Politicians as Usual --Gore, Dean and the Greens

[Say_What]

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Now that he is free of Washington, Al Gore feels invigorated. Not that if he had been elected, America would have acted monumentally different than George W. Bush since 2000; but surely it is comforting for us to think so. Nonetheless, by the time your eyes scour this page, Gore will have endorsed Howard Dean for President of the United States, arguing all mayhem could have been averted had a Dem been in office.

It really is the endorsement Dean has been looking for -- Gore is an insider, who's ties to the Democratic elite will help boost his outsider image, and gain respect among affluent centrist Democrats.

Within the corporate wing of the Party, Dean has been labeled a fringe leftist, incapable of reaching out to the Party's conservative patrons. And Gore's endorsement is just what the doctor from Vermont ordered.

It is politics as usual. Gore is backing the governor because Dean is strongly leading vital primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. The more conservatives that back Dean, the less the Democratic Party looks like wild-eyed progressives. And oh, dear no, they can't stand the thought of that sort of label.

http://www.counterpunch.org/frank12092003.html