I wasn’t a Howard Dean supporter in 2003-4, although I greatly respected the movement he built and what he was trying to do. But a good friend of mine was a Dean supporter and he hosted a very large house party for Dean in Philadelphia. I remember it mostly because they phoned in to hear Al Gore talk about why he was endorsing Howard and I made a wisecrack about Gore being the guy who invented the internet which elicited loud groans of annoyance.
Gore’s decision to hitch his wagon to the insurgent campaign annoyed both John Kerry and his 2000 running mate Joe Lieberman, and I think it caused some problems Gore wasn’t eager to replicate in the 2008 cycle. He didn’t make an endorsement in that race, and he has no intention of making an endorsement in this one. I suppose his distant relationship with Hillary has contributed to his decision not to endorse her, but he hasn’t and won’t be endorsing any of her rivals either, so I don’t see it as much of a story.
But Politico has “stirring the pot” as a business model, so we get this:
“Some of the stuff that’s been plaguing the Clinton campaign … is the stuff he doesn’t like about serving with the Clintons,” said a veteran Democratic operative who worked for Gore. “My guess is he’ll endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton [over the Republican nominee]. But if he were to close his eyes and wish for a leader who he would want to lead the world it’s not where he would land.”
…About the only scenario anyone close to the former vice president would entertain — and even here it’s preceded by laughs, dismissals and catastrophic caveats — involves an epic collapse on Clinton’s part followed by the Democratic establishment scrambling at the last minute for an experienced replacement.
With a bit of alternative reality yearning in the voice, one of Gore’s former aides posited: “The guy who’s been the victim of Clinton scandals over the years — maybe it is his turn to be a beneficiary.”
Can you see how hard they had to work to create the appearance of a fight here?
