"A Nobel Candidate" - Could a Nobel Peace Prize give Gore a push?

Nobel Candidate

Thousands of activists are hoping to convince Al Gore to run for president. Could a Nobel Peace Prize give the reluctant candidate a push?

By Jamie Reno
Newsweek

Updated: 1 hour, 52 minutes ago

Oct. 8, 2007 - Al Gore is not running for president. But might the publicity and sheen of a Nobel Peace Prize change his mind? Some Democratic activists sure hope so.

Grass-roots Gore loyalists have been buzzing for weeks about the Nobel Prize announcement scheduled for Oct. 12 in Oslo, Norway. Gore was nominated for his work on global warming, and several longtime Nobel observers believe this could be the year that a champion of climate change gets the prize. “We feel that if wins the Nobel Prize … then he can’t not run for president,” says Roy Gayhart, a San Diego-based organizer of a California draft Gore group.

For Gore supporters like Gayhart, the real inconvenient truth is that the former veep is not a candidate—and may never become one, no matter what happens in Oslo on Friday. Gore, who won an Emmy last month for his Current TV channel and whose film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won an Oscar last February, has said nothing to indicate that he would run, and his Nashville office didn’t return several phone calls and e-mails seeking comment for this story. But unlike 2004, when his Shermanesque statement stopped supporters dead in their tracks, Gore has not completely closed the door on the idea.

Encouraged, "Draft Gore" organizations from Washington to Michigan to Massachusetts are working to put Gore’s name on 2008 primary ballots. The number of volunteers in the California 4 Gore group has more than doubled to 1,100 since early August, enough to circulate petitions in all 53 congressional districts. The national DraftGore.com group, which has gathered about 127,000 signatures this year—10,000 of them on Sept. 28 alone thanks in part to a segment on Randi Rhodes’s Air America radio show—plans to place a full-page ad in The New York Times in the coming days as an open letter to Gore urging him to run, says the group’s Eva Ritchey. Meanwhile another new coalition called America For Gore initiated a “Two Cents Worth” campaign to encourage supporters nationwide to mail two pennies in an envelope to Gore’s office to encourage a run.

Gore supporters figure a Nobel win would burnish his reputation and remind Democrats that he’s been a leader fighting what voters consider the world’s premier environmental battle. “It makes him look like the knight in shining armor,” says Stephen Cohen, president of the New York Draft Al Gore PAC. No one but the Nobel committee knows how Gore might fare. He’s one of 181 candidates, a list including Bolivian President Evo Morales, Finnish peace broker Martti Ahtisaari and Chinese dissident Rebiya Kadeer. Some Gore backers think he's already decided to run, but speculate that he doesn't want politics to interfere with his Nobel chances.

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21192478/site/newsweek/

give Gore a Nobel Prize solely to entice him to run for President? Gore supporters remind me more and more of batshit crazy Perot supporters.

:spray:

Typical.

:rofl:

good. for heavens sake. how can you come to the conclusion you had?

Boy, talk about "batshit crazy"! :eyes:
or how about :tinfoilhat:
I think you've had too much :beer:
or maybe too much :smoke:
hasn't anyone warned you about PUI, Posting Under the Influence?
Step. away. from. the keyboard!

I can explain more but may need some more focused explanation of the thinking on your end.

Or are you just helping us with step one in the recovery plan?

I think that declaring a run for the Presidency during a Nobel acceptance speech would require an unfathomably massive ego. I don't think being a Nobel laureate makes you any more qualified to be President. The Nobel peace prize is a joke. Henry Kissinger received one for actually prolonging the Vietnam War.

I don't understand why people have such a servile fondness for Gore. I have never trusted him and the more I learn about him the less I like him. He is a politician like any other and he can't be trusted.

I like the sound of that.

No sir, I just believe that he's the best (non)choice and am trying to follow up on it.

I can speak with fondness and knowledge of the announced candidates as well. And in two months I may have no choice.

"Some Gore backers think he's already decided to run, but speculate that he doesn't want politics to interfere with his Nobel chances."

I don't think Gore needs the prize to win.

"Batshit crazy" is no stretch at all.

and if winning it makes him reconsider running for POTUS it would be a gift to the nation.

Neo-Cons who engineered the Bush presidency.
I wonder whether any Committee members even think about things like this. It would be a way for the committee to show the world how low they hold * and the Neo-cons.

furra buncha dem skandahoovian furrners to interfere in Murkin pollertix.

And this leads us to think he should run for office? They don't give those awards out for just sitting around and doing nothing you know. He is doing the world a great service by being out there making a difference. Being saddled with a political gig would cut down on the good he is doing and cripple his rhetoric by making it political.

Let the man do his thing. He is doing more for this world right now than most anyone else. To suggest he stop that and put his head back in the swamp that is our political system is a very narrow view IMO.

