Al Gore, we NEED you to NOT run!

Dear Al Gore,

I just saw the Oscars. We are all so proud of you, Al. You earned every last bit of praise, and deserve even more.

Your passion, integrity, and intelligence are greatly needed in the Whitehouse. While I haven't chosen my preferred candidate, I know you'd already have a great platform to run on. There's a damn good chance you'd have my support in the primaries. And you can guarantee that you'd have
every last bit of my enthusiasm for your presidential campaign if you won the nomination.

I was excited about you entering the field of candidates. In my dreams, you would win the Oscar. You would get up to the podium, the people chanting and calling for you to run, and your plans to not run would quickly erode. If not during your acceptance speech then a few days from that, you would announce your candidacy. And the crowd goes wild.

Today, with the Oscars looming, I changed my mind...

Al, please, I'm begging you, please. DO NOT RUN.

Earlier today I was talking to some "nonpolitical" friends about the Oscars. In my excitement, I brought your name up, Al.

"Al Gore? Why's he gonna be there?"

"Ohh, is Inconvenient Truth nominated for Best Documentary?"

"Wait, is that the environment movie?"

The few of us who had seen it (hey, I made these friends in the past two months, so it's not like I haven't been trying to get my friends to see your movie!) ... we started to talk about it. There were some jokes about the discovery channel and powerpoint. But one friend finally hit me:

"Is it biased?"

The question seemed ridiculous. I asked what the hell (would you mind if I used the f-word, Al?) that means.

"Does it spend the whole time trashing Republicans, or what?"

The answer was an obvious no. To my recollection of the film, you seemed critical of everyone over the past 20-30 years equally. That no solution has emerged is all our faults.

But then I started to think. A lightbulb went off.

I started to get what you'd been saying all this time.

Finally it all made sense.

Al...

You might just have more power than the President of the United States of America.

I know you're too humble to admit it, Al. But I finally understand why you'd rather not be President. You can do more for the environment as a private citizen rather than a politician. In fact, this crusade to fix the environment would be hurt if you became president.

Let me say it again:

The President of the United States of America isn't that powerful.

I know this will shock a lot of fellow Democrats terrified at the prospect of creeping Totalitarianism in our nation. But President Bush only has a certain amount of legal power. He's not calling the shots. The real de facto power lies in the people who influence the president.

Unfortunately, Dick Cheney and the neo-conservatives have a greater amount of influence on the President than the American People. Lobbyists have more power over politics than voters. Moreover, men like Pat Robertson and Rupert Murdoch have a great deal of influence over enough American people to provide the "popular" justification for W's policies. I would argue that reality, results, and the truth all have no influence on W's policies.

Moreover, the media loves to give a (false) moral equivalence between Democratic and Republican, Progressive and Conservative views. It's just red hats and blue hats. No right and wrong. Even the environment. Despite the fact that you said tonight "this is not a political issue", the media will view everything that a Democrat says through a political lens.

That's why you need to not run, Al. You have done the near impossible in today's toxic 24 Hour News era of politics. You have begun the process of de-politicizing the environment. By not running, you affirm that. No one will be able to claim that this is just some self-interested power grab, or a game of political football. When you talk about it, climate change is exactly what it is: the greatest potential threat to our planet.

I realize we have a lot of other great candidates. Obama, Clark (if he declares), Richardson (if he raises his profile), and Edwards will all make great Presidents and have great chances at being elected.

Maybe they won't be as great in the White House as you would have been. But I realize that if you made it into the white house, we don't gain very much at all. In fact, we lose a huge opportunity.

Al, you are on the verge of doing what no other progressive right now can do:

Make fundamental change without the presidency.

I understand, now, Al. That's exactly what we need. That's why I support your decision to not run.

I hope you succeed.