Gore supporters hold out hope for White House run

Al Gore supporters nationwide say the Democrat is so skilled at not running for president that he might just win the next race for the White House.

“We call it the noncampaign, and it’s pretty good,” said Nelson Jacobsen, a leader of DC for Gore 08.

Members of Draft Gore movements think the former vice president’s new book “The Assault on Reason” is a call to action and say that if they beg Mr. Gore to be a candidate, he will deliver.

“It may be necessary” for citizens to push him, agreed Joyce Reimherr of Takoma Park. “He’s grown into a winnable candidate.”

A central theme of Mr. Gore’s book is how apathetic voters who would rather watch Britney Spears gossip on television have “allowed” policies that led to the war in Iraq, erosion of civil liberties and massive budget deficits.

“We will fix these problems when we, the people, decide that nobody else is going to do it for us, but that we have to get personally involved,” he said at a book signing Tuesday.

Gore believers say there is an unspoken message in the 320-page best-seller, ranked No. 3 yesterday on Amazon.com.

“He has thrown the gauntlet down to us — draft me, or leave me alone,” Mr. Jacobsen said. “His network is already so vast he could have 200,000 people show up in one day. He already has the grass-roots campaign built.”

Others say Mr. Gore’s new book and 2006 global-warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” have inspired them to favor him among the 2008 contenders.

Two New Hampshire state representatives will staff a “Draft Gore” table this weekend at the state Democratic convention to drum up support for a “potential Gore candidacy.”

“If the American people request that he run, if they want him to be president, he’s definitely going to consider their wishes,” said state Rep. Jeff Fontas, a Democrat. “Vice President Gore, above everybody else, has a great understanding of the circumstances and the situation we’re in, and will show the best leadership to getting us to the place we need to be.”

Mr. Gore, the noncandidate, polls in third or fourth place among the eight announced Democratic hopefuls. Supporters note that he has already won the popular vote — despite losing the Electoral College vote to George W. Bush — and say he has generated more fame since his movie won an Oscar.

“Please run,” begged one Pennsylvania resident Tuesday, as Mr. Gore emblazoned his signature on her book.

“Thank you for saying that,” he said, adding: “But I’m not planning on it.”

Mr. Gore told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose that he aims to “inspire” his readers to “breathe life into our democratic system and reclaim the integrity of our democracy.”

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