The Flag of the World

In my analysis of the three Democratic factions, I noted that Howard Dean will probably not run for president, if he becomes DNC chair, which is looking pretty likely as long as Republicans can keep their gol-durned mouths shut! This leaves an open slot for leadership of the Progressive wing of the party. I was confident that one would emerge, but I wasn’t sure who it might be.

We may now have an answer, though: Al Gore. Richard Cohen argues:

If you set out to create the perfect Democratic presidential candidate, you would probably choose someone from the South or the Border States, since John Kerry lost virtually the entire region on Tuesday, and someone who is comfortable talking the language of religion and values, since John Kerry was not, and someone whose wife is identified with conventional values and, last, someone who took a very early position against the war in Iraq, which John Kerry did not. Such a person already exists and, as luck would have it, has a name: Al Gore.

Now, quit snickering. Unless another Dean-like former governor emerges with the full backing of various Progressive leaders and groups, Gore really is the most legitimate–and certainly the most experienced–potential champion the Progressives have. All the things that conservatives have mocked him for (endorsing Howard Dean just before he tanked, giving a major speech on global warming on the coldest day of the year, yelling crazily about how Bush “betrayed his country”) have all endeared him to that piece of the party. There are also legitimate comparisons that could be drawn between Gore and Nixon–the vice president who narrowly lost to a more charismatic figure, returning to run for president in the midst of a war. So there is a precedent. And there’s a website.

Posted by Timothy Goddard at 11:24 am 11/9/2004 | Democrat Wars| Election 2008

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