An Open Letter to Al Gore

[MessiahRp]

Dear Mr. Gore,

I am a lifelong Democrat and I am writing to urge, to beg, to plead with you to enter the Presidential race.

It's not that the other candidates are not qualified, they most certainly are. All have their own personal charms of which I am fond of, but none of them are you, Al Gore.

Why does that make a difference?

Because it's not that we just want you to be our President. We NEED you to be our President.

After watching An Inconvenient Truth there is nothing clearer in the world of politics today.

This is about saving our planet.

The candidates the Democrats have put forth are all nice, but I am not sure any of the serious contenders have the "political will" as you put it to take this country and force it into the right direction. Even John Kerry whom I admire, respect, worked hard for in 2004 and recently wrote a book on the environmental issues we must face doesn't have your credentials in this area.

I can attest that the Democratic base would come out in support of your candidacy but that you now have cross over appeal.

Most of America finally seems to "get it" about what is going on with our atmosphere. The sense of urgency is there on a majority of Americans' minds. Your message has started to be dissemenated to the masses.

But we need a leader who can stand strong and implement the changes required to reverse this process. You are that man.

The past 6+ years of the Bush Administration seemed to have accelerated global warming even further and their ignorance is bliss policies on the environment will have created quite a mess to have to clean up after. I have faith that nobody else is prepared for this job like you are.

You stated that we should be prepared for more than just the war on terror in the movie. I agree. I have an Eight year old son who may be facing the worst case scenarios when he is a middle aged adult. That scares the hell out of me a lot more than worrying about whether a terrorist is going to hijack a plane or not.

I say this with all due respect and sensitivity to the victims and families of 9/11, but the war on terror is microscopic in scope to what could occur if this Global Warming scenario plays out.

This is a chance for you to implement the policies required to take your message of change and make it a reality. As President of the United States you will be a power broker who can use our immense leverage to get the rest of the world on board will a full environmental surge.

It is our generation's call to save our planet and save humanity from itself.

You are that generation's leader.

Please run for President. America and the entire world needs you.

Sincerely,
Rp


EDITED TO INCLUDE CONTACT INFO:


Honorable Al Gore
2100 West End Ave Ste 620
Nashville, TN 37203

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[sellitman]

1. Amen.

Kicked and voted

[rox63]

2. Please Al, run

You saw the sad field of contenders out there last night. Please run again.

[smiley_glad_hands]

3. kick eom

[Merlot]

4. Great letter - where do I sign?

[MessiahRp]

9. I added the contact information

Send him a mail, drop him a call or fax. Let him know you want him to run. It's more important than ever to have this person be our candidate.

It's not about Right or Left anymore. It's about life on this planet and the future for our children.

Rp

[ms liberty]

5. Are you sending a copy of this to Al Gore? You should...

Send it snail mail with your signature for best impact.

K&R: I agree with you - I want him to run too!

[MessiahRp]

7. I am sending this afternoon actually.

I can only pray we can create the groundswell to compel him to run.

Rp

[ms liberty]

12. Great, we all need to do this! Thanks for posting it, a most excellent letter! n/t

[gasperc]

6. Gore gets confluence, warring, warming and economic havoc

they are converging into a perfect storm of great depression proportions. From peak oil, to global warming, to the war in Iraq, to poverty in America, to the gluttony and greed of the wealthy in America, the confluence of events and the perfect storm of diaster and war and reaching a nexus of lethal proportions. Gore is one of the few people seeing how and why the world's energy gluttony is leading to war and environmental diaster!!!

[ms liberty]

11. Great points, these things are all so interconnected. That's why we need his vision so much! n/t

[byronius]

8. I'm So There.

[Uncle Joe]

10. Most excellent letter MessiahRp,

thanks for writing it and the thread.

