The GO-Team

Alright, maybe my nostalgia is overtaking me a bit. But the more I see the man these days, the more I think Al Gore might just be the anti-Hilary for 2008 (since conventional wisdom seems to have her as the unstoppable, 800-pound gorilla of the Democratic party). Mrs. F keeps reminding me of his wooden stature of 2000, but I've seen him let loose in those speeches sponsored by MoveOn.org. And he's hitting his stride this year with his passion for a green earth coalescing around the growing public acceptance that we need to make serious changes in the face of climate change/global warming.

So far, Gore has downplayed talk of re-entering Presidential politics, but he's been slowly making exploratory moves into that realm. Chris Cillizza at the WaPo's Fix blog has been tracking some of those moves:

The latest piece of evidence? Gore will join Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and former president Bill Clinton in New York City tonight for a fundraiser expected to raise $1.3 million for the national committee. Gore will also attend a VIP reception prior to the larger event.

[...]

Gore has also traveled the country in recent months to push for action on global warming -- he was in Oakland, Calif., for a speech on April 6, and Madison, N.J., on April 2. Gore was in Las Vegas in mid-March to screen "An Inconvenient Truth."

Gore has dabbled in campaign politics as well -- especially in Florida where he has helped raise money for Sen. Bill Nelson's (D) reelection campaign.

[...]

Although he continues to play possum about his interest in another presidential bid, Gore has picked up at least one backer in Congress -- Virginia Rep. Jim Moran. During a recent appearance on C-Span, Moran said Gore was "even stronger and more committed" than in 2000.

And remember, Gore has not been even close to Shermanesque when asked about another presidential bid. In one breath he says, "I'm not planning to be a candidate again," but in the next adds: " I haven't reached a stage in my life where I'm willing to say I will never consider something like this."

There would be many hurdles that Gore would have to jump to fully regain public acceptance. But I have a cunning plan... draft Barack Obama as his running mate. Gore-Obama 2008: The GO-Team. Both are steadfastly anti-Iraq War and both have a lot of passion for climate change/energy policy. One offers reassurement about leadership capabilities, while the other captures the imagination of Kennedy-esque possibility. C'mon, you gotta admit that sounds pretty damn sweet. (Apologies to the real Go-Team, who are pretty damn sweet themselves.)