We have a good field to choose from, all capable of fixing the * Admin mess. Gore is uniquely positioned to do something that will benefit generations. I'd rather see him continue what he's doing.

I respect your feelings, but I hardly think President of the United States is a "political gig".

We ("we" being Draft Gore) are trying to persuade him to lead us in draining that swamp. It's the Repukes and many of the declared Dems who'd stick their heads in and never come up for air.

What he is doing now is some of the best things to actually bring about a cleansing of our system. He is championing ideas. And by staying removed from the political games he can do so without charges of trying to play games. He can speak his mind untarnished by political positioning or appealing to special interest groups. He can place ideas before the people to truly consider rather than having his words rejected because they are part of a stump speech.

Religion and politics have a great deal in common. One of the things is how people put up defenses to ideas if they come from the political/religious opposition. If an atheist approached a fundamentalist and tried to explain evolution (I know this from experience) they will throw up a shield of rejection. Nothing you say can get through to them. But if the ideas enter in via a different path they can reach the person. This is the same for politics.

Gore is doing what he can to change the way people see things. He is doing things he cannot do while running or sitting in office. Politics carries with it an extra burden. It changes the way people consider what you are saying. And what Gore has to say is more important than where he is sitting when he says it.

Blurs your vision. He has done more in one year as a statesman and environmental ambassador to raise awareness of this crisis than any president ever... and he is taking on the status quo now as his new book to be released next April will lay out the solutions. The importance is the message and how it is disseminated to be most effective, not the address.

He's the only one that could and would.

Gore's not only a champion of global warming/environmental destruction issues - let's not forget his newest book, Assault On Reason.

Those two topics represent the two largest issues facing our country AND the world.

There's no way the rest of the world can tackle global warming w/o the cooperation of the US, for obvious reasons.

There's no way the US is going to start cooperating w/ the rest of the world unless our Constitution/representation is restored and the secret/corporate/neo-fascist mafia is dealt with.

The fastest, surest way to get everyone on track is for Gore to take his rightful place as President.

:applause:

I don't think winning would really benefit his politics.

If he is seen as too political, it could easily squash the Nobel selection as mentioned. And if he were to win and announce for POTUS, it's not going to back off the Repubs in any way, and it won't impress anti-Gore dems.

How would the Repubs spin a win?...hmmm...Maybe he's a planet hugging freak who would take away their hairspray? Not sure how they would turn a Nobel against him...but they'd sure try.


Sure would be nice for him to win though, along with his co-nominee.

That influence is planet-wide and he deserves the nod for his efforts at globalization for the greater good. And I continue to hope he throws his hat into the ring for president this go. I think he is one of the best of the best Democrats have to offer.

But he won't run this time.

Where's my favorite party-pooper?

Slacking off, it seems.

This thread just ain't complete w/o you:

"...you people need to just stop HARRASSING him! He's a HUMAN BEING!"

etc, etc...

:D

Here's the committee, politically:

MJØS, Ole Danbolt, b. 1939.
Chairman since 2003.
He's from the Christian Democrats. Back when they still were centrists. Old dry stick.

FURRE, Berge Ragnar, b. 1937.
Deputy Chairman since 2003.
He's from the Socialist Left, but to the center-right in that party, I think. Historian, and a professor in theology.

RØNBECK, Sissel Marie, b. 1950.
Member of the Committee since 1994.
Labour party. To the center in the party, would be my guess. Former minister for the environment under Gro Harlem Brundtland. The first EM we had, I think.

YTTERHORN, Inger-Marie, b. 1941.
Member of the Committee since 2000.
Progress party and ultra rightwing.

FIVE, Kaci Kullmann, b. 1951.
Conservative, she is the former leader of the conservatives.

On edit:
Forgot the link to the comitte page..
http://nobelpeaceprize.org/eng_com_mem.html

Al Gore might consider it demeaning to the Nobel Committee to run for President in the event that he was awarded or co-awarded the prize.

And it's a shame that is ALL people can think about regarding it.

But if he were president he could further what his award was about.

Not at this point with the self serving, politically expedient, special interest kowtowing cowards we have in Congress on all sides. His vision FAR exceeds political viability at this point, which is more than likely why he is so fed up with the system.

He is also already exemplifying what this award is about, and that is the reason why he was nominated in the first place...because his work out here IS making a difference. And we are already reaching a tipping point and all people can do is sit on blogs and beg him to do something he is already doing and THEY can do if they really cared about the urgency of this crisis. How many who claim to care have actually written to ANY candidate or politician in the last six months about this DEMANDING they talk about it? How many have tried to work to get an intitiative on a ballot in their state regarding this crisis? There will be NO evasive political action on this crisis on the scale we MUST see it now until PEOPLE DEMAND IT and from what I see by the looks of threads like this if they are any indication of the country as a whole, that demand isn't coming anytime soon. So why the hell should he run to have to face being constrained in a system that won't deliver with a populace on the whole still not outraged enough to even understand the urgency of the ice melting in the Arctic, when he can do this his way now on a global scale?

