My inbox is getting flooded with news from Al Gore fans who are trying to draft him to run for president. Since my story was published in Monday's paper about how the state movements are strengthening, draft organizers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, among others, have dropped me a line.
I gave a little update Monday, but the Draft Gore folks wrote this morning about their full-page New York Times ad (seen below) featuring an open letter to the former VP. There were more than 143,000 signatures on the Draft Gore petition when I last checked, and organizers estimate they are getting 750 new signatures per hour today.
Here's the ad, which cost organizers $64,575.
The letter tells Gore: "You say you have fallen out of love with politics, and you have every reason to feel that way. But we know you have not fallen out of love with your country. And your country needs you now — as do your party and the planet you are fighting so hard to save.
"Ours is an urgent call to service on behalf of the country we love, the democracy that's slipping away from us, and a world and planet that are in peril. We write on behalf of our children and grandchildren and plead with you to to lead us to a brighter future," it continues. "Many good and caring candidates are contending for the Democratic nomination. But none of them has the combination of experience, vision, standing in the world, and political courage that you would bring to the job. Nor do they have the support among voters that you enjoy and that would lead you to victory in 2008.
"Please rise to this challenge, or you and millions of us will live forever wondering what might have been," it concludes.
The group has also done this video comparing Gore to JFK:
—Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (2)
Dear Mr. Vice President,
Congratulations on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. You are very deserving of this great honor. Now, your country needs you more than we have needed anyone since Abraham Lincoln. You are the most qualified person to get us out of the crisis we are now in. Your experience in government, combined with your honesty and integrity makes you the ideal prospect for president. The people have lost confidence in both the Democratic and Republican parties and are ready to support a third party candidate. You are the man and this is your time. I will support you whole heatedly.
Erich E. Stafford, Ph.D.
Posted by Erich E. Stafford | October 13, 2007 4:21 PM
When Gore last ran for President, he had my vote, and since then, his work for the planet hasn't failed to leave a good impression on me.
Whether his reasons are political or not, he has done a lot of good for the planet through his awareness programs. This also makes him seem like a promising canidate for president.
My question is whether or not he will be able to get us out of our crisis in Iraq, fight terrorism, and save the planet.
It's a big job for anyone, but is he truely the one who can do it?
I don't know, but I believe that he has the potential to do good things even if they aren't in a presidential position.
Posted by GWHannahFisher | October 14, 2007 1:59 PM