One man who has remained very silent in this contest to date is Al Gore. Perhaps even more than President Clinton, Al Gore is the standard bearer for many voters in this country who consider themselves to be Democrats. He is probably as popular if not more so than President Clinton and his endorsement would likely carry a huge bloc of votes with it…especially here in California.
I am hearing rumors that he is going to endorse Senator Obama before Tuesday; if thats the case all bets are off.
That is very interesting. We are at a cross-roads in American politics. For the first time one of the majors will nominate either a woman or a minority. Remarkable.
how long did he stay mum on the likelihood of actually entering the race himself? i thought that was an open question, but i’m fairly out of touch with US politics. i can imagine that he wouldn’t be bothered to run, on the other hand, you’d think he’d be a shoe-in to win the race.
regardless, i think his blessing might actually be the deciding factor in the obama/clinton showdown.
I was going to admonish you for committing a racial slur. I misinterpreted the title of your post and thought you were making a post about Kwame Kilpatrick.
I am glad to see that it was not the case, and I apologize for thinking that you would even be capable of that.
I would say that to tease a guy for his weight is not nice though, even if you think he is a pretty good guy (which I assume you do).
By the way, I agree with you that a Gore endorsement would be huge, maybe even bigger than Oprah.
I don’t know - once bit twice shy? - he endorsed Dean in 04 and it, well, I don’t think that’s why Dean carried Vermont.
I suspect that Gore will do will most help (less cynical) the cause of global warming or (more cynical) Gore himself. My understanding was that endorsing Dean pissed off the Clintons. Doubt he’d make that mistake again. But would he endorse Clinton? Enh, don’t know.
I know of several people who have written him in and I’m surprised there wasn’t a coordinated write in campaign from the environmental community. I don’t think its likely he will make a convention end run, but if anyone could pull it off its him.
I was going to vote early this weekend…but now I’m holding of to see if he makes an endorsement.
This really may shape up to be the Clintons against the party (again). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gore endorse Obama, given the tedious nature of his relationship with the Clintons over the years.
I’m expecting one, maybe two, major endorsements to come his way prior to Tuesday. If it’s going to happen, it needs to be now.
Speaking of Oprah, where has she been lately? The one stop in SC was it? Or was there a bit of a backlash and she is laying low?
I think Gore coming out for Obama will really sting Clinton. Right now I do not think it would be enough for him to take California, but he might have a better showing.
Please don’t critique Gore on his weight. It reminds me of that brutally bad attempt at topical humor on FoxNews, where it seemed that incisive wit seemed to revolve around the size of Hillary Clinton’s calves. It was rather pathetic and beyond juvenile, but then again this is the network that recently aired Fred Gibson making fun of the news of Heath Ledger’s death, apparently because he felt that being in Brokeback Mountain makes you fair game for ridicule.
I think Gore is an interesting candidate, but I lump him in the same group as Bloomberg - somebody who would only be a candidate if he found the available candidates personally and completely objectionable. IMHO there is no chance that Bloomberg becomes a candidate if Obama wins the nomination. His public speeches have signaled as much. I suspect he feels differently about Clinton, if for no other reason because she “inspires” polarizing sentiments from the right. Put another way, if its Obama v. McCain, no Bloomberg, but if its Clinton v. Romney, he’d jump in.
**I am hearing rumors that he is going to endorse Senator Obama before Tuesday; if thats the case all bets are off. **
I agree. I don’t see how he could find it in himself to endorse Clinton. Especially after his treatment at both their hands during the 8 years of his Vice Presidency and since. Bill Clinton, many times in the runup to the 2000 election, found himself caught between an unequivocal support for his Veep and the need to ensure the election of his wife as Senator in New York state. What resources he should have devoted to Gore, who (despite all his faults) was a loyal foot soldier all those 8 years, he in the end devoted to Hillary’s campaign and her election. He couldn’t even deliver his home state of Arkansas to the Gore ticket.
I wasn’t critiquing him on his weight, quite the opposite in fact.
I apologize - every time I hear even the sniffle of that kind of “critique” from the right, I shake my head and wonder if this is the extent of their critical thinking. It’s very Coulteresque, I think - making fun of stupid little things and then trying to morph them into part of critical discourse when they are anything but. Between the weight of Gore/Clinton, Edwards’ hair or Obama’s middle name, you have to question whether the right is fundamentally serious about anything.