Kicked and recommended

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. (nt)

[tmlanders]

14. And, Mr. Gore, while you are working on the environment...

which, I agree, is the biggest challenge to the entire planet right now, you would also be perfect for putting our government back together again. 6-8 long years of systematic dismantling by the Pretender-in-Chief has destroyed the functionality of our government in so many ways. The Justice Department, EPA, Treasury, and Military have suffered, with career bureaucrats forced out by Bushies put in place for the sole purpose of destroying them. The great work you did as Vice President on the "slimming down" of the government gives you a fantastic foundation for putting it all back together again. And I believe that you are the only one who can do this.

We need you now, sir. Please become a candidate for the Presidency in 2008!

Thank you...

[krkaufman]

23. Your point really needs emphasis. The basic workings of govt ...

... have been so corrupted that it will require someone with direct experience to get it back on track. Gore's my choice; just hope he *becomes* a choice.

p.s. I have to wonder if Al's upcoming book, according to the following thread, may not be a precursor to his entering the campaign. (I can hope.) It sure sounds like the visionary leadership you're talking about.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=768906

[RestoreGore]

41. Thanks for the plug

But I didn't write it to suggest that. There is more to it than that.

[kiteinthewind]

15. Great letter. My sentiments exactly! Thank you.

:kick:

[we can do it]

16. Please Al -

The country and the world need you. I will pledge my service to you.

[dalloway]

17. "too late to raise enough money"

That is what I was hearing people say just today--that even if Gore announced, it would be too late for him to raise the money

Tell me why this isn't true as I am the eternal optimist hoping for Al to jump in the fray.

[MessiahRp]

18. Two reasons..

1. Gore is very popular right now. People would donate at record paces to his campaign. Yes I truly believe that.

2. He won't have spent money trashing Hillary or Obama like they will have and thus he won't have burned all the money they did either. They also haven't spent time trashing him so he gets to earn the money while other "frontrunners" destroyed each other and he comes in without being picked apart by Democratic candidate attack ads.

Rp

[Mabus]

20. Look at recent examples

In the 2004 election cycle Dean raised a lot more money than the other candidates early on. Here's an article from December 2003 that mentions how Kerry's fundraising was sputtering.

Kerry fund-raising to see worst quarter
Aides blame candidate, competition for donors

By Patrick Healy, Globe Staff | December 31, 2003

HUMBOLDT, Iowa -- After a powerful fund-raising start this year that conferred fleeting front-runner status on his candidacy, Senator John F. Kerry is due to end 2003 with his worst three months of fund-raising, and the blame inside his campaign is falling on both the candidate and the competition for money among the nine Democratic presidential contenders, according to Kerry fund-raisers and campaign aides.

Two top Kerry fund-raisers say the senator has not inspired potential donors with enough verve to embolden them to give despite their own skepticism that Kerry will beat Howard Dean in the upcoming primaries. Nor, they and other fund-raisers say, is there clear evidence that Kerry's two recent personal loans to his campaign, totaling $7.2 million, have led to significantly greater giving by donors who were heartened by Kerry's show of support, as some fund-raisers had hoped.

One of the two top fund-raisers, a longtime Kerry ally, compared the senator to Edmund S. Muskie -- the former Maine senator who lost the 1972 Democratic nomination despite high expectations -- in noting that Kerry's campaign raised $7 million during the first three months of 2003, yet is expected to net only $2 million to $3 million in the final quarter. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/12/31/kerry_fund_raising_to_see_worst_quarter/

Kerry went on to win the primaries because people who weren't donating to his campaign came out and showed their support for him at the caucuses and with their ballots. And, as we all know, Kerry went on to shatter fundraising records once he was assured of the nomination.

More recently, acoording to the data recently released Edwards' campaign isn't setting records. However, his fundraising totals aren't indicative of his showing in the polls. This means there are a lot of people who are sitting on their money who will indicate their support for Edwards in the polls. This type of thing happens every cycle.

