President Gore

We have been invited to meet all the Democratic candidates in big setting, in intimate settings, here and there.  Truth is, I am not that "wowed" by anyone.  Lots of time before we actually go to the voting booth too.  Lots could happen between now and then. 

I read somewhere that over 60% of the people in the US are paying a lot of attention to the candidates now.  They like Guiliani.   Who knows why.  He was our mayor for quite some time.  He certainly cleaned up the city but he has zero compassion and could care less about people who need help such as social services, tax breaks etc.  His best moment which absolutely highlighted his best skill set was on 9/11.  He was fantastic.  That is what most people remember.  But as the months go by and diligence is done ( the media will do diligence this time – won’t it?) , people will change their mind.  Just my 2 cents on that particular issue.  But what is interesting is the amount of people who are paying attention.  Says something about how disillusioned we are as a country with the current administration and obviously  hoping that time will pass quickly, as I do. 

What is interesting is Al Gore.  Will he run or won’t he.  Winning an Oscar, murmurings that he will win the Nobel Prize for his efforts on Global Warming.  Also he willingness to admit the mistakes he has made is a rarity these days in the world of politics.  He has been a citizen for the past 6 years and has really done interesting things that have made an impact.  He gets technology, he understands the world that we live in today.  Quite impressive, right?  But boy did he screw up a missed opportunity 6 years ago (regardless that he really did win – didn’t he?).  He should have won by a landslide.  Could he be the comeback kid?

Two articles on this particular topic today that I thought were thought provoking.  One was from Andy Ostroy who picked up an article on ABC with options from Andy really worth reading.  The other was from Maureen Dowd in the NY Times. 

Maureen Dowd writes about Bush’s intellect and what little there is as Andy does but her best comments were " the best ex-president who was never president could make one of the most interesting campaigns in American history even more interesting" and "The Bush-Cheney years have been all about dragging the country into the past, getting the presidential powers yanked away after Watergate, settling scores from Poppy Bush’s old war, and suppressing scientific and environmental advances.  How right she is. 

But Andy’s last paragraph is the one that makes you think.  More likely that is what everyone is thinking each time they see Al Gore speak.  I do. 

Just imagine what the country would be like today had he become president in 2000 and not Bush. Imagine an America without this bloody debacle in Iraq. Imagine an America that commands the respect of its allies and is feared by its enemies. Imagine an America that puts the environment before big corporate interests. Imagine having a president who strives to bridge the gap between rich and poor, where the middle class, not the wealthy, gets the tax breaks, and where the minimum wage is not a shameful $5.15. Pretty powerful stuff on the campaign trail, huh?