al gore- have you ever seen a demand for a candidate to run

[mopinko]

like this before???? i do not remember, in my lifetime, anyone being dragged onto the stage this way.
i know i do not have a good vantage point for this, because i have never been this political before. i do remember some excitement around bobby kennedy. but i wonder how much of that was genuine, and how much hyped up. some of each i am sure.
old folks, tell me your stories. because i think the buzz for al is historic.

[ThomWV]

1. I've been around since Truman - We NEED Gore!

There was a public outcry for Ike, but that was more to do with WW-II then his competence or any percieved need for him.

Not Kennedy. Certainly not Johnson (good as he may have been in ways). Nixon? Well, there was a percieved need by some folks. Ford - we did indeed need him and he did what he had to do, but nobody knew his name before he became VP and then Presidnet. Carter wasn't in great demand and then came disaster. People "needed" Reagan like they needed a crack dealer next door, and in fact it is speculated that this history of crack dealers next door can be traced directly back to the Reagan Administration. Bush I? In a pigs ass. President Clinton? I recall no public demand for him, he worked for the Presidency he got and then he continued to work after he got it. Bush II? You be the judge.

[wildhorses]

2. like a drowning man needs a life jacket.

gore/clark :patriot:

[IndyOp]

3. Come read this incredible interview on Rolling Stone:

DU Discussion

Rolling Stone article "Al Gore's Fight Against the Climate Crisis."

Rolling Stone Audio of Gore

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

For the record: If he runs I will donate and work my ass off. If he does not run then I'll do the same - we MUST move whoever lands in office to act boldly and immediately. The likelihood we will actually GET Gore to run increases if he sees that the public sentiment is soooo strongly behind him that Congress will RACE him to institute bold changes.

[mopinko]

10. i think he is trying to see if people will accept the truth.

i think he is trying to see if the truth can get out past the bullshit filter of the modern media. if people can hear him, i think he will run. if people still believe he anointed himself father of the internets, and that he sighs inappropriately, i think he will just stay where he is at.

[Raksha]

23. I agree with you, but I'd go further than that.

Of course he wants to see if he can get the truth out past the bullshit filter, but it's more than that. He wants to know--NEEDS to know!--that he has a mandate for the big changes he knows are inevitable. We can't solve the climate crisis unless a majority of the people understand that we're all in this together, and work willingly to change their lifestyles and do whatever needs to be done to restore our democracy and deal with the climate crisis. It can't just be a push from the top. It has to be voluntary because people understand the need, the same way they planted victory gardens by the millions and knitted socks for the troops and accepted rationing during WWII. Because they understood the need. Al Gore can provide the leadership, but ONLY the American people can provide the millions of large and small individual efforts that will be necessary to follow through. I think he's waiting for a sign that the willingness to provide those efforts is there.

Unlike Bush (and practically any other candidate I can remember) Al Gore has no interest in power for its own sake. Of course we all realize that and it's why we so desperately want him to run, but it requires a long-term commitment on our part--not just to get him elected, but to follow through after that. There is some serious clean-up work to be done on many fronts.

[sandnsea]

4. People wanted Bobby

That was not hype. That's one of the more ridiculous statements I've ever seen on DU.

I find it comical that the ones who want Al Gore the most are the ones who beat the hell out of him in 2000. Guess the left wasn't right on that one. How long before the ones who beat the hell out of John Kerry realize how ridiculously wrong they were too.

[Name removed]

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Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RestoreGore]

5. Too bad so many didn't "need" him so much before An Inconvenient Truth came out...

Gosh, Live Earth should be a huge success with all of these Gore supporters working WITH Mr. Gore to inspire people to join the movement to save theur planet, huh? Or does that support only stop at selling GORE08 buttons at his book signings? I don't really see much "patriotism" involved in the lovefest for him on these blogs of late, but I do see plenty of political maneuvering going on, and frankly to this Gore supporter, it is getting to be a huge turn off.

[LSK]

8. insulting people is not the most effective way to win them over

Especially when they WANT TO BE on your side.

[mopinko]

14. hi lsk

when we gonna have a get together???
:hi:

[LSK]

15. looks like the kos convention is the best bet

[mopinko]

17. well, we better get started, ya?

i think i'll go put something up in Il.

