Question of the day: If you had three minutes alone with Al Gore what would you say to him?
We here at The Last Chance Democracy Café had our say on this subject a long time ago, when we wrote Al Gore this public letter urging him to run for president. But somehow the man continues to be a specter haunting the Democratic Party — a troubling but also seductive voice whispering into our ears, saying: “We can do better.”
If you had three minutes alone with the man, what would you say to him (about running for president or anything else)?
September 16th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Don’t get too excited about renewable fuel sources or especially about alcohol from food (an awful idea!) The future lies in the new types of lithium ion batteries being developed that are not heat sensitive, can be charged in minutes, and have lifetimes of 15,000 to 20,000 recharges. These, charged by solar panels, can run all our vehicles without producing any CO2! Also, buildings can be heated in the winter with solar heat, stored in underground water reservoirs. This has been done quite successfully already, and this process does not produce CO2, either.
You have the most logical mind and the most appreciation of reality of any of the candidates. You need to run! We need you. Just don’t be too nice to all those Republican psychopaths when you campaign.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Please Mr. Gore, we need you to run in 2008. You have already won once, and I am certain that you would win again. Our present candidates are not qualified enough, nor experienced enough. I am not at all happy with them, and I know that I am not alone in my thinking. We need someone of your quality in the race. You continue to “tease” us with your presence in the media. If you are certain that you will not run in 2008, then please do not continue to “hang around.” You are only a constant reminder of the lack of quality of our present candidates, and that depresses me. God knows that this country is depressing enough, what with our current state of affairs caused by the current occupant of the White House!
September 17th, 2007 at 5:15 am
Run for President, for God’s sake!!
September 17th, 2007 at 6:42 am
Will our society last through the next hundred years?
September 17th, 2007 at 7:05 am
While the financing of elections is a serious problem with the U.S. electoral system, this can be viewed as only a piece of the larger problem of a concentrated media run a muck.
But this is not the only problem with the U.S. Electoral system. The fact that third parties can only participate as spoilers is another and the fact that we cannot trust either the counting of votes or the administration of voting roles also comes to mind.
Can you comment on this generalized failure of the electoral system and suggest how we might cure it?
September 17th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Mr. Gore, if you believe what you say about the Bush administration and the situation our country is in, then you have no alternative but to run for President; you know you are the best qualified and you are needed.
If you don’t run, you are letting America down, because you have a chance to help save the country and making a decision not to run is the same as helping to destroy America.
Our military people are sacrificing life and limbs, what are you afraid of losing? Which is worst, your stand or Bush’s?
September 17th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Mr. Gore, I have read “The Assault on Reason” and agreed with everything in it. Your intellect, grasp of the issues and who controls power are superior to any on the current stage of candidates of either party.
In order to change the slimy political system that exist, only a truely decent, honorable, intelligent individual can make a difference. You do not need the money, you do not need the fame. You do not need anything from this country.
What do you owe this country? Are you not of higher caliber? Don’t you owe the Founding Fathers, that you laud, a sincere effort to save their vision?
I will devote all of my free time, which is considerable, to help your campaign in any way that you see fit.
We are at a critical juncture in our history. We are awaiting the one that can pick up the mantle. What will you leave your children and grandchildren if you don’t at least try?
Please.
(Thank you Steve for this opportunity)
Rudy Maples
Perry, GA
September 17th, 2007 at 10:23 am
You won the election before(although it was stolen from you and ultimately the American people), and you WILL win again….but this time we’re all watching. So please, You and your family first, then your country…our nation is praying that you will run for sake of us all. Thank you.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:42 am
After watching Senator Chuck Hagel on Real Time with Bill Maher, a light went off. A new “American Party”, blue and red. No primary needed, you could start right away informing Americans what we are loosing. I heard you speak about what is being done to our Constitution. Unfortunately, mainstream media doesn’t cover it. They would cover a Democrat/Republican ticket. You may not agree with his social issues, but you could LEAD BY EXAMPLE, diplomacy. There is never going to be a time in history more important than today. If you and Hagel could come together for the good of the country, it would be an example for the world. The media would be all over it. The two of you could stop WWIII, and stop the possibility of a new war with Iran. YOU COULD TALK “TRUTH TO POWER”, candlelight vigils around the country. You could lead by example “UNITERS NOT DECIDERS”.
