HuffPo: "Should Kerry Run Again?"

[ginnyinWI]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/should-kerry-run-again_b_21041.html

His conclusion: Yes! :applause:

last four paragraphs:

Would it be better for the Democrats and their core principles if Kerry held back and let Gore or Feingold carry the flag? I don't think so. Why not let them compete with each other for the honor? Why not see who can be most effective at delivering the party's message - its real message of justice and fairness - effectively?

Let a hundred flowers bloom, as another political player used to say. Is Kerry the candidate to back? I don't know. I like Gore a lot, and Feingold's taking a lot of good positions. But I also like what I see coming out of Massachusetts lately.

He's got money, mailing lists, a platform - and apparently he's got passion, too. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't run. Hopefully, the best candidate will emerge from the primaries.

There will come a time for Clinton opponents to coalesce around the 'anti-Hillary.' But for now, why not see what Kerry and his opponents can do? History will help decide the rest.

[demdiva]

1. That's fantastic ... especially for Huffington Post

On edit ... what is with all the Gore support recently. It irks me a bit.

Everyone tries to make Gore a hero and make JK a loser. But Gore had it easier then JK. Gore was a sitting VP when he challenged JK and JK was up against and incumbent, war-time president.

[JohnKleeb]

2. I don't like that either

I obviously wish Gore and Kerry had won their respective elections but I do agree strongly that Kerry had a much more uphill battle than Gore did. Gore was the VP of a popular Democratic President during a time of great prosperity meanwhile Kerry was running against a war time president. I realize that Bush is a moron but people act like it's so easy to run against them. I appreciate Gore as a person and a politican but the revisionist bullshit of Gore has to stop. He was NOT the same guy then as he now. They're both fine guys but people should be honest instead of twisting things to fit their egos.

[karynnj]

4. They forget that the powers that be though

in 2003 that Bush was unbeatable. Kerry had a far tougher race:
-against an incumbent
-with the media more concentrated and as a whole against him
- with churchs in some areas against him
-With even more illegal use of being in office used against him - making it harder for Dems to vote.

I suspect though if Gore says he is running, he may peak, then decline because:
-He would need to give positions where now supporters assume he agrees
-There will be a rehash of the 2000 (and earlier) Gore campaigns - which should end any idea that he communicates better than Kerry.
-In debates, liberals may find,to their surprise, that it's Kerry they agree with
-If as it gets closer, Clinton and Gore are ahead, I suspect that it will get nasty from one side (or both). Gore's biggest strength was being VP - will Bill validate that? Kerry was a maverick and the Clintons attacking him, lets him defend himself - this time even if it's at Bill's expense.

[ginnyinWI]

8. for the people wanting Bill back,

and given the choice between his wife and his veep, I think the veep wins, don't you? So I say Gore beats Hillary (should he choose to run), but between Kerry and Gore it is a lot more dubious. Depends on the issues and how well each one makes his case to the Left. We know who's the better debater, and who has worked on his message delivery when talking to the media. ;) And we know who has raised more money and worked to establish credibility around the country.

[karynnj]

12. I think the "want Bill back people" will split

In the "US" "People" magazine world, I think some want Bill, the physical person - not the Clinton policies. I seriously think some simply want Bill back in the White House because they like him.

Also, Gore will have to choose whether he wants his new fans or those who want the Clinton DLC policies. You're already seeing it a little when someon posted asking if Gore had changed his position on free trade. The answers were strange - from I think so (with nothing to back it) and some saying he couldn't have ever been in full agreemement. One said that he said when running that all the trade agreements needed to be re-examined. I know Kerry said that, but I really don't remember Gore saying that or it being an issue.

[karynnj]

3. Interesting Huffington blog

I posted. As expected, the Huffington crowd are still saying Gore, Gore, Gore. Can you imagine the look on either Kerry's or Gore's face if in say 1996, they were told in 10 years, Kerry would be attacked by liberals and Gore lionized?

[JohnKleeb]

5. It certainly is ironic

Kerry was vetted by both Clinton and Gore as a running mate and they decided against him because he was considered too liberal. Yet the way some of Gore's backers rewrite the facts they make Gore to Kerry's left even though Gore started out in politics opposing abortion, gun control, and was very hawkish on Foreign Policy. Meanwhile Kerry has always been consistently pro choice and supportive of gun control and has had a realist foreign policy. I don't know for certain what kind of nominee or candidate Gore would make, he's a good guy but I think as you say below the liberals who have been pimping him out as a possilbe candidate will be disappointed when he'll show his true moderate colors in debates. If he should become president they'd be disappointed too since Gore is no liberal.

[blm]

7. Problem is, JohnKleeb, YOU know more about recent history than most people

For many, they only know what they've heard since Bush has been in office, and have trouble applying actual facts and using them in the context of all that is happening.

Their scales are definitely not calibrated for facts or context.

[TayTay]

9. I was not for Gore in the primaries.

Gore came into the Senate in the same year John Kerry did, 1984. He was a moderate. He voted for the first Gulf War, which Kerry did not and he vehemently beat the war drums. It's a matter of record. Gore's best issue has always been the environment and his book, Earth in the Balance, was great. However, Gore never pushed this issue when he was VP. He pushed NAFTA vigorously and, IMHO, carried Republican water in order to get that not-very-Democratic measure through the Congress. There was no big environmental push from Gore when he had power, he just let it drop. He didn't bring it back up again until he was out of office.

I had a lot of disappointments with Gore. I voted for him in 2004 without enthusiasm as an ABB. His campaign disappointed me. I never felt that Gore had a reliable core that he would defend against all comers. I could never see Gore telling Clinton that he would not come out against 'gay marriage,' as Kerry did in 2004, because I didn't find him that strong a person.

If Gore has been reborn as an environmentalist, then good. But I would need many years of convincing before I 'took him back.' His record is mediocre. He has been much better outside of power as an observer. I would not work or contribute to make him anything more.

PS: I did submit a comment to HuffPost. We shall see if it gets up this week. LOL!

[JohnKleeb]

18. Gore is the one who debated Ross Perot

as the pro for NAFTA and Perot of course being the con. Gore was a hawk in Congress and this is part of why I've read Clinton chose him as a running mate. It is ironic that the activists on the left think that Senator Kerry has been more antagnositic to their goals and that Gore has been on their side all along. I like the man but I think his most liberal supporters are in for a surprise when they find out that Al Gore is a moderate who is for outsourcing, historically hawkish on defense, and supports the death penalty, these latter three will upset the purer than thou. Now there are some rational people who will look beyond their disagreements with Gore and not be ignorant to what Gore was. I sincerely do feel that Gore had an easier fight than Kerry did because he was in fact as said the VP of a pretty popular incumbent president. Kerry was a challenger and Ohio was a harder nut to crack than Florida no matter what Kerry's distractors say. BTW part of why I read Gore chose Lieberman as his running mate was because of his moderate views and his hawkishness. I don't think if Gore got the nomination he would pick someone like Feingold like they've been hoping. I understand idealism but realism is what I live by.

[JohnKleeb]

17. They rewrite history to make it seem that FDR was the king of the left

in the 30's too and as much as I appreciate Roosevelt's contributions to what the party stands for, he was as hated by some on the far left as he was by the right albeit for different reasons. Gore got in to Congress
as a conservative Democrat from a more rural district in Tennessee. When Gore first ran for president as a younger man in 1988 he ran as a conservative-moderate Democrat.