[RestoreGore]

19. I'm on EARTH'S side

I'm not interested in any other game playing that goes on with these blogs regarding winning people over, cliques or the like. I call it as I see it. I'm not "campaigning" here.

[mopinko]

9. well,

you are an odd sort of gore supporter, friend. i have seen you do some serious slamming of the people who are here hoping for him to run. maybe you are seeing things through a distorted lens. maybe you are getting a reaction to your own statements that has nothing to do with how people feel about al. just sayin.

[RestoreGore]

21. And maybe the truth hurts

And again, I call it as I see it. I heard he cut his book signing schedule short... perhaps he didn't much like all of the hype surrounding his book signings being hijacked into political rallies either, only he is too decent a man to say it publically. It IS a distraction, it IS redundant, and it HAS taken away from discussing the important topics he is trying to get out there, because the media ia eating up the hype over the substance with their help. Supporting someone means actually SUPPORTING THEM, not some illusion you have. That isn't odd by any stretch.

[JTFrog]

28. He could easily stop it just by staying

that he isn't going to run. So I don't buy that.

Until he says those words, I will be pushing for him to run.

[RestoreGore]

32. yes, "pushing" is exactly the right word

I think the man is adult enough not to need "pushing" as you call it, and knows what needs to be done and how to go about it. Also, by not saying it the way those using semantics as an excuse want it said is actually keeping the climate crisis out here, so that is actually the only good thing about it. Unfortunate he would have to do that to keep it in the consciousness of people in this country, but that again all goes back to The Assault On Reason and the fact that hype in this country surely does sell over substnace, and some prove that everyday.

[dropkickpa]

26. I busted my butt

doing what I could, giving what I could in 2000. I was pregnant, working LONG hours at a crappy job, dealing with a psycho boyfriend, and I still went out and talked to people, gave what tiny bit of money I could, did what I could at the time, which admittedly was not a whole lot. I will do everything I can again if he chooses to run again. I am in a better place to put a lot more (effort-wise, $$ still sucks) into working towards getting him elected.

My reasons for liking him are NOT just environmental. I honestly believe that he has a lot better chance than any of the current candidates at repairing our international reputation.

I cried when the theft occurred (may have been a little bit of post-partum hormones working there, I had Dropkid the morning of Dec 12th and cried when watching CNN that night in the hospital when SCUS reversed the FL supreme court decision). I was filled with absolute dread at what would happen to this country I'd just brought my child into. When I talked to my Dad (he was in Turkey on business) the next morning and told him about the decision, I also told him "Just watch, we're gonna end up in Iraq somehow, finish daddy's war".

[treestar]

7. Jefferson didn't want the job

In those days, they were reluctant to take it. Washington and Jefferson especially didn't want the second terms - they wanted to go home to their estates.

[RestoreGore]

20. And he also didn't acknowledge it as one of his achievements...

When asked what he wished to have noted on his tombstone as his accomplishments, he mentioned starting the University of Virginia, his resolution on religious freedom in Virginia, and the Declaration of Independence. Being president is not one of them, andhe isa ctually better known for the three accomplishments mentioned. Personaly, I think the presidency is overrated, and considering this is supposed to be a Democratic Republic, placing so much power in one position doesn't really sound so Democratic to me. The power of people in my view is stronger than any one man, or at least, it should be in a Republic.

[treestar]

31. ITA, my pet peeve is statements to the effect that the President

"runs the county." He is only one third the power of the federal government, and the federal government shares power with the states, and the governments of none "run" the country.

[RestoreGore]

33. yes, the obsession with anyone running for president is curious to me

It should not in a Republic be the be all end of the government, and it is a bit scary to hear some talk as if nothing can be done in this country unless it comes from the president. That sounds like dictatorship not Democracy. A president derives his "authority" from the consent of the governed, so I would think they are actullly the power through the elction of their representatives. Even when Mr. Gore says there is no more powerful position I cringe a bit, because there is, and it is being part of the citizenry of this country... or at least those are the words stated in the Declaration of Independence claiming that all men are created equal.

[TwilightGardener]

11. The buzz for Al doesn't seem to exist outside of DU and the media.

I can't think of one Democratic family member or friend that wants him to run.

[tammywammy]

12. I don't see it either

:shrug:

None of my progressive/democratic friends are especially wanting Gore.

