05-19-06: DKos Blockbuster's Open Letter to Al Gore

[ourbluenation]

In light of yesterday's developments I thought this might be worth a replay. :)

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Dear Mr. Vice President:

There is a phrase from a book that keeps running through my head. John Steinbeck, in America and Americans, argued that we have not always had great presidents, "but," he wrote, "when the need has been great, we have found men of greatness." These words flood my brain as I listen, with interest, to the arguments both in favor and opposed to your entering the 2008 contest for President of the United States. You, Sir, have stated that you will not run, although you have recently allowed that as a "recovering politician" you may "suffer a relapse."

Whoever "wins" the presidency in 2008 will have the toughest job the world has ever known. Here are a few of the headaches and heartbreaks.


* Restoring the respect of the world community after years of justifying "preemptive war," breaking international treaties, bullying and threatening third world nations.

* Restoring reasonable corporate regulation in favor of the environment, the distribution of wealth, health and safety, and worker's rights.

* Going to battle against the vast wealth of the telecommunications industry to restore the Fairness Doctrine and ownership diversity.

* Finding a way out of Iraq which leaves Iraq and the rest of the Middle East secure and relatively peaceful.

* Placing proper attention on world hot spots such as Darfur, in order to let the world know that we will leave each country to govern itself, but we will not tolerate the international crime of genocide.

* Insuring that every vote in America which is cast will be counted.

* Removing the money from politics, and placing it in public education where it belongs.

* Declaring and proving to all the world that we will not use the tactics of terrorists to fight terrorism, but our own. We will use the law and the enforcement of the law to seek justice in public trials, rather than the smaller, darker animals of torture and secret detentions.

* Restoring the public's faith in the right to privacy.

* Creating social and economic justice for all Americans.

* Recommitting to the United Nations and the World Court.

* Investigating and punishing crimes which have been committed inside of government over the prior eight years.


Sir, this is a job you don't want. If you were my friend, I'd advise you to run far away from it.

But, after leaving Washington in 2000, you walked into a university classroom and locked the door behind you. A professor walked into that room, but a student walked out, and you uttered this simple phrase from Bob Dylan: "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." Once outside of the Beltway noise machine, you heard the voices of the people and not the voices of pundit hackery. Reversing Bhagavad-Gita, it is possible that you have become life, the restoration of worlds.

We are in desperate need of an individual with experience and knowledge in both real life and the fantasy land of the capital. This person must know all branches of government, know how to play the political games within it, and have the practical knowledge of where to find the pulse of the nation. We need someone with a tough hide because sacrifices will have to made by people who have already sacrificed more than their share. We need an individual of extraordinary courage and morality. As far as I can see, you are the most qualified man for the job.

I close with two quotes by a great Democrat, John F. Kennedy. I hope you will consider them in coming to a final decision, which I fear must come soon.

"It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."

This applies, it seems to me, to more than the environment, but to the beacon of liberty which America represented for all the world. Well...

"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality."

I wish for you happy times, but I'd ask you to be a great president.

blockbuster

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. I tried, but I still can't think of

anyone else I'd rather vote for in '08.

[ourbluenation]

2. Me neither Viva... n/t

[xiamiam]

3. my thoughts exactly...nt

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Yep. It's obvious.

He's the man, if he's willing to run.

[dalaigh lllama]

5. Al Gore

the man for all reasons.

[Beetwasher]

6. This Country May Very Well Be Saved BECAUSE OF THE INTERNETS!!!!

And we all have the access to the interets that we do because of Al Gore. It's the plain truth. He was a visionary who saw what having the internets and the free flow of information would mean. It means we can organize and inform and WIN. It is the single most important tool we have and it's thanks to Al Gore's vision.