Full Name: Al Gore, Jr.

Current Office: None

Born: Washington, DC on March 31, 1948

Education: Harvard University (1969)

Religion: Baptist

Family: Married to Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson (Tipper); they have four children (Karenna, Kristin, Sarah, and Albert III)

Significant Career Experience:

U.S. Vice-President, 1993-2001
U.S. Senate, 1984-1993
U.S. House of Representatives, TN-04, 1976-1984
Reporter, The Tennessean, 1971-1976
Field Reporter, U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1969-1971

Publications:

An Inconvenient Truth, 2006

Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family, 2003

The Spirit of Family, 2002

Earth in the Balance, 1991


If Gore chooses to run in 2008—he presently does not express interest in doing so—he would immediately jump to the top tier of presidential aspirants. Since winning the popular vote in 2000 against George W. Bush, Gore has found his voice as a fiery Liberal, crusading against the current administration's handling of the war on Iraq, the environment, and a host of other issues. This new “liberated” Al Gore is funnier, less robotic, and much more to the Left than the Gore that served as Vice President under Bill Clinton.

Gore emerges periodically to give articulate, from-the-heart critiques of the Republican administration and congressional leadership. From teaming up with MoveOn.org to promoting the movie The Day After Tomorrow to highlighting the effects of global warming to speaking forcefully against Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s attempt to remove the filibuster from the Senate, Gore re-emerges at strategic junctures to rally support around issues—always to the cheers of party loyalists.

Gore’s official embrace by the liberal “Democratic wing of the Democratic party”—which was not evident in 2000, when Ralph Nader, among others, criticized Gore for running too close to the center—happened on the same day Howard Dean’s presidential bid began to go south, the day Gore endorsed Dean over his own VP pick Joe Lieberman several weeks before the Iowa Caucus in 2004. While Gore took much heat for endorsing Dean, he is now well positioned to inherit many of Dean’s supporters (and online donors). That is to say, with Dean out of the picture for 2008, there’s a big opening for a fiery voice from the Left—a role Gore could easily fill.

Gore's impassioned speech at Constitution Hall on Martin Luther King Day, as well as a recent Saturday Night Live appearance in which he gave an Oval Office address from the sixth year of an imaginary Gore presidency, have fueled a groundswell of calls for a Gore campaign from bloggers disillusioned with the current menu of presidential potentials.

In the 2008 primaries, Gore would benefit from a likely scenario where the race eventually comes down to moderate Senator Hillary Clinton and the “anti-Hillary” candidate. With his name recognition, staunch anti-war rhetoric, and appeal to the more liberal faction of the party, Gore could easily capture the mantle. The media would feast on the storyline of President Clinton’s Vice President becoming the leading candidate against his wife.

Al Gore, however, brings his fair share of baggage to the race. Republicans successfully portrayed Gore as a serial exaggerator and re-inventor, seizing on an out-of-context statement that Gore “invented the Internet” and evolution of policy positions. Look for Republicans to revisit these criticisms now that Gore has re-invented himself once again as a solid Liberal.

Gore's work in the "new economy" of information technology, communications and media, and his interest in market-driven solutions to environmental problems, position him to draw support from moderates as well as West Coast and Silicon Valley business leaders. At a time when the aftermath of hurricanes and the rising cost of oil have drawn public interest to global warming and the need for alternative fuels, Al Gore might be well-situated to claim a 21st-century approach to American government.

Gore’s challenge leading up to 2008 will be to position himself as a logical heir to Howard Dean’s supporters and to more liberal members of the party. With Hillary and her tremendous resources nearly assuring her a place as one of the final candidates to remain standing, Gore’s best hope will be to position himself as the strongest candidate to the left of her, and bank on his strong profile and name recognition to appeal to likely primary voters.

Of course, all this is academic until and unless Gore decides to run. He’s currently living comfortably in Nashville, water skiing on the lake by his farm in Carthage, serving on the board of Apple, working on his own TV network, being a grandfather, and engaging Republicans on issues of his choosing. In making up his mind, Gore should look to an unlikely precedent: Richard Nixon. Forty years prior to 2008, this former Senator and former VP of eight years came back with the popular support of many in his party to win two presidential elections. Will Gore be next?


Comments
Having experienced victory and defeat has added to his capacity to be a great president. I believe Gore would become one of the greatest presidents ever to live.. The challenges are monumental as we need a leader to turn us away from war and unite us with our enviroment and its peoples.