All in all, there are still a lot of people who aren't paying attention right now because they think it is too early. A lot of my friends know I watch politics 24/7/365 and whenever I try to talk 2008 presidential politics with them they pretty much say it is way too early to think about it. When I mention Gore they usually say they'd like to see him run. Either way, none of them (and some of these are people who have held fundraisers for candidates in the past) are donating to campaigns right now.

fwiw, one of our neighbors has an "Obama '08" sign in her window (along with her "Hope is on the way" sign from the K/E's 2004 campaign). I asked her if she watched the debates last night. She said she had not because it was way too early. I asked her about her sign and she said she was visiting relatives in Illinois when Obama announced, so she went and got a sign. She also admitted that while she has the Obama sign displayed she prefers Hillary but doesn't think she's electable. She said she'd support Obama, Gore, Clinton and Edwards for the nomination.

Besides, Gore's book next book, "The Assault on Reason," is being billed as his critique of the Bush malAdministration and his ideas on the current state of politics. Personally, I think his seriously thinking about but wants to see how well his book is recieved. It's like he's putting his foot back in the water to see if the temperature is right.

[NastyDiaper]

33. Speaking for myself,

Just needs a date and an address. I'm not the only one to say that Gore could raise money fast.

- dislaimer: this check should not be considered an indication taht I do not support announced candidates, nor that I'm holding back from the lcv or the nrdc or the owl rescue or organic consumers or a hybrid car payment or my gold star or whatever other orgainzation someone here might believe better served -
- you may, if you see fit, assume that I'm asshole for waving a check. I deny nothing there =p -
- ppl shoud check out DK's peace-globe shirt, I ordered mine :) -

[LibDemAlways]

19. You mentioned Gore's "crossover" appeal. That is

absolutely true. A good friend of mine who generally votes "r" told me recently he's waiting for Gore to get in the race because he represents our best chance of getting the country back on track. I suspect Gore would win in a landslide. Think how many people now realize they made a terrible mistake in 2000 and would like the opportunity to get their vote right this time. Add a united Democratic party and I think Gore would be unbeatable. Please Al, run!

[illinoisprogressive]

21. Gore deserves to do as he wants and be free. Look elsewhere. there

are good candidates. You need to quit pinning away for something that is not going to happen and look elsewhere.
Let the man alone and do what he wants to do. he owes no one anything.

[krkaufman]

24. As you suggest for Gore, MessiahRp also has the right, quite literally ...

... to appeal to Gore to run. Not sure what the value is in commanding them to do otherwise -- though you have every right to do so, obviously.

[kiteinthewind]

28. The value is that she wants Obama. I think there are plenty of Obama threads on DU,

if she cares to look. I just don't get the 'kill the other candidate' mentality. When I see a Gore thread, I comment. I am a Gore supporter. Trying to make me pick another, just makes me less likely to consider that candidate,
esp. when ordered to "Look elsewhere". :wtf:


If Gore does not run, tho I think he will, then I will decide who would be my second choice. Until then, Gore is where it is at for me. Period.
:toast:

edited for clarity

[Raksha]

32. True, there are other good candidates.

But there is only ONE absolutely necessary, essential candidate...and that is Al Gore. The country demands his candidacy and the planet demands it.

[melody]

22. What he said! K&R

[madokie]

25. something tells me that the whole world will breath a breath of relief

and fall all over themselves to be a part of the solution to this most important issue, due to his leadership. We need Al Gore more than anything ever, period

[marlakay]

26. AMEN!

Agree with all you say!

[NastyDiaper]

27. Al Gore will be more effective in 2008,

than he could have been in 2000.

He has not changed, we have.

The electorate has become far more aware of the political, natural, and security crisis we face.

Horribly, we know this because that triad has been under a criminally successful attack by Gore's 2000 opponent for six years.


I would ask Al Gore to allow us, with our new awareness, to correct our grave mistake.

I strongly support Al Gore entering the race, and encourage those who might agree to help build a political platform for him, *without* demanding that Al Gore step immediately onto that platform. Rather placing a welcome mat on it.


