GORE and OBAMA

For many years now, as those who know me are well aware, my dream presidential ticket has been former Vice President Al Gore and Senator Obama. When I first began saying it out loud back in 2004, it required a certain willingness to sound ridiculous, since the response I got was usually that I'd completely lost my mind. People would respond that Gore was a loser and I would reply you haven't heard him lately. No longer the somewhat reserved and overly careful politician, he is now passionate, funny, and engaging. Well, of course Gore has proved them all wrong; far from being a loser, he has become a winner on so many levels. He is finally being recognized as the serious, thoughtful, and courageous statesman that he is.

Senator Obama used to say that he didn't have enough experience to run for president and he was absolutely right. However, many Democrats, frantic because there was no sign that Gore would run, and there was no one else who commanded the same hope and respect, pressured him to run anyway. He has now become the reserved and overly careful politician that Gore was, to whom winning has become so important that he no longer says what he thinks or stands up for what he believes.

We need both of them now, to do something unprecedented and amazing for our country at this critical period in our history. We need them to put the good of this country above their personal desires and ambitions.

We need Al Gore NOW, not to run TV stations or develop websites, but to provide the principled, competent, and visionary leadership that this country so desperately needs. We need him to run for president.

We need Obama as our hope for the future, our hope that in eight years this country will elect an African American as president. Then he will then have the experience and record to combine with his charisma and intelligence which will make him a remarkable and incredibly exciting presidential candidate. But NOW we need him to run with Al Gore as his vice president.

GORE/OBAMA - This is the ticket for which so many of us would be willing to give money, to walk door-to-door, to make calls, and to work ourselves to exhaustion. This is the ONLY possible ticket that will inspire us and give us hope and make us believe again.