Big Al and Big Music == BFF

An Al Gore-Bon Jovi ticket? Despite my respect for Big Al's attention to the environment, I can't shake the feeling that Gore's desperately hoping to be recruited for another run at the Big P. I'm not completely opposed to this actually happening, I'm just not sure this sort of path to the presidency is still a possibility in today's society. I think this idea is doomed to failure, even with the immense power of the Kanye West lobby in your pocket.

Gore's apparent strategy (I'm going to take it as a given that he IS going to run at some point) is reminiscent of past candidates-in-waiting (Nelson Rockefeller, Adlai Stevenson, a half hearted attempt by LBJ in '68), who sit around waiting to snatch the nomination by means of a stampede at the convention. The only stampede in the modern era that was successful was Teddy Roosevelt's in 1908 (the fact that he declined the nomination does nothing to diminish the impact of the stampede itself, since the nomination was his for the taking).

The big difference today is that it's impossible to stampede a convention due to the 24 hour news cycle (where parties are now loathe to be perceived as not in harmony) and the decline of the party boss (who could twist arms - sometimes literally - to obtain necessary votes). Factor in the money angle (whoever has the most money/big name donors lined up is automatically perceived as a potential winner), and at the end of the day I think the later you declare the worse off you're going to be. This is especially important in the very crowded and high profile field for 2008 . Besides, Gore is probably barking up the wrong tree by appealing to the younger set - I'm not entirely convinced that the recent upticks in voter turnout (including younger demographics) aren't just due to the presence of an enormously unpopular sitting president.

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