Al Gore's recent announcement that he will not seek the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination following his Nobel Peace Prize win must have been music to the ears of Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. Yet this announcement should disappoint those who would like to see a competent leader with a fresh political perspective in the White House. Clinton offers competence, Obama a fresh perspective, and Edwards a keen fashion sense accompanied by fabulous hair ' but none of these candidates seem able to combine experience and innovation as Al Gore has in his campaign to fight global climate change.
In fact, the former vice president may be the Democrats' best hope for winning the White House. While formidable, what Clinton carries in competence and campaign savvy she lacks in fresh perspective. Many who will be voting in both the primaries and the general election believe that she is Washington business as usual. On the other hand, Obama is heavy on fresh perspective and idealism and weak on actual experience. Voters are wondering: Can this senator who has not yet even served a full term be trusted with the responsibility of the nation's highest and most powerful office?
Al Gore wouldn't have to haul any of this baggage down the campaign trail. Having served for eight years in the House of Representatives, eight years in the Senate, and eight years as vice president, no one can say that Al Gore lacks experience. His experience running for president in 2000 would also offer the Democrats a candidate who knows what it takes to win the popular vote, because that is exactly what he did seven years ago. Yet Al Gore offers more than just experience. His time away from Washington has given him a fresh perspective and a new outside the beltway image, and his campaign to fight global climate change has demonstrated that he is a leader passionate about keeping America and the entire world safe for future generations. That same passion for America's future, applied to issues both foreign and domestic, is just what Americans are looking for in their next president.
Of course, there is still a slim possibility that Gore will choose to run for president, especially if interest in his candidacy remains high. If he should change his mind, he will have to be careful not to repeat the mistakes that resulted in a razor thin lead over George W. Bush in 2000 and an eventual loss in the Electoral College. For starters, he should cut off any and all contact with his former campaign staff. He'll need young and bright campaign staffers who share his fresh and enthusiastic perspective, not beltway politicos who will tell him to zig when he should zag.
More importantly, if Al Gore chooses to run for president, he needs to be the real Al Gore. As he has repeatedly demonstrated since 2000, he is a strong and charismatic leader. Yet the man we saw running for president seven years ago seemed anything but charismatic, almost universally condemned as boring and artificial. Having proved that he is neither boring nor artificial, Gore must bring the strength and charisma he has demonstrated in his campaign against global warming to any potential campaign for the White House in 2008. The Al Gore we saw in 2000 must never return; Americans will want the Gore who is passionate enough about his convictions to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
In the absence of a definitive statement that he will not run, the Democratic establishment should continue to pressure Gore both privately and publicly to run for president. Any Republican in the running will be campaigning in the shadow of George W. Bush, and many Americans will feel as if they are choosing between a continuation of Bush's policies and a change in policy represented by the Democratic nominee. If voters are given a choice between Bush 2.0 and the new and improved Al Gore, they will probably choose the latter ' and this time by a large enough margin that the Supreme Court will not be able to appoint someone else to the job.
Nathan Nelson is a sophomore political science major and a member of Students for a Democratic Society.
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Nathan Nelson
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