Waiting For That Final Nail
Posted on May 15, 2008 at 7:25 amWith John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama, some Democrats are looking to Al Gore to finally step in and end this madness:
“The Al Gore watch starts now,” said Ken Goldstein, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Gore, who is one of the party’s superdelegates, has indicated he won’t give his endorsement until the primary contest is finished. His spokeswoman, Kalee Kreider, said yesterday that Gore had no further comment.
Obama said he has spoken to Gore “periodically” over the past several months about policies and ideas.
“I’m not really pushing for an endorsement,” Obama told reporters on his plane last night as he flew to Chicago. “I’d love to have it, but when you’ve won the Nobel Peace Prize, making an endorsement politically is maybe a step down.”
RELATED: Gone, but not forgotten.
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Gore Wants No Part Of Any Future Administration
Posted on April 25, 2008 at 11:21 amBarack Obama may be publicly declaring that he will attempt to involve Al Gore in his administration but Gore will have none of it:
“I don’t intend to be a part of any administration,” he revealed. “I’ve been Vice President, I ran for President twice, so I don’t have any interest in being a cabinet member.
“I think my best use is in building grass-roots support.
I will, of course, give advice to whoever asks me for advice on this and will work to help but not in a formal way.”
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Al Gore Gives McCain A Boost
Posted on April 21, 2008 at 9:42 amThrough his spokeswoman Kalee Kreider, Al Gore states that John McCain is just as trustworthy on the signature issue in his portfolio as is Barack Obama:
“Former Vice President Gore thinks that both candidates are very strong. Both of them have offered plans to address the climate crisis … as has Senator McCain,” she said.
I asked Kreider why she is praising McCain, considering that Bush lied in 2000 about his intent to deal with climate change. Here’s her response.
The key threshold issue for most NGO’s and people working on climate, ourselves included are: Does the policymaker, work, support, vote in favor of, introduce legislation for mandatory reductions in pollution or not. McCain has, Bush has not.
The Revolt Of The Elites
Posted on at 7:19 amDavid Sparks wonders in the Boston Globe whether the pragmatism of the superdelegates will lead them to conclude that the potential benefits of nominating Barack Obama are not worth the stretch:
Assume Hillary Clinton will be viewed as a northern state liberal: a combination of John Kerry and Al Gore. The states-won distribution between Gore and Kerry was identical except for New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Iowa. If Clinton starts the race as the Kerry/Gore prototype in the battleground states, she will probably run a very close election with McCain, just like Bush-Gore and Bush-Kerry. The problem for her is that both Gore and Kerry lost. The question is: Which states can she flip and why?
Obama is harder to profile. The enthusiasm for his campaign, his appeal among younger voters, suburban independents, and African-Americans prompts some analysts to suggest that not only can’t he be categorized, but that his presence on the ballot against McCain will throw 40 states into play instead of the traditional handful. However, the split between Whites and African-Americans in choosing between Obama and Clinton has been stark, now fueled by Obama’s recent comments about small town America. The flipside of the Obama potential is the potential backlash against the first African-American nominee…
…In Clinton, the superdelegates have a candidate who fits their recent mold and the last two elections have been very close. This year is a bad year for Republicans. Just a slight shift from the Gore-Kerry level would give her the victory. In Obama they have a new model candidate and the potential for a coalition of voter groups and states which break from the Gore-Kerry model.
Superdelegates are the most practical individuals going to the Democratic Convention. Practical people don’t like to gamble much in their decision-making. The superdelegates have to ask themselves how much they want to roll the dice.
Al Gore’s Earth Day Message To Knoxville: No Comment
Posted on at 6:54 amFilm reporter Betsy Pickle gets the brush off from friend of the earth, Al Gore:
Gore spoke passionately for several minutes about his favorite subject, the climate crisis, and how the film “Mountaintop Removal,” about how coal mining is destroying an Appalachian community, ties into that problem. After he gave director Michael O’Connell the award and stood around for the press to take pictures, Gore headed into the VIP tent, where he posed for more photos and chatted with all and sundry. I thought, “Here’s my chance to do my second Web film,” so I introduced myself and asked Gore if he could give me an Earth Day message for our Web readers. “I’m not doing any interviews today,” he replied. Just a simple comment about Earth Day? “I’m not doing any interviews today,” he repeated stonily.
Hindsight Is 20/20
Posted on April 17, 2008 at 7:28 pmThe Dallas Morning News discusses considerations when picking a Vice-President:
It helps for a candidate to bring a state, or region, that might otherwise be lost. Al Gore might have become president eight years ago had he picked Sen. Bob Graham of Florida – and had he known he would lose that key state and the presidency by 537 votes.
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