Draft Al Gore?

[totodeinhere]

I am an Obama supporter who feels that all of the polarization that I see at DU and elsewhere between Clinton and Obama supporters is very troubling. Even though most people at DU will probably support the eventual nominee regardless of who he or she is, strong Obama supporters may not support Clinton enthusiastically and vice versa. Yet we may very well need enthusiastic support from everyone in order to beat someone like McCain.

I don't mean to ignore Edwards. He may well be a unifying force if he were to get the nomination instead of either Clinton or Obama. But what if he doesn't get the nomination? Then we are right back where we started.

So I am wondering if the time has come to consider bringing Al Gore in off the bench. He says he is not a candidate but I strongly suspect that he would accept a draft if it came to that. He loves his country too much not to step forward if his country needs him.

Of course, the way that this scenario could play out would be if there is a deadlock between Clinton, Obama and Edwards with nobody getting a majority of delegates on the first ballot at the convention. Then according to convention rules, the delegates in subsequent ballots would be free to vote for anyone they want to, including Gore or anyone else.

Al Gore is very popular and he might be just what we need to unite the party going into a tough general election fight.

Does anyone think that there is a possibility that this might happen, and if so, would it be a good thing?

[MNDemNY]

1. A deadlocked convention could yield President Gore.

Re-elect Al Gore!!

[RiverStone]

3. Highly unlikely

Al would only toy with a nomination at a brokered convention if he wanted to be president in 2009.

There is not a shred of evidence to suggest he wants that - that topic has been beaten to the ground.

I'd love for Al to be our president - but it won't happen in this election cycle.

[toadzilla]

2. you're dreaming.

[totodeinhere]

9. I would like to believe that sometimes dreams CAN come true.

[texastoast]

4. Gore--my first choice!

Sigh. If only.

[MADem]

5. Like there was no acrimony between Dean and Kerry?

There's always acrimony in hard fought contests. The party will unite behind the winner, even if the minority of lockstep, rabid ideologues have to "hold their nose" to vote for the candidate they don't like. A few little shits will not vote, or cast stupid protest votes that mean nothing except give them halfassed "bragging rights" about how they're so "cool" that they don't have to go along with the crowd, but the rest of us will vote pragmatically for the Democrat, who will win.

[totodeinhere]

10. But Kerry lost the election.

Whether you believe they stole the election or not, Bush is still in office. But perhaps if there hadn't been so much acrimony between Kerry and Dean, the results might have been different. And if Kerry had won by a bigger margin they they probably wouldn't have been able to steal the election.

[MADem]

12. Kerry should have listened to his running mate. Then he might have won by a larger margin.

It was his campaign to lose, and lose it, he did. Not by the number of votes, but by not making the margin decisive.

That was Kerry's fault, not Dean's. Dean got out of the way and was helpful once Kerry won the nom. He neither carped nor cried, and he sure as hell didn't do any whiney blaming.

Dean didn't get that DNC job by being an asshole or a complainer. He did it by demonstrating that he knew how to "grow the party."

[surfermaw]

6. Gore and Edwards would look good

With our other candidates some where in the administration, Edwards till te end, then any one of the three I will follower

[LSparkle]

7. I'm going to dream with you ... if there is a brokered convention ...

then ... MAYBE we could get President Gore where he belongs: in the Oval Office.

[rox63]

8. It would be nice - but it's very unlikely

I don't think there will be a brokered convention. I think the nominees will be determined by no later than March.

[sellitman]

11. Edwards is the answer.

He actually wants the job. Remember?

Gore doesn't. Remember?

If you read his last book you would know he wants nothing to do with politics. He burned himself out and is enjoying his private life way to much.

[totodeinhere]

13. If the party came to Gore and told him they need him...

are you saying that he would refuse? Yes, he says he doesn't want the job, but he hasn't been exactly Shermanesque about it.

[sellitman]

14. He has refused

Time and time again.

Stop believing in fairy tales.

[totodeinhere]

15. Sometimes fairly tales can come true.

>Stop believing in fairy tales.

That's what many observers would have said not too long ago if someone had said that the two leading contenders for the Dem nomination in 2008 would be a woman and an African American.