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RSS icon Comments on Gore/Obama '08

1

Al Gore is showing us all that he can make a much bigger difference by NOT running for President. If we actually get a Dem in the White House we might see some real progress on climate change. We are already seeing glimpses of this with the Dem's in control of Congress

Posted by The Former Next President | May 9, 2007 6:27 PM
2

Is it still apathy when you feel a strong urge to go out and campaign for Obama(or whoever, I guess) with all your power, just to prove people like that wrong, and that's balanced by an equally strong urge to do nothing because you know that the person writing the article is probably right?

Posted by Chris | May 9, 2007 6:54 PM
3

Yeah, if a Boston Globe columnist looking to get attention by going against the prevailing storyline says it can't happen, then it can't happen!
Hmm, let's see:


Anderson--an independent, his campaign lacked the money and infrastructure that major party candidates' campaigns enjoy.
Tsongas--unknown, not charismatic or dynamic, not likely to get people excited.
Bradley--made even more boring by having to follow dynamic opener Paul Wellstone in his primary campaigning.
Howard Dean--viewed by much of media as an extreme leftist, victim of some bad luck/silly journalism (does a yelp really deserve that much focus?)


yup, sounds just like Obama!

Posted by awesome | May 9, 2007 7:03 PM
4

That's old man shit. Obama's going all the way.

Posted by chris | May 9, 2007 7:15 PM
5

I saw Bradley in 99 or 2000 at the gym at Seattle Central - it was a small crowd and people still thought he was a contender. It was so un-compelling I went downstairs and took a sauna.

Obama, as awesome says, lacks the major drawbacks of the folks who have seemed 'new' before. That said, he's so great, I'm worried about his safety.

Posted by Grant Cogswell | May 9, 2007 7:43 PM
6

Yes, there's a pattern among the Dems--dangle a Fresh New Exciting Candidate (see McCarthy 68, Muskie 72, Hart 84, Jackson 88, Brown 92, Dean 04) to get the progressive/liberal/lefty/labor base of the party to sign up to help, then panic and settle on the Tried And True (read, Conventional) Candidate instead (though they went nuts in 72 with McGovern) and field Mondale/Dukakis/Kerry type for an unenthused populace...

So if Obama's the bait, who's the switch? Well, who has a lot of the core DNC already sewn up? C'mon, y'all know her name...

Posted by Andy Niable | May 9, 2007 9:07 PM
7
Posted by another thing | May 9, 2007 9:08 PM
8

Andy Niable @ 6 is exactly right. You cannot underestimate HRC's hold of the levers of power. Right now, both Obama and Clinton can beat up on Bush (for all the obvious reasons) but once we get into primary season, look out, as this will get ugly between those two.

Posted by J. Whorfin | May 9, 2007 9:36 PM
9

I completely fail to see the comparison between Bradley or Dean and Obama.

Obama has been lavished with attention since he appeared. He couldn't be less of an "outsider".

Also the campaigns of Dean and Bradley I would say were characterized by direct and progressive ideologies. Obama's campaign is very vague and safe.

I would say Edwards is this election's Bradley or Dean.

Posted by coolidge | May 9, 2007 9:45 PM
10

Three words Dan: "Self Fulfilling Prophecy".

Tell the same lie enough times, and people will believe it. Worked with Dean because people fixated on ONE MOMENT in his campaign... George Bush has had countless Dean moments, and yet by ignoring it, his party made it dissapear. I think Dems could learn a thing or two.

But hey, what do I know? Some self-defeating journalist from Boston said it, so it must be true... right?

Posted by Colin | May 9, 2007 11:42 PM
11

This journalist's argument: "Other good candidates have lost, therefore all good candidates will lose" is, frankly, unfounded. As every stats 101 student knows, coincidence--let alone mere precedence--does not imply causality.

Posted by Matt | May 10, 2007 1:19 AM
12

Good that you're putting your whistful dreaminess about Gore behind you at last. Besides being rather annoying, it distracts from getting into the reality of the game.

There are going to be plenty of naysayers, soothsayers and haters on and about every candidate--this is going to be a long, long election, and there's gonna be months of copy to churn out--so it would be wise to tune the pundits out until probably Halloween 2008.

Posted by Boomer in NYC | May 10, 2007 8:03 AM
13

I'm hard-pressed to think of a better ticket (this time around, given the political realities) than Edwards/Obama,

Posted by Acolyte | May 10, 2007 8:42 AM
14

It's true. No one real can be elected President anymore. Washington and Lincoln probably wouldn't make it these days. Neither would FDR or Truman. Jefferson sleeping with a slave? Forget it! Madison's too short and so on. And sadly, the nice guys who make it into office in modern history either get shot (Kennedy) or slam-dunked (Carter). Clinton spent his second term tap dancing to the tune, "Semen on a Blue Dress." I hope I'm wrong when I say that successful presidential candidates are manufactured and come from what has become the American ruling class.

Posted by Bauhaus | May 10, 2007 8:47 AM
15

I think the real "BradleyDeanBabbittTsongas" of the race is Mike Gravel - who recently came out in full support of same-sex marriage and said love between two men was "beautiful" (be still my heart!). Obama on the otherhand, seems to be able to rake in the cash in ways that make him a truly serious candidate.

Posted by Allie | May 10, 2007 12:32 PM
16

I appreciate someone finally understanding that Obama's challenge has nothing to do with his race (he's a presidential candidate who's black, not the other way around like Sharpton or Jackson, plus it's not liket he State that'd care would vote Dem anyway), but the kid has a chance as long as he speeds up the national election learning cuve a little.

Posted by Kobi | May 10, 2007 12:39 PM
17

Bradley, Tongas, and especially Babbitt are all really boring nice guys with lots of moral integrity – very Jimmy Carteresqu.

I would not put Obama in that class in any way. He might have some big obstacles to overcome (read racism) but he is not the nerdy boring nice guy prototype. He might be smart (a liability for John Kerry) but he is not boring and I suspect he can take a few punches to the chin and still look pretty.

I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that this country voted for JFK and even less time has passed since they voted for Bill Clinton. So why so pessimistic?

Posted by Mrs. Y | May 10, 2007 1:35 PM
18

please not hillary. it virtually guarantees my parents will vote for fred thompson. if they vote GOP again it will kill me & my siblings.

wesley clark save us now!

Posted by maxsolomon | May 10, 2007 6:03 PM
19

I don't know why people are slow to grasp who the true progressive in this race is: John Edwards. Hilary has sold out and Obama's great but John Edwards' record speaks for itself. Consistently progressive and this guy actually works on behalf of the most vulnerable people in this country - he's the Executive Director of the (badly named) Poverty Center. Edwards/Obama is a hot ticket!

Posted by Call me a snot | May 10, 2007 6:37 PM
20

if Obama is elected he'll be assassinated - same with Hilary. we have to choose someone who can win "and" survive the term(s).

Posted by winterwoman | May 11, 2007 12:40 PM
21

@20 We haven't had a President shot in over 20 years. If it was going to happen, Nancy Pelosi would be President right now.

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22

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