Gore at GWU: I’m thinking about running

[kpete]

Gore did something that surprised me quite a bit: He threw out applause lines. He listed down all the top mistakes made by the Bush administration that fly in the face of reason (paraphrase):

The warrentless wiretapping, that was a mistake!
*applause*

The media holding on to information about the wiretapping, that was a mistake!
*applause*

Having Congress pass a law that retroactively legalized illegal wiretapping, that was a mistake!
*applause*

Censoring information about the climate crisis, that was a mistake!
*applause*


After the Q&A, the audience lined up to get our books signed. I finally decided on what I would say to Gore as he signed by book. As my copy was slid in front of Gore, I shook his hand and said:

"Please, at least think about running for President."

Gore smiled and replied,

"Thank you. I am."

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/29/233230/066

[William769]

1. With all the news coverage Gore gets

I find this very suspect. Or Gore was just being polite.

[dionysus]

33. party's over for you if he declares.

[aquart]

2. Al is having way too much fun with this.

Living well is truly the best revenge.

[LostinVA]

3. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE

[JNelson6563]

4. I'm sure he is

and I am sure he has been "thinking about it" for a long time now. I do believe the issues he's been addressing, especially the environment, have been his main focus. I also know he's been commenting on the political situation, intermittently, all along.

I certainly hope he decides to jump in but if he doesn't I will respect that and support him in his non-political efforts.

Julie

[krkaufman]

34. Great thing is, he's doing everything one would need/want to do to be in position to run.

Sure is fun to watch. I wonder if there's a Vegas line on whether he'll get in.

[nevergiveup]

5. Gore is having a great

time with life and getting the positive recognition that most politicians only dream of. In my opinion he is not going to run and much of the reason is the idea of taking on Bill Clinton. It isn't that he couldn't win but he just for obvious reasons doesn't want to go there. It would open an old wound and fracture the party and those that don't understand this haven't followed politics very well. This is just my opinion for what it is worth.

[Virginia Dare]

8. Agree with everything you said, good points all...n/t

[mmonk]

10. While you have good points,

he could advance his causes quite effectively from a position of power.

[PassingFair]

14. The part of the party that would "fracture" off can start their own

..."K-Street" Party.

They can't "fracture-off" FAST ENOUGH for me.

Run Al, Run!

[DemBones DemBones]

18. Good points but I think he may be willing to run despite

the problems it will cause with the Clintons. The big question is whether he wants to be president enough to put up with the hassle of campaigning and whether he's willing to give up what he's doing now. I can see it going either way.

[dave29]

24. I disagree.

I don't believe he fears Bill Clinton, or his wife, one bit. Nor does he fear putting what's right in front of what's inconvenient.

[On the Road]

30. He Could Always Offer Hillary the VP Slot

if only to mend fences

[krkaufman]

35. Not that I buy your premise... but delaying getting in works well against your theory ...

... as it may become obvious by Sept/Oct of this year that Hillary, for whatever reasons, will have seen a leveling of support, and isn't going to be President. Getting in after that wouldn't be an affront (if it could ever be considered so).

[garybeck]

36. Disagree.

I don't think Clinton plays in his decision. I think he feels a little screwed by Clinton. He would have won hands down if it weren't for Lewinskygate. And in the end, he wants the Dems to win and he knows he has a better chance than Hillary. Bottom line is he cares about the earth and he knows that he can work on that issue better than anyone, including Hillary.

IMHO, hillary's incessant fake smile makes me sick. my vote for her would be reluctant and only because we have to take the republicans out of office. my vote for Gore would be with extreme enthusiasm.

[Buzz Clik]

6. Quick! Somebody put up a poll to see if the DU thinks Gore should run!

Nobody has done that poll yet today. The last one was late last night.

[IndyOp]

9. !

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Buzz - Are you going to make it to fall when Gore makes an announcement one way or another?

:hi:

[Buzz Clik]

13. It will, no doubt, be a very long summer.

[mmonk]

7. That is good. While Rahm and company ignore and

marginalize Kucinich over the right things concerning what we should be doing in this country, they won't be able to marginalize Al Gore. It's one of the reasons that besides my contributing to DK, I've also become a supporter of the draft Gore movement and made a contribution. The madness has to end and we have to quit being ignored.

[NastyDiaper]

11. "Thank you. I am."

:toast:

[berni_mccoy]

12. IF HE IS SO CLOSE TO DECIDING, LET HIM SEE THIS ====>

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/berni_mccoy/161

PLEASE, Gore, RUN!!!!

[NastyDiaper]

25. Wow. That is a *really* nice pic.

Author's Note: these are actual photos I took.

An I see it's yours. :yourock:

[gollygee]

15. He wants to be a white horse candidate

and he's doing a good job building up to that

[gordianot]

16. Every day he does not declare he saves money as a candidate and is making money on his ideas.

If the odds are 50/50 of running at this point in his life, he is in a win/win position.

