Is former Vice President and Oscar Winner Al Gore getting ready to ride the campaign trail again or isn’t he?
It sounds like a distinct possibility, if this story in the Telegraph is any indication:
Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.
Al Gore is third favourite for the Democratic nomination
Two members of Mr Gore’s staff from his unsuccessful attempt in 2000 say they have been approached to see if they would be available to work with him again.
If Gore runs, he can call his drive to the White House “The I Told You So Campaign.” MORE:
Mr Gore, President Bill Clinton’s deputy, has said he wants to concentrate on publicising the need to combat climate change, a case made in his film, An Inconvenient Truth, which won him an Oscar this year.
But, aware that he may step into the wide open race for the White House, former strategists are sounding out a shadow team that could run his campaign at short notice. In approaching former campaign staff, including political strategists and communications officials, they are making clear they are not acting on formal instructions from Mr Gore, 59, but have not been asked to stop.
His denials of interest in the presidency have been couched in terms of “no plans” or “no intention” – politically ambiguous language that does not rule out a run.
One of his former campaign team said: “I was asked whether I would be available towards the end of the year if I am needed. They know he has not ruled out running and if he decides to jump in, he will have to move very fast.
The story says Gore has not told them to do this — or told them not to do it. This is a classic case of keeping your options open.
But if Hillary Clinton continues to show large negatives in polling, and little movement beyond certain numbers, and if Barack Obama’s stock takes off but not quite enough, a serious Draft Gore movement could begin — a kind of counterpoint to the growing movement on the Republican side to get actor and former Senator Fred Thompson into the 2008 Presidential nomintation race because none of the GOP front-runners are yet solid front-runners.
And that is an inconvenient truth…..
(This was put under the wrong byline but since it’s up, we’ll leave it this way. Joe Gandelman)