Despite my plea of poverty I broke down a bought Gore’s “Assault on Reason” (it was on sale!) The overwhelming feeling it left me with was: if this man refuses to run for the Presidency of the United States in 2008, what excuse could he possibly give?
After arguing that America desperately needs a return to reason in politics and public discourse; after proving he can win a Presidential election; after demonstrating his ability to communicate with and motivate large and diverse sections of American society; and being the only potential candidate with serious qualifications for the job… would it not be cowardly to decline?
It’s never really possible to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and US Presidential politics is a vicious and dangerous sport, but… I have to wonder: if I knew I might be able to make such a dramatic difference to a country and to a planet, would I not feel a powerful obligation to try? What kind of person would I be if I just walked away?
I wish I knew what was going through that man’s mind! The most I can do is sincerely wish all the best of luck to those US citizens and groups working hard to “draft” Gore into running. It’s not just America that needs a rational and passionate leader. The whole world is pining for someone to step up and cut through the bull****. Maybe he’s not the person for the job but since no one else is exactly looking good for it either, what is there to lose?
He’s biding his time. And by “biding his time,” I mean “hitting the gym to work off all that weight he’s put on over the past couple years.”
“Cut through the bull****”? Our planet has existed for millions of years. No one knows the exact length of time, but it is “theorized”. Humans have only been recording a written history for a few thousand years. We have only been recording weather statistics for a couple hundred years. How can he and or we as a nation, think that humans are effecting the planet in such a way that there is global warming? Is it because there are so many record temperatures being broken every year? Of course there are, we have only been recording temperatures in that remote village in South America for a few measly years!! Don’t scientist believe our planet as been through TWO ice ages? Who is to say these are not typical weather patterns?? Those same scientist are changing their minds on how many hurricanes are going to hit the U.S. on almost a daily basis. Why do we as a nation value their opinions so much? They can not tell me consistantly what the weather will be like tomorrow! Yet we are supposed to take their word on “Global Warming”. Mr. Gore sounds like “chicken little” to me. The sky may not be falling but the globe is warming??
John,
I’m not about to get into a debate about global warming with anyone. It wasn’t the point of the post, in any event.
But your comment only proves Gore’s point: public discourse now treats science as just another opinion, as easily dismissed as the self-interested utterances of politicians. The climate scientists may indeed be wrong, but you’d have to pose a scientific counter-argument to be taken seriously (you and enough like-minded people to sway the consensus in another direction.)
In an enlightened society, the current scientific consensus on a topic can’t simply be overridden by the personal opinions of citizens who believe they know better.
(And with that, I declare that there will be no more comments on global warming or why scientists should or should not be ignored. The topic was Gore running, or not running, for the Presidency. On that topic, rational public discourse permits personal opinion to rule.)
My point was that Gore has always jumped on the band wagon of ideas from my perspective. He seems to cater to popular opinions and changes his stance on things with each new pole. I guess I am frustrated about going to the poles on election day and voting for the lesser of the two worst candidates. I am sorry if I came across like I was ranting. Being a logical person by nature it just seems to me that there isn’t enough evidence for anyone to prove or disprove global warming but Mr. Gore is running around sounding like “chicken little” about the subject. Even if he threw his name in the ring as a candidnet there would be just one more politician that I have a hard time finding a reason to vote for. Both Republicans and Democrats talk only of why you shouldn’t vote for the other and not why you should vote for them. If a third party or independent candidnet should run they both sue to keep them out of debates because the treat of another opinion is too great for their over inflated egos. I would just love to find that person out there that inspires me to vote for them. In 2000 I thought it was Bush but quickly realized he was just another least worst. ~>:-[
Hi John,
I agree it’s a drag when you have only the choice of the “least worst” to vote for. Just look at the choices here in Canada! Useless twits, every one of them, really.
Politics is polluted, no question. And who knows, maybe Gore writes well, but is just as big a hypocrite as everyone else! That’s for the voters to decide. I just wonder why he doesn’t seem to want to run. In other words, why isn’t he walking the talk? Cowardice? Hypocrisy? “Biding his time”, as others suspect? đŸ˜‰
I suppose I would like to believe that there is someone out there who is a professional politician who is not a complete hypocrite. I’m hoping (probably quite unreasonably) that Gore could be one of those. We all have dreams….
Cheers,
Vanessa
Here’s my guess: Gore has been in politics long enough to realize that the only time he really made a BIG difference in the world was when he had the luxury to focus on one issue: Global Warming. He wrote a book, made a PowerPoint presentation into a movie, toured the country. He helped usher in this new era of Green. He helped North America reach the tipping point about environmental awareness.
He could NEVER have done that while in office. He would have been bogged down by… politics. Everything would have to go through special interest groups and advisers and it would become one issue in a torrent of thousands of others.
Whether green is a fad or not, whether global warming is a scientific fact or not, who really gives a ****! If it means the water and air and land stay a little cleaner a little longer that can only mean good things for the next generations. And the economical excuse is bull**** as well. There has always been change in the economy. There has always been change in manufacturing and commerce. Look at the discoveries in energy, technology, communication, automationĂ¢â‚¬Â¦ A capitalist society will figure out how to capitalize on the changes. That’s why it’s called Capitalism.
So I think Gore should just do what he does best: research a topic he’s passionate about, and then use his stature and influence to communicate that message to as many people as he can. He’s making a positive difference, which is more than some presidents can boast.