American Party
Gore/Hagel ‘08
Blue & Red — A true American party
Would you at least think about it? You could bring good Americans along from both parties. We will need to unite as a country to change the course we are on. We need your voices NOW! Talking to everyone, Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
September 17th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Mr. Gore,
There is no silver bullet fix for the problems facing our nation. Our founding fathers, though giants, could simply not envision the problems we face today. The balanced government intended by our founders has floundered on she reef of powerful political parties, special interests, and an entrenched class of elected officials who fear loosing their power more than performing their duty. Because the American people refuse to rise from their sofa’s to remove the deadly toxin running our nation, it is time someone with your intellect and platform begin calling for a New Constitutional Convention.
September 17th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
The American people will welcome the chance to undo the mistake we call Dubya. To re-elect you would be poetic justice. Put on your big boy pants and your bullet-proof vest and get in there!
September 17th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Run for President, please and make sure this criminals don’t steal the elections again. There are more Cubans than you think that really need you here in Miami.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Totally off topic but…what the heck:
The Cafe
Are you looking for a kindred spirit?
Or just hate to drink alone?
Do you like good conversation
With a Democratic tone?
Stay right here, you’ll fit right in.
These people are quite a bunch
Larkrise will tell it like it is
She never pulls a punch!
Steve will write an episode
That will touch you to your core
He’ll make you think and see the world
Through the eyes of characters you’ll adore.
Chuck will tell you stories
Of old men and polar bears
He can speak to chickadees
And make you laugh, I swear.
Again is really fun to read
He’s smart and deep and wise
He points me to new subjects
A just mind with open eyes.
Hizzoner has “this space reserved”
I like to blog there some.
His experience and humor
Are a treat for everyone.
There’s Wye Knot and Larry the Red
Iowa, BigDave and Vetta King
The place is full of kindred spirits
A place your soul can sing.
Come join Winston and the gang
In a place where no one’s lying
Maybe we won’t fix the world
But at least, by God, we’re trying!
From Steve: Thanks.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
As you know all too well, the bush regime is an ILLEGAL one. Everything they’ve done since Jan. 20th, 2001 has been a disaster and an abject failure. The rest of the world looks down at bush as a homicidal moron. Our dollar is going down the chute. A helpless Iraq is a tragedy that certainly wouldn’t have happened if the 2000 “election” hadn’t been stolen from you. Our treasury is severly depleted-looted by the bush regime. Our Constitutional guatantees are shrinking and under constant threat. Our social programs are under daily attack by those who couldn’t care less about the welfare of our people. The 2006 election, instead of being a new beginning for democracy and sanity has been rendered moot by a fanatical cadre of power brokers, war profiteers, and other criminals of the worst sort. We need someone of your calibre and moral strength to rally around and overthrow the oligarchy that threatens our nation as never before. Please consider running for president again. I’m sure you’ll win again, and this time I don’t think our people will stand for any flim-flammery again.
September 17th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Mr. Gore, how can you look at this field of Democratic presidential contenders and not feel a duty to get into this? You know Hillary better than all of us put together, so you must know that she’s not nearly as progressive as you are, and nobody that I know of has accused her of being bold or visionary. If she wins, and winds up being the same kind of president as her husband, would you want it on your conscience that you might have been able to prevent that? Beyond that, both Obama and Edwards have some serious downsides as candidates and neither would be a shoo-in by any means. I can’t blame you for not wanting to go through again what you endured in 2000, but seriously, how much worse could it be this time? We need you, man.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
You spoke out before the invasion of Iraq opposing it - eloquently. Now I wonder why you haven’t said anything about getting out.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Please Mr. Gore, you would have amazing support. America needs honest leadership to restore our homeland to what it once was, a respected place. We can’t always be perfect, but now we are without a constitution, a country that has let down the poor and ill, has let down our young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have had almost 7 years of poor leadership. Please run for President. We need you!!