[disndat]

17. I also wonder what to say

as I was waiting to have my book signed, so I said to Gore, "Thank you President Gore." He reacted with a half smile, half laugh, but I thought he looked pleased. Seriously, I think he's got such a clamorous reception to his book and an all out good review from NYT's head critic, Michiko Kakutani, for one, the positive media attention, that he must be buoyed in this direction. K.O. gave him a wonderful interview last night and Gore seem exultant in general. I think he has even lost some weight, which according to Donna Brazile, is a sure sign.

[lonestarnot]

19. Ewwww, "thank you I am."

Yesssssssssssssssss Al!

[WinkyDink]

23. Isn't "Ewwww" a negative sound?!

[renie408]

31. I think its supposed to be 'oooooohhh' n/t

[lonestarnot]

40. Well you are mistaken.

[lonestarnot]

39. Hell fucking no! I've been here a long time and don't always post the norm.

[WinkyDink]

45. Well, all-righty, then!

[Connonym]

20. That makes me as happy as a wiggly pup

If he is planning on running I think he's a genius* for holding out. He's getting so much mileage out of it and it's not costing him a dime.

*Actually I think he's an all around genius which probably makes him overqualified for the job

[Blue Belle]

21. The problem is the current resident has been under qualified and gained access by birthright...

and therefore our nation can't remember what its like to have a genius in charge who is interested in upholding democracy. The bar has been set far too low and I think Gore's just the man to raise it.

[snappyturtle]

22. This is wonderful news....it seems as if Al Gore is positioning

himself. How long can he do this? Isn't there some kind of deadline for filing? Anybody know? I'm just full of questions today. K&R

[ArmchairMeme]

26. Gore

On KO last night Gore made a comment that it is still 500 days and he questioned why candidates start so early. I began to think how the media has encouraged candidates to begin early 1) they will spend more money 2) it gives the oponents more time to tear them down 3) they themselves get tired the process and what it does to them and their families.

The smartest candidate would wait the longest before getting into this negative space.

[Brigid]

27. Mr. President,

you know that we the people are behind you. Please, please run again. :)

[RestoreGore]

28. And why should we believe this?

Especially when on Keith Olberman last night and on David Letterman last week he stated, "I am not thinking about it." I think some will say anything to get on a rec list. I doubt very much that he would say this to someone who would repeat it and go against everything he has stated publicly, because that makes one of his statements then look like a lie, especially when he was visually upset at Diane Sawyer for tying his new book into a candidacy. Personally, I don't believe it.

[NastyDiaper]

32. Clearly 'Kal' wants Gore to Run.

Maybe Kal just wanted to hear it so bad, he heard an answer to someone else's question.

http://kal.dailykos.com

Kal's first post on KOS seems mild enough http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/12/1/213859/053. Hard for me to read someone laying the groundwork to lie their way onto the KOS rec-list. Especially when they had to travel to DC. Parking at GW can be a bitch.

Vice President Gore does seem to be tossing out more applause lines recently. Or maybe it's just the nature of the book.

[mzmolly]

29. Does anyone else have chills of joy reading that?

Be still my cold cold heart!

[elizfeelinggreat]

37. chills ... yes

I do!

[roamer65]

38. He should announce by simply responding to one of these questions...

"Ok. I will."

[Stephanie]

41. This book tour is the perfect run-up to an Al Gore candidacy.

He's great in interviews, smart, funny (okay, the history of communications on the CSpan Harry Shearer interview was (ahem) long-winded, but...) - it's totally humanized him. People are ready for an INTELLIGENT president. Someone who's not an IDIOT, nor a sell-out. God, wouldn't that be refreshing.

[Raksha]

43. And the book itself is the perfect platform. I just finished it last night,

and it sets out his priorities very eloquently, even though that wasn't wasn't his main reason for writing it. But he does it on HIS terms and without a bunch of snarky pundits interrupting him--as they will once the "official" campaign starts. He's very wise to put that off for as long as possible.

[AtomicKitten]

42. And with bated breath, we wait.

[frankenforpres]

44. When He Announces

the media will change their tenor. it will be AL vs Hill vs Barack


by playing it the way he is, he gets tons of positive coverage without facing campaign smear journalism the 'liberal' press loves to print

[tavalon]

46. Thank Goodness Al Gore uses his powers for good instead of evil

because he is damn good at this. I'm so proud of him. He is running this noncampaign campaign perfectly. If he has handlers this time (and God, I hope not) they are much better than the last time. But actually, I think he isn't choosing to be handled this time around and an unhandled Al Gore is one of the strongest forces in the known universe.

While it's going to be hard to wait until the end of September (that's when I think the noncampaign becomes an official campaign), it gives me time to save money so that I can spend as much time and money as I will want to to help his campaign.

And for those of you who think he needs to step in soon or risk not having enough money, do you really think that he won't have all the money he needs within a week, possibly even days of announcing? And not a drop of that will be from Corporate Masters.