Reality's Apostle

Recently, I debated a Democratic Party activist I know from my volunteering efforts during the '04 and '06 campaigns. He chastised me for my lack of enthusiasm over the announced presidential candidates in the Democratic Party. We agree about most issues but disagree intensely in our assessment of the candidates. Naturally, he objects to my preference for Al Gore.

Essentially, I am judging the candidates by three criteria: what do they know, what have they done and what are they going to do? Based on that criteria, Al Gore is heads and shoulders above all the announced candidates in the Democraticy Party. His testimony in front of the House and Senate committees on energy today, only reinforced my assessment.

Hillary Clinton is a smart woman. But when has she put her prestige on the line as Senator for working people, social justice and the cause of world peace? She's not a leader and certainly not an agent of change. Barack Obama is a smart man with poetic rhetoric. I have no idea what he's going to do or how he's going to do it. To this point, Obama remains a platitude machine. John Edwards talks a good game about what he's going to do. I have no idea if he's the real deal. Bill Richardson has a nice resume but he's not an agent of transformational change either.

Al Gore represents the totality of package. He warned of global warming before many even realized it was a problem. He's done far more than any candidate about this vital issue and is well prepared for the job. Gore was also courageous enough to stand up against the excesses of the Bush Administration while other Democrats such as Clinton and Edwards were enablers. And as his testimony illustrated, the Al Gore of today stands tall against conservative delusion.

When Joe Barton, an insipid Republican Congressman from Texas disputed the reality of Earth's rising temperatures, Gore easily dismissed him:

"The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says, 'You have to intervene here,' you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that says this isn't important.'"

I can appreciate that a presidential campaign has as much appeal to Gore these days as root canal without Novocain. He's at peace with himself. We no longer read about a man struggling to reinvent himself. Gore's become a revered international statesman, wealthy and has little patience for our vapid political culture. As I see it however, the best way to tackle global warming is if Al Gore becomes our next president and asks the American people to make sacrifices. The only way that can happen is if Al Gore is willing to sacrifice his comfortable life and campaign for the job.