seajane: Another Gore Article

Again -- Carville needs to shut the F--K UP!

Clinton team obsesses about Al Gore

In recent days, the Clintons and their high-ranking supporters have begun preempting any future announcement by Al Gore that he will enter the presidential race. If you look at what has been said this week, Bill Clinton and especially James Carville are daring him to throw his name into the hat. All of this was said on the same day. A coincidence? With the Clintons, not likely.

Thursday night on Larry King Live, Bill Clinton hinted that Gore might run:

"..you have got the prospect that vice president Gore might run."

That was apple sauce compared to what came out of Carville's mouth earlier that day at Tulane University:

"Gore will run again because, quoting George Will, running for president is like sex: 'You don't do it once and forget about it.'"

Barely any talk about the former Vice President up until this point, and then bam! You get Bill Clinton and James Carville, two of the most successful political strategists during the 1990s, bringing up Al Gore in the span of just a few hours. Coincidence? Or is there a possibility that the Clinton team is now in the process of game-planning for a Gore arrival into the presidential race?

To me, they appear to be daring Gore to get in. Politically speaking, if that did happen, John Edwards' presidential hopes would be toast. A lot of Edwards' support comes from online activists. Without the backing of some the top blogs, such as Kos, the former North Carolina Senator would have little infrastructure left standing.

Deep down, I know that some bloggers -- and I will include myself -- have a fantasy scenario of Gore declaring his candidacy in September, beating Clinton in the primaries, and then going on to win the general election. Not that I even want that to happen, or think it would be best for the party in the long run. In fact, I have yet to be convinced that Gore is electable. But there is that inner yearning for 2008 to end up how 2000 should have been.

I give it a 20% chance that Gore will enter the race. A lot of it depends on his Nobel Peace Prize, and whether the former Vice President can raise enough money in a matter of weeks. Either way, the buzz has the Clinton family worried, clearly bothered and strangely obsessed.