Politics is almost as exciting as War...

Winston Churchill remarked once that "Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous, for in war you can die only once, in politics, many times." And thus is the career of Albert Gore, Jr. Gore of course was a failed presidential candidate in 1988, a little-remembered fact, because as we all know, the "also ran" guys don't stick in our memories too well. He earned his reprieve in 1992 as the unlikely running mate of the come-from-behind surprise nominee of the Democrat Party, Bill Clinton, and being Clinton's running mate was barely a consolation prize when Clinton was bringing up the rear in the three-way campaign between himself, George H.W. Bush and H. Ross Perot. But the come-from-behind syndrome miraculously kicked in against an incumbent President who at the peak of the success in the Persian Gulf Campaign had an 80%+ approval rating.

Until Dick Cheney, Al Gore was probably the most influential Vice President in American history. Even among Vice Presidents who became President, most Veeps were weak and kept out of the loop. Harry Truman wasn't even aware of the Manhattan Project until FDR died. It is also not uncommon for failed Presidential candidates to come back to life--in the 20th Century, Richard Nixon was Vice President and lost to Kennedy, only to return in another era and win two terms as President. Ronald Reagan lost to Gerald Ford in 1976 in the Republican Primary, and George H.W. Bush was defeated by Reagan in 1980.

As Mr. Gore's profile continues to rise again, he cannot be written off, and what better motivation for him to run than simply to defeat Hillary Clinton in the Democrat Primaries. Rumors have it that Gore was always jealous of Hillary's power and influence, and the fact that she often eclipsed him in things like office space and other such things in the West Wing. Moreover, Gore has been blamed publicly as squandering the legacy of the Clinton administration (unnecessarily, in my view...the Clintons squandered the legacy of the Clinton administration), and so he has motivation to prove that it was Bill & Hill's fault that the Democrats lost the White House to George W. Bush, and not his own.

Gore has instant star power and name recognition. He is easily the most popular candidate in the field among African Americans, and we mustn't forget that he pulled the highest percentage of the Black vote in 2000 than any other person to run for President in American history. The ability to keep the Black Bloc together is integral, not only in winning a Democrat Primary but also in securing the victory in the '08 General. He is liberal enough to appeal to the Democrat Base, but, if he wanted to, could return to his moderate roots to appeal to a general election crowd. Gore is certainly more palatable and less cacophanous than Hillary, and does not have the same divisive character. He is more laughed at by Republicans than hated or feared. And perhaps that works to his advantage---he is underestimated by his opponents.

Furthermore, he has already run for President once, and almost won. He did in fact receive more votes in the popular count that George W. Bush, so it is not as if he doesn't know what he's doing. And I'm sure he'd do a few things differently this time around. I think not running in 2004 was the most brilliant strategy for preserving his political future that he could have imagined. Better to place it on life support for a few years than try to fight with some major wounds still bleeding.

I'm definitely not saying I want him to be President or that I would vote for him...but it's important that we not write him off. Republicans have already made that mistake in Congress, and we are about to lose the House because of it. Let's just make sure we nominate somebody who is up to the task of defeating Gore once again, but not once and for all---a week is an eternity in politics.