So, Al, You Gonna Run? by Larry (Wag the Dog) Beinhart

[Paranoid Pessimist]

I was just about to post here saying something along these lines, but Larry Beinhart said it better. My point was that Gore's speech, while great, does no good said just once, and that the only way it could be effective is for it to be a stump speech, said over and over. Said once, the way it was, it is easy for the crooked mainstream media to ignore it (as they did; Karl Rove's speech of January 19th where Rove said "The United States faces a ruthless enemy, and we need a commander in chief and a Congress who understand the nature of the threat and the gravity of the moment America finds itself in. President Bush and the Republican Party do. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many Democrats" got major coverage. This is, of course, hypocrisy, but that's to be expected. Of course it's unfair. Republicans don't fight fair and it still surprises me that this still surprises people. However, if Al Gore or someone else of that stature were to campaign on these issues, were to make this or similar speeches over and over, mainstream media would not be able to ignore them.

Saying that the credibility would be enhanced if Gore was a candidate is Beinhart's.


http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0125-26.htm

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Indeed. If Al doesn't run, his great speeches are pointless.

He's like Churchill in 1939. We're ready to rally around him, but he has to take the next step.

[OneBlueSky]

2. he should run, and run on a platform of telling the truth . . .

and the ONLY way he can do that is to refuse any and all corporate money and run solely on the contributions of ordinary Americans . . . a true populist candidacy, devoted to representing the peoples' interest above those of the corporations . . .

we need someone bold, radical, visionary . . . someone to take on the system on his/her own terms, and beat it . . . Al can do that, but ONLY if he doesn't allow corporate money to dictate what he says or does . . .

on edit: he can run as the "Peoples' Wing of the Democratic Party" . . .