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October 20, 2005

Is Gore the Next Nixon?

Ryan Lizza makes the case for Al Gore in 2008, saying that he is the only Democrat that could beat Hillary. He writes:


His early, vocal, and unwavering opposition to the war in Iraq has made him a hero to many Democrats. The Hollywood liberals over at Huffington Post as well as the university-town activists at Daily Kos and Moveon.org love Gore. If he ran, he would instantly become the favored candidate of the "netroots," the antiwar, anti-Bush crowd that championed Howard Dean and that will be a significant source of money and buzz in the run-up to 2008. The activists in the liberal blogosphere, more than any other opinion-making constituency in Democratic politics, revere Gore...

And Gore might be the only Democrat who can solve a vexing issue facing the party: How does a candidate establish a reputation for toughness on national security while simultaneously criticizing the war? Gore supported the Gulf War and, in most Clinton administration battles over the use of force, he took the more hawkish position. He is the party's only credible antiwar hawk.


I can think of another former senator and former vice president with a likability deficit who lost one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history, only to win the presidency eight years later.

Posted by Philip Klein at October 20, 2005 11:45 PM

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