Al Gore Should Run For President, And Here’s Why He’ll Win
The timing has never been better for Al Gore to announce he’s ready to make another run at the White House.
Just ask John Stamos, who played “Uncle Jesse” on Full House, about 1990s stars making triumphant returns a generation later.
In an article Thursday, BuzzFeed fanned the flames around a potential Gore run in 2016. Citing anonymous sources, the article claims discussions are already taking place among insiders and advisers to the former vice president. Articles disputing this claim have done little to put out the flames.
The call for Al to enter the 2016 presidential race was first made in March by Vox founder Ezra Klein. In the editorial, Klein promoted a potential Gore run as visionary and praised Al for his work on the environment. Despite his extensive body of work as a private citizen, being president can do more to help Gore achieve lasting successes on environmental actions, Klein concludes.
“Gore cares enough about what comes next that he literally titled his last book The Future. But if he is really so obsessed with the future, then running in 2016 is his best chance to change it.”
The calls have only been louder since Klein offered his opinion.
As for why he can win, Salon writer Sean Illing composed a top 10 list of reasons Democrats should draft Al to run in 2016. The article, which is nearly a month old, offers significant reasons why Gore would be a compelling choice for Democrats by virtue of his stance on key political issues.
“Enter Al Gore: the one person on the left, apart from Clinton and Biden, with the cachet to bridge the establishment and progressive wings of the party… a Gore candidacy makes sense, both for the Democratic Party and the country.”
While Al may be seen by some voters as too centered on climate change, Gore has also been critical of the current administration on occasions. One recent criticism came in July during an interview with the Guardian. In it, Al argued Arctic drilling should be banned.
And while Obama is still favorably viewed by Democrats, Gore distancing himself from an otherwise unpopular president isn’t a bad thing. It’s a claim Hillary cannot fully make as she was in the original Obama administration.
Further, Gore has been at the forefront of the complicated political issues of his time, WBUR reported. The Boston public radio station challenged Obama’s status as a champion of homosexual marriage rights.
“Being ahead of the curve on global climate change is impressive enough, but Gore was also ahead on cutting edge domestic issues like gay marriage. ‘Gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women — to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage’… Gore proclaimed in 2008. To put this statement in proper historic perspective, this was seven years before the U.S. Supreme Court finally got around to legally validating the principle of same sex marriage. President Obama, now recognized as a champion of gay marriage, wasn’t nearly as politically courageous. He dragged his feet for several years on the subject.”
Not everyone agrees Gore is the best candidate for the Democrats to nominate. Hot Air writer Ed Morrissey punctuates that point with his failed nomination in 2000.
“This is the same man who had an eight-year head start on a presidential campaign only to lose it narrowly despite widespread satisfaction with the economy and the Clinton years, at least generally if not the Clintons themselves at the time. Gore’s supporters have claimed that they got robbed (false) and that Gore won the popular vote (true), but Gore couldn’t even carry his own home state of Tennessee.”
What’s your view on Al Gore running again in 2016? Leave them in the comments section below.
[Image by D Dipasupil/Getty Images]
