A BuzzFlash Reader Contribution

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Draft Al Gore

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Jennifer Traynor

Haven’t we had enough of the "I was for the war before I was against it" democrats? Didn’t the American people see through that? The front-runner for 2008 is Hillary Clinton. We all know it. She voted for this war and has supported it all along. She wants to send more troops. This is an opposition party? This is a vision?

I was watching the Chris Matthews show this morning, and in between the whining and self-aggrandizement, they actually made a good point. Of course, this was most likely an accident. Hey, if you put enough monkeys in pundit seats and let them talk for as long as they want to, eventually, they will speak the complete works of William Shakespeare. Even if one of them is David Brooks.

The point that the dancing monkeys skirted around and sort of got out, after a lot of back-slapping and guffawing at Matthews’ "witticisms," was this. The democrats are in the same position now, as they were in 2004; they’re the "me too" party pinning everything on the "Anybody but Bush" vote.  If the war in Iraq is still going on come 2008, (and I’d really like to see how Bush is going to get us out by then) what is Hillary Clinton going to run on?

There exists a vacuum. The leading Democratic contenders carry too much post-9/11 "I’m a bigger patriot than you are" baggage. They cannot challenge this President on his policies without being laughed at. Yet, there is one man who can. There exists one man with the qualifications and credentials to challenge the prevailing ideology. One man who helped preside over eight years of what now seems like one of those dreams you wish you never woke up from. One man who was never for this war, and is on record as such. Al Gore.

Listen, there probably exists more than one person. I mean, my neighbor Bob never bought Bush’s story. But he drinks too many beers on Friday nights, spends Saturday mornings at the OTB and I definitely saw him, at least twice, coveting his neighbor’s behind. I suspect he has designs on her front too. And OK, that makes him at least as morally qualified as Newt "Hey can you take a break from that chemotherapy and sign these divorce papers babe?" Gingrich, Bob lacks one thing besides good hygiene; name recognition.

Gore’s entry into this race would galvanize the base like nothing else possibly could. Let’s face it; liberals believe that Al Gore won in 2000. They have good reason to believe that. He did. As for the moderates and independents, what effect would he have on them? Surely they, as I, look into their rear-view mirrors, glimpse the recent past and wonder if it is a mirage. Did we really have eight years of peace, prosperity and wonder of wonders, competency? Or did we only dream it? Well, we had it. Surely, given the chance to regain it, Americans would feel their hearts begin to beat just a little bit faster. The chance to consign (what will then be) eight years of crushed dreams, ever-increasing poverty, hurricane debacles, corruption, broken promises and international embarrassments to the trash bin. Poll after poll shows that the American people have lost faith in this administration and polls have always shown that they support Democratic domestic policies.

Draft former Vice-President Al Gore and let the Democrats stand for something once more.

Jennifer Traynor
New York

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION