http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=443I teased this last week (in almost as strong wording as when I predicted the Kerry and Kennedy endorsements days before they happened) and, yes, I’ve read the pleadings in the comments section asking for more information. Today I’m going to say it aloud: former Vice President Al Gore is rooting for Obama for president and the question is not if, but when, he says it aloud.
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There would be two drawbacks to rolling Gore out now. One, is that Obama is up against a rival camp that loves the play the “politics of pile on” (its words) card, also known as the victim card. It worked in New Hampshire and at this point the Obama camp doesn’t want to give Clinton an opening to portray its candidate as ganged up on by the boys. The Tsunami Tuesday cycle is Kennedy’s, with sizeable ensemble performances by McCaskill, Sebelius and Napolitano (as in this Wall Street Journal Op-Ed today) and it’s working. But once the dust settles from Tuesday, more shots in the arm will be needed, especially prior to the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. That would be better timing for a Gore endorsement.
The second reason is Tennessee. It’s one of the Tsunami Tuesday states where Clinton enjoys a commanding lead (up by 14.5 percent in the Pollster.com average, and by 13 in the RealClearPolitics average). For Gore to come out now, only to be perceived (again) as not being able to carry his own state, would erase the benefit of his support after Tsunami Tuesday.
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But back to Gore: This is not rocket science. Gore, like Obama, spoke out against the Iraq war before Clinton voted to authorize it. The man from Tennessee knows that wasn’t an easy thing to do politically. And when we see, as yesterday, Obama’s Super Bowl ad stressing the fight to save the environment, we see how seamless the two go together.
When it happens, the Clinton camp will try to spin it as bad blood from the 1990s White House days, and there’s probably some of that in the mix, too. But it’s really going to be about the message of unifying, not only the country, but the Democratic party. My guess is that Gore will wait until after February 12, using Obama victories in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC as a springboard to talk about unity.
It’s poker. The Gore card, right now, doesn’t need to be played, but, rather, held. We’ve already seen that happen with Kerry’s endorsement. That it proved the smart move only reinforces the wisdom of not showing all one’s cards yet.
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