Go' No Mo'

Michael Hirsch asks: Why isn't Al running?

I agree with Matt that it's just too late for Gore at this point; barring the miracle of a brokered convention, it's not going to happen. These are harsh words from Matt, but I feel them too:

Gore hits the sweet spot of experience and vision in a way that nobody else can. What's more, a person who's in a position to be a viable presidential candidate and who believes the things Gore says he believes almost has a duty to run, a duty that I'm sad he hasn't seen fit to take up.

Of course, all this discounts the very real pain of having your first victory stolen from you through massive corruption in state government, the media, and the courts—there's no doubt in my mind that this is part of the reason why Gore now exerts most of his political muscle overseas. I can certainly understand why he doesn't want to campaign again, but I wish he would have. This time, unlike 2000, I'd actually have been eager to vote for him, and this time I'm sure it would have been a landslide.