Draft Gore Petition with 100,000 Signatures Delivered to Gore's Office

The national petition run by Draft Gore (Draftgore.com) asking Al Gore to run for president in 2008 reached a major milestone yesterday when the number of signatures went over 100,000. Draft Gore treasurer Eva Ritchey delivered the petition to Vice President Gore's office in Nashville this morning.

"This enormous outpouring of support for Al Gore is testimony both to his enduring appeal among the grassroots and to the dissatisfaction of the Democratic base with the current crop of declared candidates," said Monica Friedlander, chair of Draft Gore.

Because of its comments section filled with personal stories and direct pleas to Mr. Gore, the petition represents a historic portrait of the reborn populist movement in this country -- and not just among Democrats. Surprisingly, a very large number of signatures come from independents and Republicans, many of whom regret not voting for Gore in 2000:

"Mr Gore, I'm a 13-year military vet who has served in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Having always voted Republican, I bear responsibility for our
current government. I thank you for your 30+ yrs of service and am asking
you to serve again.
-- Ernesto Meruelo, San Diego, CA

"I am a lifelong Republican and in 2000 I foolishly voted for President
Bush. I was wrong. I am older and wiser now. I wish to offer my support
and help in my very GOP state of Wyoming."
-- Philip Hritzak, Casper, WY


Many of those who signed the petition include troops on the frontlines in Iraq and parents of young people being put in harm's way.

"Mr. Gore, my son is going into Iraq today. Please run and bring some
reason to this world. He is in the 3rd ID. Please help!"
-- Sharon Pote, Booneville, AR


Most of all, signatories by the tens of thousands plead with Al Gore to respond to the growing call to serve his country one more time.

"There's no higher calling, than when a nation asks for you to lead. We're
asking you to lead now, and I hope you'll rise to it."
-- Jarrett Wold, Minot, ND


Draft Gore has also launched its national radio ad campaign this week, with the first of three spots now running on the Stephanie Miller show. These and other actions are intended to demonstrate to Mr. Gore the groundswell of support he enjoys in the hope of persuading him to join the race for the Democratic nomination.

Gore's growing popularity is demonstrated by a recent poll in New Hampshire showing Gore running well ahead of the entire Democratic field, leading Hillary Clinton by six points, 32% to 26%.

The petition can be read in its entirety on Draft Gore's website (http://www.draftgore.com/) or directly at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/algore2008/signatories.html.

Draft Gore is a grassroots political action committee promoting a Gore candidacy in 2008. The PAC is not affiliated with Vice President Gore's office. For more information, see http://www.draftgore.com/.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20070713/DCTH02712072007-1.html

(and I also signed it myself.)

But you know what is really weird? Is viewing this in conjunction with the fact that Hilary and Obama have broken all previously existing records for fund raising.

Evidentally, the people with the big bucks to donate are happy beyond belief with the "frontrunners," but the people who sign petitions desperately want an alternative.

For the record, I don't think Al will run. It's too late now to set a serious campaign in motion, and the people with the money have already laid their cash on the table...

Feddy is either waiting to steal Mr.Gore's thunder or he's just to lazy to campaign.

6 months at least. Never has a campaign started this early.

IMAGINE THAT!!!!!!!!!

fly

:kick:

is kind of over the top.

Get 1 or 2 million signatures and we'll talk......

I love Al Gore and would vote for him in a heartbeat, but, so far, he's not in the race.

TC

or like the people running this "draft", are they arrogant enough to think they don't have to sign it because they are secretly hoping his environmental efforts flop because they think it will push him into running into a system they have no intention of getting up off their butts to change? I read they had a radio ad out calling him "Live Earth" Al. If true it sounds like something Karl Rove would do, not supporters of his...and they also chartered a CO2 air pollution spewing airplane just to run their website banner over Giants Stadium last week just like the freepers did. At an environmental concert for the planet they pollute the air just to get their name out here. Yeah, they support his efforts alright.

So now only a few days after Live Earth and his pleas for US to be the change, they still ignore it by in essence sayign to him 'Up yours Al, we want YOU to do it, and don't you dare ask us to do anything because we just want to get our names in the paper, take the focus off your work, and position ourselves to take credit for changing your mind if you do so.' Again, drafts are nothing more these days than exercises in ego stroking, particularly this one since the same people running it this time were turned down last time and only got the signatures they did this time (unless some are duplicates or made up) because they rode on Mr. Gore's success and crashed his book signings.

Let them come back with one with 250 million signatures on it that can be verified as real people and not duplicates, and then maybe they will have something. Oh, and just one question: If they think it is too early for Mr. Gore to "campaign" or annoucne anything, why isn't it then too early to be doing this? I mean, if he ever should deecide "that" way, he has plenty of resources to do it on his own and he won't need them. I only then see this as a group of people trying to get out of the gate to compete with other groups or before other groups come out because this is nothing but some BS ego Internet contest. And to me it serves absolutely no purpose in furthering progress on this climate crisis NOW.

Aren't the conventions just a show? It seems that the candidate with the most committed delegates from the primaries and caucases gets the nomination. When was the last brokered convention?