Gore ‘08? Don’t bet on it

Well, I read the Al Gore interview in today’s Guardian, where he refers to Dubya as a ‘rightwing extremist’, and I have to say, I don’t think he’s going to run for president again in ’08.

Why should he? Everyone knows he was a reluctant politician, thrust into the limelight by incredibly pushy parents, and we know he’s not short of green, thanks to his links with Apple (he’s a director) and Google (special-advisor). So why should this relaxed, chilled-out, “recovering politician,” want to get stuck into the face-off of a presidential bid? He’s not a catholic, so why should he put himself through a year of self-flagellation?

The US presidential elections are no joke, you’re talking about the most powerful job in the world, and yet the campaigning is an exercise in sophistry and bullshit. The ills of the world are addressed in 30-second sound bites, the media trashes the personal lives of the candidates, and their ‘political advisors’ furiously iron out any just ideological positions they still cling to. What you get is a bleached-white version of the scumbag opportunistic liar who served you last time, or as we say in Nottinghamshire, “mutton dressed as lamb.”

Al Gore has real credibility. He took the nonsense of the 2000 election on the chin, to the immense irk of many Democrats, who claimed he was weak, but, in acquiescing to the Supreme Courts decision, he didn’t descend into counterproductive sulking and bitching. Rather he retained a sense of dignity, and got on with his life, while the ‘winner’, George W. Bush, went about bringing down America from the inside. I wonder how many Americans wish they hadn’t wasted their votes on Ralph Nader, or, been sold on the “compassionate conservatism” baloney of the Bush-Cheney ticket?

And who, other than ‘death wish’ Hillary, would want to take the White House reigns right now? The US is embroiled in a war it can’t win, the federal finances are a shambles, the infrastructure is crumbling, and the concept of Pax Americana is a joke. Gore clearly doesn’t need the headache, and can probably do more to raise awareness on climate change, as a travelling salesman, than he ever could as another President crippled by a myopic Congress.

Enjoy yourself Al, don’t even think about ’08.