[wisteria]

6. I have avoided getting too involved in the Gore hoopla, however

I have just about had my fill. I enjoyed the little segment on SNL,but it seems he is being thrust upon us similar to the Senator Clinton push. I am beginning to smell a rat. Gore certainly is enjoying himself and getting mostly praise from the media. Global warming is certainly a good cause, but for Clift to gush over him while, totally bashing Kerry just isn't right. I like Gore too, I voted for him in 2000 and was very disappointed with the outcome of that election. However, I am tired of twisted idea about how his 2000 run was better than the campaign Kerry ran. That is just wrong. Gore had major advantages going into the race that Kerry could not of even imagined. He was stiff and arrogant towards Bush. He also was very much DLC. He didn't reach out or even try to expand the Democratic base. I know in the area I live in, we got ignored. Grass roots wasn't even a term Gore was or is familiar with. I actually had some Dem leader say he would vote for Gore because Gore fought for his votes in 2000 and Kerry didn't. Now how misguided is that? The truth is, Gore isn't really strong militarily or on the foreign relations side of things, and his biggest issue is Global warming.is that enough to run on besides as deep hatred for Bush? All the old Gore issues can be brought up again and because it has been eight years some of it will sound new. I just don't think people are looking to deeply into who Al Gore really is at this point in time.(I wonder how they would explain the time he retired from public view and seemed almost reclusive)? I also never cared for the way he came out for Dean and totally snubbed Lieberman(I am no fan of his, but for gosh sake, the man was going to be his VP and not even so much as a kind word)I also think one of the reasons Gore didn't choose Kerry as VP was because of his liberal voting record. For me, I would vote for Kerry without a moment of doubt. I don't care who is pushing Gore.

[ginnyinWI]

10. plus I really don't think Gore is going to run.

Unless something dramatic happens. What presidential hopeful goes on SNL? His speeches are great lately, but to what end, I'm not sure. He seems to be energizing the far left, a la Michael Moore lately, but I don't see how that leads to a presidential run. I suppose that question will be answered one way or the other by early next year.

[ProSense]

11. Kerry has

a stronger record on the environment than Gore (a thread posted here recently has all the details), and Gore's 2000 platform included support for the death penalty and school prayer (I don't know what his current position is on either issue), and I'm sure most of these people have no clue of that. There cluelessness might explain why some are pairing the completely anti-death penalty Feingold with Gore. My logic may not be completely valid in terms of choice of VP, but it's seems that it would be a complication (afterall they're not hypocrites like Bush/Cheney). In terms of the death penalty, Kerry is against it and co-sponsored this Feingold bill:

S.132
Title: A bill to place a moratorium on executions by the Federal Government and urge the States to do the same, while a National Commission on the Death Penalty reviews the fairness of the imposition of the death penalty.
Sponsor: Sen Feingold, Russell D. (introduced 1/9/2003) Cosponsors (4)
Latest Major Action: 1/9/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COSPONSORS(4), ALPHABETICAL : (Sort: by date)
Sen Corzine, Jon S. - 1/9/2003 Sen Durbin, Richard - 1/9/2003
Sen Kerry, John F. - 4/29/2003 Sen Levin, Carl - 1/9/2003

More on Feingold's position and the legistation here:

http://feingold.senate.gov/issues_death_penalty.html

[karynnj]

13. Not to mention Al and especially Tipper's

efforts in labelling music.

[ProSense]

14. Also,

Gore, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act, has changed his position. I'm glad Gore is becoming more liberal, but I didn't agree with his position on quite a few issues.

[beachmom]

15. Look, I like Gore and thought he was funny on SNL

But the devil is always in the details. We KNOW what John Kerry is about, because he is making decisions every day in the Senate. Gore has definitely made some great speeches lately and I would like to see his movie. But running for president is very different from what he is doing now. Is he REALLY going to run? I'm not sure if that's a foregone conclusion.

Before Gore, I felt there were only two others besides Kerry REALLY in the running -- Hillary and Warner. But maybe Gore is a 4th one. (no offense to anyone, but Feingold is too lefty for me -- his voice is welcomed, but I think he has no chance).

As far as the "in fashion" crowd, one has to laugh. First it was Clark, then Boxer, then Feingold, now Gore. They really do have limited attention spans, don't they?

[ProSense]

16. I agree.

Although I like Feingold, Gore and Clark, Kerry is my man. Still, this is a democracy and people will get to choose.

Go Kerry!

[karynnj]

19. Some of the posts there are really ignorant

I really really don't think many of them are really speaking about the man who ran in 2000. Gore was not a visionary leader.