Mr. Gore, why haven't you entered the race for president? Your party needs you. As other candidates raise money and build campaign infrastructures in key primary and battleground states, the former vice president and 2000 presidential nominee has sat on the political sidelines, recently collecting an Oscar for his global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." While saying he does not intend to run, Mr. Gore has not ruled out the possibility. But it is not too late for Mr. Gore to throw his hat in the circus-like ring of the 2008 presidential contest. If he does, Democrats should thank him.
Mr. Gore is quite possibly the party's dream candidate for 2008. As an outspoken critic of the Iraq war since 2002 and darling of the environmentalist movement, the former vice president could gather major support from the far left of his party, including bloggers such as The Daily Kos and liberal congressional leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. But far from being the liberal candidate like, say, Howard Dean in 2004, Mr. Gore will experience broad support from the same moderate Democrats who almost made him president in 2000. Nobody in this race has the bread-and-butter knowledge of the issues like Mr. Gore, who spent a combined 16 years in the House and Senate, followed by eight years as vice president.
He can flank from the left on hot-button issues such as Iraq, thereby neutralizing other more liberal candidates such as Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. Yet he can also topple the self-proclaimed frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., by pulling in most moderate voters based on his experience as well as a sense of entitlement after his 2000 loss to George W. Bush, an election many Democrats still denounce as illegitimate. On many issues like taxes, health care and national security, Mr. Gore is whistling the same tune as most of his peers; the difference is that the over-scripted, boring Al Gore of yesteryear now demonstrates an obvious enthusiasm for his agenda.
Most importantly, the party's 2000 nominee has a reason for running, a hook to inspire people. As the nation's leading global climate change activist, he is quickly popularizing environmentalism among the masses. He spoke out against the war in Iraq when it was unpopular to do so, and many of his early criticisms about the Bush administration's handling of the war proved to be accurate. Sen. Clinton and former Sen. Edwards strike me as opportunists without a compelling reason to be president, and Sen. Obama is simply too inexperienced to lead the free world after only half a term in the Senate. The obviously intelligent and qualified Al Gore now has a specific passion and purpose to justify electing him to the highest office, complimenting his unmatched name recognition.
The three aforementioned senators have already started sparring with each other with petty sound bites and meaningless polling data, not to mention dozens of trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. Mr. Gore is smart to avoid this pre-pre-primary nonsense, instead relaxing at his Tennessee home and giving presentations on global warming while the other candidates expose themselves to an extra year of criticism and infighting. But when the time comes to actually pick the top of the Democratic ticket come 2008, the party must ask themselves the most important question of all: Who was on stage with Leonardo DiCaprio at the Academy Awards? Exactly. So for the Hillary Clinton haters out there, breathe easy, because when Mrs. Clinton wakes up to the inconvenient truth that she will never be elected, Mr. Gore will fall into step as the inevitable candidate and win the nomination.
Will Smith ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in political science and religious studies.
