THE CASE FOR AL GORE

TIM DICKINSON, ROLLING STONE - If the Democrats were going to sit down
and construct the perfect candidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to
improve on Gore. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has no controversial vote on
Iraq to defend. Unlike Barack Obama and John Edwards, he has extensive
experience in both the Senate and the White House. He has put aside his
wooden, policy-wonk demeanor to emerge as the Bush administration's most
eloquent critic. And thanks to An Inconvenient Truth, Gore is not only
the most impassioned leader on the most urgent crisis facing the planet,
he's also a Hollywood celebrity, the star of the third-highest-grossing
documentary of all time. . .

Indeed, Gore is unique among the increasingly crowded field of
Democratic contenders. He has the buzz to beat Obama, the substance to
supplant Hillary, and enough stature to enter the race late in the game
and still raise the millions needed to mount a successful campaign. . .

Gore's biggest opponent for the nomination would likely be Hillary
Clinton -- and no one in the current field of Democrats is better
situated to capitalize on her weaknesses than Gore. In September 2002,
just before Clinton and every other Democrat who hoped to run for
president voted to authorize the war in Iraq, Gore gave a
no-holds-barred speech inveighing against the invasion. "The chaos in
the aftermath of a military victory in Iraq," he warned, "could easily
pose a far greater danger to the United States than we presently face
from Saddam.". . .

Thanks to his vocal opposition to the war -- and his decision to back
Howard Dean's anti-war candidacy in 2003 -- Gore has all but sewn up the
backing of the party's "Netroots" activists. . .

Gore's deep ties to online activists could neutralize Clinton's greatest
advantage: her fund-raising prowess. Gore retains a network of
big-dollar donors from his 2000 campaign, and many of the party's
biggest funders are reportedly sitting on their checkbooks, waiting to
see if he enters the race. "If Howard Dean could raise $59 million on
the Internet," says Carrick, "the mind boggles as to what Al Gore might
do." Joe Trippi, who managed Dean's campaign, believes Gore could raise
as much as $200 million on the Internet: "Gore may have more money than
anybody within days of entering the race."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13248532/
why_gore_should_run__and_how_he_can_win/print

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