[mopinko]

16. well, a thousand people stood in line for 3 hours

at the book signing that i was at. i talked to folks. some were internet junkies, but not all. most couldn't pass up the gore '08 buttons and sticker on their way in the door.

[Der Blaue Engel]

25. I don't know anyone who *doesn't* want him to run

Most of my friends and loved ones think I'm a little nuts to hang out on DU, so these are not DUers I'm talking about. Everyone I know says they'd vote for Gore in a heartbeat if he ran...even the people who normally vote third party to make a point.

Of course, I live in San Francisco, so maybe that's the difference. But it's definitely not limited to our little DU world and some media invention.

[dropkickpa]

27. My entire family

Spread across the US, wants him to run. I'm the only one on DU, the only one really active on any political boards, sites, etc. My 89 year-old grandmother in an assisted living facility in Iowa just wrote me a long letter, and she mentions how she's hoping that Gore runs, because he seems to be the smartest and the "best" (as in being a good person) one.

Of my friends, few are politically active or aware, but the ones who are want him. The only politically active friend that I have who doesn't want him to run is a repub, and her reason is because she thinks he'd win.

[TwilightGardener]

29. LOL! I guess anecdotal evidence only counts for so much, then!

I haven't personally seen "Gore fever", but I suppose I can't say it doesn't exist in someone else's world.

[dropkickpa]

30. I think a lot of it is

people are afraid to hope.

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. On this scale, no I haven't.

There was a real and legitimate draft organized to get Wes Clark into the 2004 Presidential race. I joined it, and I'm proud of the substantial grassroots effort that went into it. This groundswell though is far larger.

Of course that first and foremost is a powerful tribute to Al Gore personally, but it also is a factor of Al Gore's already high profile in the Democratic Party as a former VP and Presidntial candidate who so many already know and trust, the obviosly dire situation we now face as a nation, coupled with a real disatisfaction that so many of us now feel with the current field of Democratic choices.

[chaska]

18. I would love to hear what Al has to say....

Clearly, he's not the same guy that ran in 2000. And he's the only one that really gets it on the environment.

Bottom line: People do change. Until he shows me that he's still the same conservative guy he was, I'll remain open minded about him.

I have no great faith in Obama or Edwards, and I won't vote for Hillary. At least with Gore we know we'd get some kind of action on the most important issue of our lifetimes.

[Raksha]

24. That's not what Tipper says.

Clearly, he's not the same guy that ran in 2000. And he's the only one that really gets it on the environment.

She says he essentially *IS* the same guy who ran in 2000, and the same as he's always been. It's just a lot more obvious to a lot more people now!

[DFW]

22. There are some parallels between now and 1968

Although: Gore and RFK are/were very different personalities.
RFK was extremely charismatic in public as a speaker, and
yet a shy man in person, almost embarrassed at how much
popularity he generated (no, I have no links--this is from
personal experience). Gore is exactly the opposite. Although
his public speaking is getting better, he is unbelievably
impressive in a one-on-one, outgoing, engaging, definitely
not the guy we all saw on TV during the 2000 campaign. Maybe
that persona was just the result of poor advice, I couldn't say.

My hunch in 1968 was that RFK was considering running for a long
time, and hesitated due to the groundswell generated by Eugene
McCarthy. By the time he decided to announce, he knew full well
that he would get branded an opportunist for letting McCarthy
blaze the trail for him. The fact that he went ahead in spite
of that was a demonstration (to his supporters, anyway) of the
depth of his wish to change America for the better. As I remember it,
the great surge of support for him came after he declared, not before.

Al Gore is not quite facing the same scenario. I truly believe he is
reluctant to jump into this again, and will not do so unless there
is a massive widespread demand for him to enter the race. The DU
isn't it. It has to be really universal. Like "make Hillary/Obama/
Edwards tremble in their boots before he even announces-type" universal.

In this age of bought and controlled media, I don't know what it would take.
I'm sure the Republicans would lie down and die of fright if the so-called
Democratic front-runners would all withdraw and ask Al Gore to run and
pick one of them as VP. But that ain't gonna happen. When the Republican-
controlled TV media starts praising one of the current "top 3" and ignoring
the fact that there is someone out there named Al Gore, then we'll know that
it is time for him to jump in. I know a certain DNC chairman, who shall remain
nameless, whose heart that wouldn't break, although he can't come out and say so.