By Roger J. Stone Jr.
February 22, 2006
Mr. Gore may be positioning himself to be the one Democrat who can defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 Presidential primaries.
As a Republican, I could never back Mr. Gore’s election as President. But as a Nixonite, I see some uncanny parallels in the careers of the two former Vice Presidents. In fact, if Mr. Gore looks at Nixon’s strategy in 1968, he could end up in the White House after all.
Nixon’s book Six Crises was a cathartic exercise that Nixon wrote after he lost the 1960 Presidential election—one that maintained his place on the national stage. Mr. Gore’s new documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, thrusts him back to the center of the political life.
Like Mr. Gore, Nixon lost a Presidential election in a photo finish, and many felt the Presidency was stolen from him. Later, both men withdrew gracefully when further challenge to the result was fruitless. The grace with which each withdrew and accepted defeat was considered an act of statesmanship amid partisan furor.
Mr. Gore’s early endorsement of Howard Dean in the 2004 primaries earned him a new and growing anti-war constituency. Despite Dr. Dean’s collapse as a candidate and his weekly gaffes as the Democratic National Committee chairman, one fact remains clear: Mr. Gore was an early and articulate critic of the war in Iraq and supported the most anti-war candidate in 2004. He has since made notable speeches questioning the war, becoming the darling of the MoveOn.com crowd, and is now best positioned to be the “peace” candidate in 2008.
To win, Mr. Gore must run on a simple proposition that puts him at direct odds with Mrs. Clinton: Within 24 hours of taking office, he would withdraw all troops from Iraq and redirect national resources to crush Al Qaeda. The election of 2008 may become like 1968, with war protests wracking the country and the President sticking to his guns.
Mr. Gore must again borrow from the Nixon playbook and reinvent himself. The “New Gore” is more relaxed: He’s had time to think and reflect on the great challenges facing America. In his wilderness years, he has found himself. He is more self-effacing, funnier, cooler, easier-going, yet articulate and firm. The Al Gore who appeared on Jay Leno’s show after the 2004 Presidential election is the Al Gore that voters could find attractive, just as the “New Nixon” who emerged on Jack Paar after the 1960 election was far more palatable than the pale, sweaty, shifty-eyed Nixon of the Nixon-Kennedy debates.
It wasn’t until Watergate that we saw the other side of 1968’s relaxed and affable Nixon, whose political acumen I admired. But in 1968, his persistence, drive and shrewdness—coupled with a divisive war—drove the most remarkable political comeback in American history.
Sound familiar? It should, because the stage is set for Al Gore, the winner of the popular vote in 2000, to do the same.
Roger J. Stone Jr. is a veteran of eight Republican Presidential campaigns.
http://www.observer.com/20060227/20060227_Roger_J._Stone_Jr._politics_wiseguys-2.asp
That raving lunatic wouldn't stand a chance. his mouth would bury him.
Plus, If he challenges the hildabeast, I would advise him to steer clear of Ft. Marcie park.
Global warming debates don't trump defeating Islamic terrorism. Bring it on! I'd love to defeat Al again!
If Al Gore will submit himself to a board-certified team of psychologists and psychiatrists and allow them to examine him, talk with him, probe his mental state, and if they issue a public report stating that he is as sane and stable as any American man in his late 50's, I'll consider whether or not he deserves my vote.
That ought to take me about 1.5 seconds to reach the same decision I reached in 2000.
Dick M has finally put the idea of Algore being Prez to rest. Dickie is wrong on every prediction he makes.
Gracefully? That was graceful?
The nation went through hell for months!
The one great thing about Morris, if he says it, we know it won't happen.
My cat will become president before Al Gore!
What exactly is the author's definition of gracefully? In my world Nixon withdrew gracefully, Al Gore certainly did not.
And BTW, Dick Morris is simply playing both sides again. Toe sucker.
Are you yanking my chain with a pile driver?
Morris is talking himself into oblivion. What does he call the Category 4 Galveston Hurricane, which happened 105 years ago? Gore Prophesies. spit.
Pay attention to the toe sucker when he says things like this. He knows full well that Gore can't possibly win. Just like he knows full well that Condolezza Rice can't possibly win. He's just trying to stir up controversy.
Dick Morris makes sense. It doesn't matter what we think of Gore - this column is an analysis of Gore's actions, not Gore's ability or policy. I've thought for a while that Gore was running again in 2008. Especially if Bush bombs somehow, Gore would seem like a viable alternative, no matter what those of us who despise the man think. IMHO, Gore relates to Nixon almost perfectly. In the same manner that Nixon retained the malice and bitterness from his loss to Kennedy and the press treatment he received, Gore seems to be maniacal in his distaste for conservatives and the new right-wing media. I could easily see Gore with an enemies list and a penchant for political mayhem. We'll see. My belief is that the system can handle a madman at the helm - power is too diffuse in the system for a dictator to take total control, although it could be a hairy ride there for a while.
Gore just whored himself out to the Arabs and Morris is comparing him to Nixon?
What a moron.
That's right! There were no hurricanes before "Earth in the Balance." Hey, does that mean that the hurricanes are Al's fault?
Mark
Translation for the science-impaired: "Elect Al Gore! He'll quell the storms on the surface of the sun!"