I am not falling for that meme that "he could do more as president." There has not been one shred of evidence presented to convince me of that at all and the last tthirty years prove that it is actually "politics" that has brought this world to the catastrophe that lays before it. He is already out here working hard and trying to get people to understand how urgent a juncture we are at now, but instead of listening, all people do is play into the hands of the media soundbite bs he wrote about in his book.

The Arctic ice is already on the way out. NO president is going to stop that now just by signing a piece of paper, so again I don't see the connection. No president can do anything unless he gets something to sign and that won't happen unless it is firmly in the moral consciousness of a majority of Americans who convey that moral imperative TO those sending that bill. Can you guarantee that is going to happen now, and that it would be for 90 percent reductions in GHGs by 2050 in THIS system? I say, dream on. Without states, individuals, corporations, and the global community taking the lead now and also putting pressure on ALL those countries that need to have such emission standards, it ain't gonna happen this year or next year, and by 2009 going into 2010 or later when anything feasible could be laid out, we will be WELL on our way to drastic changes taking place on this planet. I then trust his judgement and his plan to bring about that moral consciousness, because that is EXACTLY in the spirit of the Nobel Peace Prize. I just hope his chances of receiving the prize have now not been diminished by all of the BS political speculation.

to start the process? I know he is leading now but I mean convening countries to go in earnest.

Which I have written to the UN about. It would give him the political platform he would need withou the DC BS, and also the freedom to work with the global community. And yes, he is already leading, and I hope he will be in Bali this December to help forge the new climate treaty. That is where we truly do need his expertise and vision.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1878004

I must say.

I have the number if you would like it ;-). And thanks.

I'm a member of UNA-USA.

Thanks for your work.

My point is - you can't talk about the environment without talking about energy issues also. In the context of the climate crisis, they are pretty much two sides of the same coin (or in this case - planet).

It would be cool to see Al Gore appointed to a cabinet position "Secretary of Energy and Environment" or "Secretary of Sustainable Development". But Gore has clearly stated (to Larry King on CNN) that he would have "zero interest" in serving under the next President in a cabinet or other Federal position.

Gore has said many times that the USA has to take a lead on climate and energy issues before it can start asking other countries to do their part also. For the past century, America has been the world's number one polluter. So we have a responsibility to lead the shift towards a cleaner greener future.

But if he absolutely refuses to run for POTUS, then some kind of a UN role might be the next best thing.

but it IS what this thread is about. Your post confuses me....

sigh, I hope so.

it seems more than highly unlikely.

He wins the Nobel Prize which means he's got a great book on the environment, plus the documentary,
and now the PRIZE buttressed by his book on political rhetoric. Oh yeah, and he's cool too, with that
concert.

He quickly proceeds to unveil his secret army of volunteers, heads to Florida, the steps of the
state supreme court and...ANNOUNCES FOR PRESIDENT, AND AS A CANDIDATE IN THE FLORIDA 1/29 PRIMARY.

Holy shit everybody says...those votes won't count according to DNC. But there's a brilliance to
this. The big three pledged to avoid the primary so the field is all Al all the time. He wins
HUGE because Florida's progressives, a potent sleeping giant, are not all happy with the state
party, which seems to be committing political suicide by supporting the primary.

Gore kills at least three dragons - the myth that he's not a winner (which he always was) by winning
big, the DNC bureaucracy which is a nihilist organization, and the Florida Democratic Party insiders
who support a Chairperson with a monthly retainer to the strongest Republican law firm in the state.

WE HAVE OUR POPULIST WITH BRAINS AND A TIME WORN SINCERITY AND DEPTH.

He runs the table at that mega primary and voila, the earth is saved...we're out of Iraq, massive
efforts are begun to save the planet, there's a major infusion of community in this country,
something akin to a shift in consciousness...we become warriors to save the earth through respect for
the environment and launch bold and effective measures ...then I wake up and it's all a dream...;)

But I thought Al Gore was pretty close with DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Ever since Gore endorsed Dean for President back in December 2003.


IN GORE WE TRUST :patriot:
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com
www.americaforgore.org

:kick:

...that DNC look-alike is his chipped facsimile;) fronting for the forces of perpetual defeat
and job retention as part of their service to ...oh, I'm making friends
tonight. Speaking of which, you now have the distinction of being on my buddy list, which along
with $3.00 will get you a cup of coffee!

I do believe he is the only candidate that can stop the HRC freight train from barrel-assing down the tracks to kill the Democratic Party.

Just so we're clear -- I love Dennis Kucinich, too, but I don't see him stopping HRC. I'd love to see him do that, but I don't think he can/will. That having been said, If Gore does not enter, DK gets my vote in the primaries, and MAYBE written in in the GE, if I vote at all.

TC

:D

:kick: