Will Al Gore run?

[RGBVideo]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
It's nearly too late for him to get in.

What?

In America, one has to start full-time campaigning over a year before the elections? Reality check: altough the media might be creating the impression that there's a constant horse-race going on, the next primary is 10 months away. Gore or any other guy running for office in Nov. 2008 is not losing any votes by not yet entering, in fact I think the opposite is true: If I were a primary voter, I'd be pissed off at the ambitious Senators wasting their time pandering voters in IA and NH instead of doing their jobs when the primaries arrive.

Originally posted by rah
And I doubt Gore could ever appear as "FRESH"

Yes, calling him a "fresh face" is absurd.

[Zkribbler]

What many conservatives regard as the nightmare scenario -- President Hillary Rodham Clinton -- is increasingly seen by veteran Republican politicians and strategists as a virtual inevitability.

They overlook three things: (1) Hillary is running 4th in Iowa, (2) Hillary is down in the polls in New Hampshire as well -- setting her up to be seen as vunerable and (3) lots of people loath Hillary.

Muskie was seen as unbeatable. Connelly's huge warchest was supposed to make him unbeatable.

An election isn't over until Monica Lewinsky sings.

[Solly]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I don't see him running.

Not with the amount of weight he's put on recently.

[Dinner]

Man, he does need to lose 50-80 pounds.

[DinoDoc]

Reality Check for VJ

Originally posted by VJ
In America, one has to start full-time campaigning over a year before the elections? Reality check:

Given the wide open field, the need to lock down the best staff, donors, etc, yes it is nearing too late to enter the race if you don't already have your infrastructure up and running.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Doddler


Not with the amount of weight he's put on recently.

Blimey, he has filled out a bit recently...

[RGBVideo]

Thank you for the reality check

Given the wide open field, the need to lock down the best staff, donors, etc, yes it is nearing too late to enter the race if you don't already have your infrastructure up and running.

Don't worry, I did read all of your posts in the 1st page.

I thought it'd be obvious that one can hire staff to do nothing before formally announcing anything. If he decides not to run, administrative campaign workers can always start working for the current frontrunners.

Also note that Democratic candidates don't have a Rove they must fight for. I think you're overestimating the differences between the quality of professional campaign managers.

[DinoDoc]

I think you are vastly underestimating the amount of money needed to run a competative national campaign.

[RGBVideo]

I was the one complaining about Senators of states with >1M voters having to be millionares themselves, in another OTF thread few days ago.

You think I'm just some naïve kid who thinks a guy simply has to have dreams big enough and ideas good enough in order to win? Hell, Gore doesn't have either of those atm, so then he'd definitely lose. I do know that winning the primaries in presidential race absolutely demands tens of millions, and probably requires >$100M. I also know that he doesn't have to have that yet and that most of the campaign donations start coming when the campaign is already rolling and candidates have already received visible indication of support from voters -- rich invididuals and large corporations wishing good relations with POTUS don't want to start wasting millions on somebody who has no guarantees of even winning the primaries.

What, you think rich donors are some sort of pawns who need X amount of attention until they're permanently converted years before the actual campaign? RL isn't a computer game: donors change their minds about who's the best investment.

"Infrastructure" is a nice word when one needs to emphatize the amount of time needed to build it, but what do you really mean with it in this context? I consider that it means people administering volunteer workers at the grassroots level around the nation, which organised campaigns need. I think Gore has enough experience of how to gather such already. His run in 2000 was ultra-professional in it's organisation, turning many people off in it's predictability and robotic nature.

[Dinner]

I recall reading a recent article which said it takes arond $500 million to run a successful campaign for the Presidency. Thus the reason they'll all whore themselves to every special interest group in town.

[Solly]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I recall reading a recent article which said it takes arond $500 million to run a successful campaign for the Presidency. Thus the reason they'll all whore themselves to every special interest group in town.

I'm sure all the wannabe-carbon traders are lining Gore's pockets then..

[Dinner]

Since we already mentioned Gore and climate change I figured this would be a good thread for this.

The National Journal (pdf) polled 20% of the US Congress (equal number of Democrats and GOP).

97% of Democrats believe humans are causing global warming. They have of course staked out a political position on this, though they are also in agreement with the vast majority of climatologists and scientists in related fields.

84% of GOP do not believe humans are involved in creating global warming. In this they agree with, well, Exxon.

A recent poll of Americans finds that this reflects the country as a whole, with roughly half on each side. In other words, the "debate" that those "carbon dioxide is good for you ads" were designed to create.

http://syndication.nationaljournal.com/images/203Insiderspoll_NJlogo.pdf

[Solly]

Originally posted by Oerdin

97% of Democrats believe humans are causing global warming. They have of course staked out a political position on this, though they are also in agreement with the vast majority of climatologists and scientists in related fields.

Which related fields..?

[Heresson]

run, Gore, run!

[mitch]

"On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows.” - Donna Brazil, Gore's former campaign manager, on if he will run for Prez.

I def wouldn't mind seeing Gore president. After all he was right about the war in Iraq and has done a great job on getting global warming into the spotlight. the problem is electibility. But hell, Nixon did the same thing after he lost to Kennedy, so why not??