Speculation

There's an article in today's Wall Street Journal speculating on the possibility that Al Gore might enter the 2008 Presidential race.

For former Vice President Al Gore, a rash of favorable publicity surrounding this month's opening of his movie "An Inconvenient Truth," and the growing political resonance of its subject — global warming — are stoking the most serious speculation about a Gore political comeback since his loss in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

In 2008, that could mean a once-unimaginable battle for Democrats' nomination between Bill Clinton's former vice president and his wife, Hillary Clinton. To some pro-Gore Democrats, worried about Mrs. Clinton's electability, that is part of the appeal.

Gore's spokesmen are denying it, but many people aren't so sure.

In recent weeks, he has been on the covers of Vanity Fair, Wired (its headline: "The Resurrection of Al Gore") and American Prospect, a liberal Democratic magazine. Defeated politically, he nonetheless makes Time's list of the world's 100 most influential people; Mr. Gore is featured under the headings "Heroes and Pioneers" and "America Takes a Fresh Look at 'Ozone Man'" — the derisive nickname coined by the first President Bush in 1992 after Mr. Gore's previous environmental book, "Earth in the Balance," came out.

"His star will never be higher than it is right now with his movie coming out," says Democratic consultant Karen Skelton, Mr. Gore's former political director.

The Gore buzz reflects a sense among even some pro-Clinton Democrats that Mrs. Clinton, considered the prohibitive favorite for the nomination given her support in the party's base of activists and donors, can't win the general election because she is a polarizing figure to many voters. These skeptics believe only someone such as Mr. Gore with the celebrity and fund-raising potential to match Mrs. Clinton could stop her.

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard are just tickled pink at the prospect of the fun and festive air a Gore announcement would add to the normal fun of the primaries. We're so tickled that we commissioned our resident artist, Skippy, to produce a very special piece of art for us. Skippy came back with a picture entitled: "Hurricane Al launches his loyal gigantic robotic flightless waterfowl to savage the Carpetbagger Princess at her own game." Which we thought was a little overly long and didn't fall trippingly from the tongue. So we call it: Hillary and the Penguin.

Let the games begin!

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  By Black Jack, May 8, 2006 @ 4:12 pm

  OK, lady, now tell us how Vince Foster got all those carpet fibers in his shorts.

Other Links to this Post

1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Feingold Opens Mouth, Changes Foot — May 9, 2006 @ 9:32 am

2. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Gore To Train Minions — June 13, 2006 @ 9:49 am