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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (63533)	6/20/2006 9:18:05 PM
From: steve harris	Respond to of 93284

what's the plan clifford? I read the article and didn't see one other than cut and jog...

To: American Spirit who wrote (63533)	6/20/2006 10:35:10 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93284

Al Gore's Hour of Decision _____________________________________________________________ By RJ Eskow 06.20.2006 This is an interesting time to be Al Gore. "An Inconvenient Truth" and its message have entered the public consciousness, with an impact that goes well beyond the number of people that have actually seen the film. It seems to have moved the media's perception - and therefore the public's - toward the understanding that global warming is real and man-made. Like it or not, though, he has a decision to make - and he should make it soon, for the country's sake as well as his own. Right now he's changed the country's perception of global warming, and to an extent of himself. Even the film's title, which I thought was awkward, is becoming a catchphrase - like "the perfect storm." Gore is performing an invaluable service at a critical time. He seems to be driven by a genuine desire to be of service - in the best way possible. And while he says he's not running for President, he won't rule it out decisively. He says "Shermanesque" declarations "aren't natural." And while I understand his point, the Presidential speculation will keep swirling around him until he does provide a "Sherman" statement - or until he declares his candidacy. It seems he has three basic choices: 1. Make that Shermanesque statement and keep working on the climate crisis. 2. Remain open and keep working on the climate crisis. 3. Run for President. There are other options, of course, including adopting other causes as passionately as he has this one. But if these three choices represent the basic layout of what lies before him, how can he avoid wrestling with them? Fate - if you believe in fate - has put Gore in a fascinating position. As the man who was elected leader but never served, he's haunted our political conscience like the Prodigal Son for five years now. Bearded or not, heavy or thin - for years we saw him in fleeting glimpses, like an long-estranged relative we occasionally glimpse in shop windows downtown. He's a tempting target for psychohistory - the man who fulfilled his father's dream and had it stolen, only to walk away and become himself. (I couldn't resist it myself, here.) But the truth is he probably hasn't changed all that much over the years. So which of these options should he choose? I believe him when he says he doesn't really want to run again, and that he doesn't believe he's very good at "politics." But a Shermanesque statement would lessen the public's interest in Gore, and therefore in his message. So let's assume that's out, at least for now. Option #2, unfortunately, has a limited shelf life. At some point people are going to see a lack of finality as a negative. And progressive Democrats aren't well-served by waiting indefinitely for a decision from him, like characters in "Waiting For Lefty." They're going to need to get moving fairly soon, on way or the other, and "waiting for Al" isn't a strategy. That leaves open the idea of running for President. I can't imagine that appeals very much to Gore, but he has to be thinking about it - and not just so that he doesn't have to take his shoes off to get on an airplane. He can do a lot of good as President, but he'd have to endure a lot of bad to get there. And then there's that Washington Post poll that puts his unfavorability rating at 42%. That can be changed, but does he want to go through what it would take to do it? His answer might well be: Only if that's the best way to be of service. In the end, that's a personal question only he can answer. But to answer it, he has to ask himself some hard questions first: Could he run for President and remain as relaxed and candid as he is today? Could he be an "un-politician" running what I call a "meta-campaign" - not only against his opponent, but against today's political process itself? Or would he be drawn back into old habits, an old personality, an old way of doing business? Only he knows for sure. He can stay in his current state of potentiality, suspended in an "either/or" condition like Schrödinger's cat - but he can't do it forever. As I wrote earlier, my theory is that it's not accidental when he jokes that he's a "recovering politician on the ninth step." The ninth step is the one where you make amends and try to right whatever you could have done better in the past. For Gore, I imagine that would mean making the world a better place without considering his own wants or needs. My advice (not that Al's asking)? Don't run a Presidential campaign. Either run a "meta-campaign" - with a campaign that challenges the system itself - or be of service in other ways, as you've been doing so effectively. The only bad decision he could make would be to go back to the old, seemingly calculated, centrist Al Gore - the proto-Hillary of the 1980's. And that seems unlikely. (Maybe that's why people always saw him as "stiff" and "artificial" - the more we see the real Gore, the more we see that the guy who picked Lieberman as a running mate really wasn't the man inside at all.) The Prodigal Son of the Bible lived an errant life, and saw the error of his ways. Al Gore spent much of his public life as a DNC-style politician, and doesn't seem to miss it much. As for his homecoming - at this point, that's up to him. He doesn't need to make his decision today, but he should make it soon. huffingtonpost.com