behind the ears, and has not earned a place at the top so soon into high office. So those two will be the focus, and they will wear the sheen off one another. Obama will never look this good after he announces. Both will have targets on their backs.

Meantime, the Academy Awards are coming (on my birthday this year, and I'm hoping for a gift in the form of an Oscar for Al!). The film has a good chance of being nominated. And if it wins, it will continue to show AG in a very powerful light, as an independent leader doing his life's work without the intrusion of politics. Green is beautiful. Green is sexy. Green is the new black. Even Gov. Ahnold is turning CA. green. And Al Gore virtually "invented" green. He owns the issue almost completely.

Then, soon after the Oscars die down, the buzz on the new book will be starting. He'll be on the talk shows, in the papers, 'zines, and blogs, high profile, and talking about a new subject that segues very nicely into a conversation about ... political conversation. What it was, could be, and what it has devolved into. I imagine that it will show people what they may not even know they are hungry for - stepping back from the politics of demonization, rigid ideology, power-mongering, and scorched earth, and toward civility, good faith, cooperation, and pragmatism. He'll show us a picture of what we want our democracy to be. From this springboard, if he is going to go for it, it will happen (or should happen) sometime in the summer. There may even be another hurricane season, and people will remember that we need a competent and wise adult to run the country.

Obama can't stand up to his experience, and Hillary can't stand up to his being correct, prescient, and courageous on the issues. We just have to do what we can to let folks know this, so his announcement of a run (God willing) will be followed with "Well, of COURSE he's running, he's the BEST! Who else WOULD it be?"

Why would Al want to drag himself and the rest of us through that toxic environment of political campaigning for several extra months if he can break on through to the other side just as well or better by waiting a few more months? :o :D :unsure:

Whybaby, I'm so sorry to hear that your mother's so bad, and that your sister's worse, too. We all understand that you're not in a position now to hold meetups. It's unfortunate that there aren't any people in your area to join with, though. The only person in MA listed as looking for a group on Meetup.com is in Amherst, and I assume that's you. With all the colleges in Amherst, I'm sure someone could get a group together. There have to be a lot of liberal profs and students and residents. It's just a matter of getting the word out.

As for "Truth" being nominated, it already was. I think what you meant to say is it has a good chance of winning, which it does, although Penguins might beat it out. I'd hope the Academy would recognize the significance of the movie's contribution to the human race, though, and give it an edge for that.

But I agree with everything you say about Hillary, Obama, and how the race might go. Let them all duke it out while Gore collects the respect and admiration of people for being a crusader for our survival. Then, at the 11th hour, he can ride in on his white horse and save the day. :clap:

So can anyone explain what was on 60 Minutes?

I didn't see it, but I saw a little snippet of an article about it on the CNN website (which I can't find now to post it here).

Apparently Bush said that there's nothing the Dems. in Congress can do to stop his plans for a surge in Iraq.

Nice, huh? <_<

Thanks so much, EMom. You are very caring.

Actually, the Academy Award nominations have yet to be announced, I believe. I think it's next week sometime. Are you thinking of another award? The National Society of Film Critics?

I really loved March of the Penguins, but that won last year. But there are some good ones this year - Jesus Camp, Shut Up and Sing, both important, but they better not get in Al Gore's way!

I'll get the popcorn. You get the bon-bons.
:P

Okay, maybe I'm confused. I thought I remember a story from a month or so ago saying "Truth" had been nominated for the Oscars. :wacko: But if you say they haven't been announced yet, then they haven't been announced yet. :D

regarding 60 minutes, EM - Olbermann did a good synopsis tonight. Too bad you were blogging.


Anyway, to summarize:
he said that he has decided and anyone who disagreees with him can stick it where the sun don't shine

then he said "I am a very flexible guy"

he said some other stuff too - he babbled something about how all the families of the KIA's gush all over him and tell him how proud they are to have contributed their son/husband/father/daughter/wife/mother to the cause, and regret that they have only one such to give for their fuerher

I was blogging instead of watching Keith because the rest of my family (hubby and two kids) were watching the second part of the season opener of "24" and wouldn't relinquish control of the TV set. :P