Here's the text of a letter I just dropped in the mail. Probably won't do any good, but it soothes my civic conscience:
Dear Al Gore,For background, I'd suggest reading the Vanity Fair piece on what cost Gore the 2000 election, and my review of The Assault on Reason. For those interested in sending a similar letter, I used this contact information for Gore. There are also a number of "Draft Gore" type organizations out there that are worth Googling.
I know you’ve gotten many pleas like this before, so I’ll keep it short: please run for president. I was impressed by your recent book The Assault on Reason, and you are the only person I can imagine getting excited about as a candidate. Hilary Clinton appears to have a basic level of competence, but has nothing that would make her a serious candidate were she not related to a former president—reminiscent of George Bush. Her election would also reinforce a troubling dynastic precedent in presidential politics. Barack Obama appears to have built his campaign on an ability to write good speeches, which is nice to have in our speechwriter-dominated environment, but we need more than good speeches from a president. Bill Richardson is one candidate who has tried to build a campaign on qualifications rather than media buzz, but without media buzz he stands little chance of winning the primaries.
In a recent article in Vanity Fair, you were quoted as saying that a reason for staying out of the current presidential race is that you lack the tolerance for spin over substance required in modern politics. This may accurately describe politics as it exists at the moment, but we cannot be resigned to it, because it is guaranteed to give us a parade of politicians who are excellent spin masters and terrible office holders. This must change. In 2008, you could be the one to fight for that change.
Sincerely,
Chris Hallquist
2 comments:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_controversies
You know, he invented the internets that I am using to read this. If you don't believe me I think I have the video clip stored away in my lock-box. How's my strategery? Wasn't he the subject of love story? He *does* care about the environment. I wonder how he would feel about my heating bill last winter? I spent almost 300 dollars. What did he spend?
Personally, I hope he runs. He's great fodder for the comedians as he should be: he's a dumb chicken-little with a faux-southern accent..
In his movie I think he claimed oceans would rise on the order of ~10 feet, while real doomsday scientists (one's who've drunk the cool-aid) claim its on the order of inches. He's one tall tail.
I'm reading The Assault on Reason right now. I'm only about 4 chapters in, but am extremely impressed so far. I think it is probably too late for Gore to run at this point. The media have really already called Hillary the winner of the Democratic primary. I wish Gore had run, and I certainly would have supported him over any of the current Democratic frontrunners.
As far as those who are actually in the race, I support Kucinich because his positions on the issues are closest to mine. Of course, the media has never taken him seriously because he isn't capable of raising the money that the top tier can bring in. It is sad that the American presidency has become little more than a prize to the top fundraiser.
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