Thank you MessiahRp for the post. I also am listening and happy with the announced candidates.

[Pastiche423]

29. Excellent letter!

Would it be all right to use your words in writing to him?

[MessiahRp]

53. I don't mind that you do

But I would think Mr. Gore would appreciate your heartfelt thoughts and feelings much more than some carbon copy template letters. Speak your mind and hart. It will touch Mr. Gore far more.

Rp

[bigwillq]

30. Run AL RUN!

:bounce:

Great letter!

Gore is my #1 pick!

:bounce:

[Divine Discontent]

31. I'm all for EDWARDS

BUT...

If someone can get Al Gore (or Wes Clark for that matter) to run, I will support them, wholeheartedly.

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff

[Clark2008]

34. Dang - I wish I was at work.

I would give you his home address. I have it there.

On Edit: I found it here. Do you want it? If so, just PM me.

[MessiahRp]

45. Yeah drop me a PM!

Thanks!

Rp

[RestoreGore]

35. "I miss the ability to influence events, but I don't miss politics"

Stated by Mr. Gore in the June 2006 Bergen Record. I think those of us who are informed and aware know why he would not miss politics. However, that is never discussed and is seen as taboo in relation to his own words. Hopefully his new book coming out next month will back up that statement and give the American people the information they need to make changes in the political system instead of expecting it all to be done for them. Until then, I doubt you will see a good man like Al Gore be a part of the poll driven, media circus, 30 second soundbite, waste of money ego trips political campaigns are in this country. Especially considering the powerful interests that will not loosen their grip on policy by then. If he then had to revert to playing that game to "win", it is not worth his soul to do it.

[Raksha]

38. I'm sure he would love to *BE* president without *RUNNING"

for president. I think that could be a big part of why he could enter the race relatively late. First, because that's possible for him, and for no other candidate. Maybe just as important is the desire to avoid as much of rat race and ego-tripping as he possibly can.

Re "I miss the ability to influence events, but I don't miss politics."

Are you going to support him if he does decide to run? Considering your very predictable behavior on this subject, I think that's a valid question.

[RestoreGore]

39. What do you think?

I will always support him and his judgement. Conversely then, if he doesn't run, will you support him or will he be forgotten as he was until An Inconvenient Truth came out to make him good enough for those who did not think him worthwhile before that?

[Raksha]

42. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't run but I won't forget him.

He's proving himself one of the truly great leaders and statesmen of all time. I liked your post about his new book and I'm looking forward to reading it. The comparison with Thomas Jefferson (one of my heroes) is a very valid one.

[MessiahRp]

54. See I thought him worthwhile

He was someone I wanted then.

He's someone we NEED desperately now.

That's the difference An Inconvenient Truth made to me.

Rp

[RestoreGore]

57. The point is he already IS here

So I don't know what you mean by "needing" him. Global warming was also here 2004. You didn't need him then? You didn't feel the urgency then? I sure did. And an Inconvenient Truth is not a political film. It is meant to move you to action. So what actions have you undertaken besides expecting him to save you to address this climate crisis?

[MessiahRp]

68. Making people aware is nice and all

And he's done a terrific job of it.

Unless he is an elected official he cannot submit bills that will change things where they really need it most, from a legislative perspective.

Rp

[RestoreGore]

69. I asked what you are doing

And this isn't just NICE it is a MORAL IMPERATIVE. Thanks for circumventing my question regarding what you are doing about it. It is obvious to me than that your letter was simply political in nature and not sincere on any other level.

[MessiahRp]

70. In response to your asinine assumptions

I am doing what I can to be as carbon neutral as I can and I speak out to everyone I can.

Apparently you are against Gore leading the charge in a political nature. Doing public speaking tours and slideshows help a lot, but it's pretty hard to get everyone in line without government policy leading the way.

