His name is Al Gore. He just won the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting global warming, so Gore fans everywhere are once again practically begging him to run for President of the US of A. If he obliged to do so, he would definately NOT get my vote for President in 2008. (Sorry Tipper).If you'd recall, he was Vice-President to Bill Clinton for two terms, from 1992-2000. He ran for President in 2000 on the Democratic ticket, but lost. When he ran in 2000, some say he didn't tout the green-conscious card long and hard enough.
Well, now he is. I guess that was a lesson learned.
I really like Al Gore. In fact, I like him even more now than I did in 2000 (most of that's to blame on the fact that I was like 16 in 2000. What 16-year-old pays attention to politics?). While it would be bitter-sweet to see AL's name on the Presidential ticket in '08, I really wouldn't want to see him run, nor would he get my vote if he did, I say once again. I love him too much to do that.
You may be calling me one confused chica by now. I know, I know. But let me settle that; the answer to the WHYS?? is simple.
Too me, if Gore ran, I don't think he'd be the adorable intellectual we so love right now; I think he'd once more be muzzled, just like in 2000. I seriously doubt that he'd be able to tout that same green-conscious card as loudly and proudly as he's doing right now.
I think the very reason why he can speak to global warming concerns (and actually lead the neo-globe conscious movement) with such an audible bullhorn is because he's outside, not inside, the political world. He's no longer an elected official, dependent on campaign cash, appeasing voters and staying within party policy lines.
That's not to give politics the jaded-shoulder, but it is to state the facts. I am a student of political science theory and law, so I know such things.
But I love Gore, mind you; Independents like him speak to what makes America a great country (allbeit sometimes hypocritical and ig'nant) . I've been to other countries in far away lands, and trust me, if I ever got detained by the police officials in countries________ and _______, I'd tout my Americanism so fast...trust me, machine guns are so much more intimidating in person than on TV. There's no place in the world I'd rather live in than America (well, mabey Canada).
But dang, I digress too much. I started the former paragraph off by saying independents like Al Gore are what make America great. Great because independents can truly test and push forward the very idea of Democracy, an idea that's always in flux.
As a Presidential candidate, Al Gore would HAVE to appeal to the millions upon millions of Americans who call themselves Democrats, try to wrestle away allegiances away from Clinton, Obama and/or Edwards, and try to swing the millions upon millions of Americans who are undecided swing voters, that is, voters who don't vote specifically with one party.
If he ran, I think the topic of global warming would get an even bigger push in the headlines, but perhaps only for awhile. The election would become, for only 15 minutes, the war in Iraq/Iran/pick-a-new-middle-east-country-every-3-months-and-call-them-terrorists vs. the war on, hmmmm.....the world. Our collective world that is, one which includes Osama.
Even though that does make for an awful good matchup, the business of politics would weigh in on Gore inevitably. He'd have to answer questions dealing with the war, troops, Iran, nuclear weapons, trade agreements and deal with such domestic issues like immigration, employment and the economy, education, healthcare, infrastructure, homeland security....blah, blah, blah. In essence, the environment, knowing the short attention spans on Capital Hill, would get pushed to the backburner.
"The weather isn't an enemy we can see directly, and it's not hurting us now (i.e. killing us now), so who cares?" is the general perception. It's only hurting ice caps, polar bears, and making birds fly differently and populations of species become extinct. Mankind is the highest organism on the food chain; as long as it doesn't effect cows, beer, technology or sexual matters, we're cool (no pun intended).
I think Al Gore is doing enough where he is. I think Al Gore, in his current capacity, is attacking the issue and bringing it upon the minds of the most important people right now-the average American citizen.
The whole push for Gore to run is a sign (and a red flag) that we aren't holding the current Presidential contenders to the task of cleaning up our environment. I think it's a hint that we ourselves are also slacking in the department of responsibility.
Al Gore is the posterboy of the environmental movement, but he is not the movement itself. We are. We as average, everyday folk.
I'm tired of us placing so much stock in one person, only to be quickly agitated and ingratiated when they drop one of the many titles we heap upon their only-so-big shoulders. Be realistic.
Am I saying government has no responsibility in global warming clean-up? Heck no. Quite the opposite, governmental policy does need to act as the enforcer for nation-wide issues of relevance, but we have a role to play in that enforcement as well.
Al Gore's book, The Assault on Reason, is an excellent read. Go get it. (Yes, I am an informed nerd.) The movie, An Inconvenient Truth, was excellent, in a documentary-type of way. I didn't even need to read that book.
We need to get informed ourselves, and take it upon ourselves, as well as our elected officials, to push this environmental agenda, and any other issue we hold dear and near. We can't Jesus-ify Al Gore. That would be an assualt upon our reason.
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