September 17th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I know that as an ordinary citizen — maybe not so ordinary, I at least participate in precinct and central committee meetings, trying to grow a blue county out of a red one — boring, procedural, vastly essential work — I still feel inordinately frustrated, seething and screaming with impotent rage, complaining on a daily basis that I can’t seem to do anything to make the world better. Do you feel this way as well? You can accomplish so much more than an “ordinary citizen,” but is it ever enough? What would satisfy you in your soul?
September 17th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Dear Mr. Gore,
It’s possible we are already too late to avert catastrophe from global warming.
If we have any chance at all, it will require, at a minimum, a president stepping into office with a powerful political mandate to take action on this issue.
You are the only potential candidate who could run and be elected with climate change as one of your core issues.
If Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama, or John Edwards is elected, they might have a mandate to get us out of Iraq, or to deal with the health care crisis, or even to address the widening gap between rich and poor. But they would not have the necessary mandate to push through the kind of initiatives we urgently need on global warming.
Please run, Mr. Gore.
September 18th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Thank you, Alwayshope, for your poem. I think it describes us here at the Cafe very nicely. Now, this is what I would say to Mr. Gore:
I firmly believe the office of President of the United States was stolen from you by vastly lesser men. It is also my belief that the Supreme Court under Rehnquist aided and abetted this travesty. Bush campaigned on the premise that he would unify the country. Instead, he has raped it. Politics can be a dirty business. The likes of Karl Rove and other political operatives prove this beyond doubt. They have taken the current political process to the foulest, lowest depths. The polls show great dissatisfaction with the President and with Congress. It is not only the debacle in Iraq that drives this dissastisfaction. The majority of people now realize they have been played. They are weary of lies, spin, corruption, mud-slinging and waste. They are weary of the terrible cost Bush and a bitterly partisan Congress have forced upon us: Thousands killed and maimed in Iraq. Billions of dollars going down the drain. 47 million without healthcare. Tainted food. Toxic toys. New Orleans devastated. Mining disasters. The list goes on and on. This country needs a President of integrity, of compassion, of intelligence. He or she must be strong, just, and respect the Constitution. That person must be able to overcome a corporate-owned Media, that prefers to smear rather than inform. The right-wing lobbyists and fat-cat campaign donors will be out in full battle gear. Trouble-makers, like Richard Mellon Scaife, will continue to fund dirty tricks. In the midst of such muck, you have continued to stand tall and be heard. Do you think you can tap into the innate decency of the majority of Americans? The people who volunteer, who help their neighbors, who practice tolerance and value the truth? Can you show the Media that ” any means to an end” leads to a dead end? If so, you should consider leading us out of the darkness and into the light.
Thank you,Sir, for your service to your country,
Patricia Davis Chang
September 18th, 2007 at 9:27 am
“Do you think you can tap into the innate decency of the majority of Americans?”
Great question, Larkrise.
This is indeed an untapped treasure that Al could collect.
Bush and his gang only appeal to the negative, prejudiced, angry, frightened side of Americans. The better part of our natures goes wanting in these times
but is longing to be utilized and appreciated. Gore is the only real alternative to the mess everyone else has contributed to. He doesn’t have any of this mess on his hands and could truly say he would change the direction of our country.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:33 am
If we are doing poetry and song, I might as well submit this: The Republican Call for Candidates:
We’re looking for an idiot
An honest to God idiot
To be the leader of the good old USA.
Morons need not apply
Your IQs are much too high
To sell the voters the Grand Old Party way.
You needn’t feel queasy
The job is very easy
Carl Rove will tell you everything to say
There’s really nothing to it
The constitution?—Screw it!
The middle class?—We’ll take everything away.
So, we ‘re looking for an idiot
An honest to God idiot
To be the leader of the good old USA
The rich get all the money
The rest do all the work.
If anyone thinks that’s funny,
He’s a tratorous liberal jerk!
‘Cause that’s the Grand Old Party Waaaay!
September 20th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Good one, PK!
This could be song. Use the last verse as the chorus and let’s sing right out!
man, I’m a terrible singer. Please, sing louder.