People can change one by one but it will take a lot longer to get corporations to change out of the goodness of their hearts if it somehow affects money in their pockets. Forcing policy changes make those corporations have no choice but turn the corner.

That has a trickle down effect you seem to overlook. If companies go green than the products they produce are going to be more environmentally safe. This is a country based on consumerism and to deny that is naive. Once corporations are having to comply with environmental standards the products they sell will follow suit and then even those Americans who don't feel any urge to change what they are doing (and there are a LOT of those) will be involuntarily be eliminating their carbon stamp on society.

Would it be great for people to just up and change on their own free will? Yes. It would be fantastic. But it's not realistic to think enough people will make such a change on their own, especially corporate entities to actually make the impact needed to not just reduce our current impact but to reverse course and protect it in the future.

Maybe for once, you can understand the political response that is needed instead of hurling ridiculous insults that prove you underestimate how politics affects American culture on a daily basis.

Rp

[RestoreGore]

71. Oh, politics affects it alright

Just look at all of the DEAD because of it. And bottomline, there is no political policy without PEOPLE doing their part to speak out for it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is the assinine one.

[NastyDiaper]

40. We gather to trouble deaf Heaven with our bootless cries.

[rosesaylavee]

64. Will - that you?

:bounce:

Nice reply!

[stlsaxman]

36. Lovely! Well put- I'll print it, sign it and mail it off tomorrow.

Thank you! :toast:


:kick:

[tnlefty]

37. Well done and a BIG thank you for posting this!

I keep hoping and I will write. :thumbsup:

[AikidoSoul]

43. If everybody on DU sends a letter -- maybe he will feel the pull

to save us.

Thank you for this fine letter.

We will write our own tomorrow morning and get it into the mail.

You're absolutely right that we need him to be the most powerful person in the world and to save us from our selves. So well stated.

Edited to say kick, and Recommend:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Tom Joad]

44. You tried once Al Gore. Leave it to others now.

You gave it a shot in 2000, and even when you won (barely, against a very weak candidate) you decided for whatever reason, to not put up much of a fight. If the margin was so weak in 2000, we can't really expect a better performance 2008.

So, stick with your decision.

It's really up to us to change our country, each one of us, not put misplaced hopes in politicians.

[MessiahRp]

46. So even though Global Warming is a very serious threat that needs to be addressed now...

we should not want Al Gore because of the bullshit in 2000 and go with one of the obviously weaker choices who will not make the changes needed to save the environment priority one?

Sorry, you're just plain wrong in your thinking here.

Rp

[Tom Joad]

47. Many people seem to forget he was in the White House for 8 years already

workin along side bill Clinton.

We got the anti-environmental anti-worker nightmare called WTo and NAFTA.
US bombed Iraq and continued deadly sanctions.

I think gore has had his chance.

[MessiahRp]

52. Strange since I thought it was Bill Clinton that set policy and signed laws

Al Gore is not Dick Cheney and therefore he did not control the Clinton agenda.

Rp

[Subdivisions]

50. I agree and I won't try to change

Tom Joad's mind, at least not yet.

What I will say is that out of all the candidates who have announced, which one can fix our broken country? Which one would be most respected by world leaders? Which one is more likely to engage diplomacy? Which candidate that has already announced can give us hope for a better future?

None that I see can do all of that and the thousand other things that must be done to put this country back on the right track.

[Mabus]

61. Not much of a fight, the case went to SCOTUS, the next level would have been armed rebellion

Where could he have gone after the case went to SCOTUS. If he had tried to push it any further he would have been more marginalized by the press than he already was.

The media screwed Gore over in 2000 like they had been screwing over Clinton for years and the same way they participated in screwing over Dean and Kerry in 2004. Bush didn't come off as a weak candidate becaise the press covered for him. The same way the press covered for Bush, Rudy and the rest after 9/11.

[Maat]

48. Amen! Run, Al, run!

You seem interested in being YOU lately. It is because of you that I'm driving a Prius, buy a Prius for my husband, we've cut our driving down to almost nothing, we're recycling like crazy, we've replaced all of the lightbulbs in our house, and we're planning an environmentally friendly home. We've cut our energy bills in half. Run, Al, run!

[padia]

49. I will email him

have this cut & pasted into word

[fightthegoodfightnow]

51. Mr. Gore Has Earned Respect

You've got to give it to the man....... he has fought the good fight. He has demonstrated that public service is a noble calling and that honor is comes with respect. I respect him.

[connecticut yankee]

55. I've been saying that for months

and I'm not the only one.

I hope he'll listen to us.

[jwirr]

56. Absolutely.

[WillyT]

58. Yeppers !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[DesertRat]

59. kick!

[RevCheesehead]

60. Please, Al.

You're still my president, 2001-2004.

[ClintonTyree]

62. I'm right there with you, MessiahRp....

I've been typing my little fingers off for the past few months, both to the Draft Gore campaign and to any newspaper that will print LTTEs. An you're SOOOOOOO right about his cross-over appeal. I've talked to many, many people who voted for Bush in '00 and now realize what a mistake it was. They're mad as fell and they're not going to take it anymore. If Gore chooses to run, it's his: no ifs, ands or buts.

[SquireJons]

63. Addendum: Please Al, stay home.

I like Al Gore as a person, but cant stand him as a campaigner.It brings out all of the worst qualities of him. It's not a personal failing if you don't look glamorous in the glare of TV camera's. But the reality is, Al has a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time. Everybody here seems to have forgotten his 2000 performance. You'll say "he won the popular vote!", which is true... by a few thousand votes. It never should have been that close. None of the academic experts gave W a chance considering Gores incumbency and the state of the economy and world stability.

Gore had it all, and still couldn't beat a pugnacious silver spoon fed phony. Think about that, please. If he couldn't beat shrub, he sure as hell isn't going to beat McCain of Guliani. I beg you to take off your rose colored glasses. It's imperative that the Democrats retake the executive branch, and the reason is very personal. Any Republican winning the White House in 2008 will continue the policy of allowing our military to be used as a mercenary army for the energy companies, occupations will continue and probably expand to include Venezuela and Ethiopia, two poor countries with vast resources. My son will be coming up to draftable age a few short years after 2008 and I'll be damned if I'll let him die in some foreign desert for Exxon and the enrichment of Cheney's friends. The only question then will be, where to go?

Gore has proven he runs a poor campaign, and there are several good Democrats currently running. Let's move on.

[iamjoy]

65. RESIST THE URGE! RESIST THE URGE

Mr. Gore, if you do run PLEASE for the love of humanity DO NOT say "I Told You So." I know you were right all those years ago. I know how hard it is to not remind us of that. But it will hurt your campaign chances.

I'm on board with Edwards right now. I don't see Gore as our savior. On the other hand, I do think he would still make an excellent candidate and excellent President. I don't think its fair to use his performance in 2000 as a reason to disqualify him. There were a lot of other factors working against him then that have changed.

And Gore has changed too, I think he's more willing to be himself. He doesn't seem as stiff.

[SquireJons]

66. Yesterday never happened.

It's absurd to ignore the 2000 campaign. While events in this country and around the world have changed, Gore himself has not changed. Why should he? People don't change at the age of 58. In 2000, he chose Lieberman as his running mate and put as much distance as possible between himself and Bill Clinton. Those are his political instincts; they always have been and always will be.

I don't disagree with a single policy position that he has, but I firmly believe that he can not get elected and isn't that the name of the game? Getting elected? We're talking about a man who after graduating from Harvard in 1969, returned to the campus in uniform as an army recruiter... during the height of the Vietnam war protests. And he didn't understand why he got such a cold reception.

[lonestarnot]

67. Very wonderful letter. I hope it influences his plans.