Why Al Gore Won't Be the Democratic Party Nominee

The other day I was reading a column in Time magazine by Joel Stein, whom I greatly respect for his political insight, and I was stunned to read his idea and proposal for Al Gore to be the Democratic nominee. While on the surface I don't necessarily disagree with the idea, here's why it won't happen:

1. The general public will be in uproar: Can you imagine the public outrage and whirlwind of emotion that the general public voters would have if the super delegates decided to completely negative the last year of campaigning by Senator Obama and Senator Clinton so that they could pick Al Gore as the party nominee? Joel Stein in his column makes the compelling argument that neither Obama not Clinton will have the necessary votes needed to win the party nominee outright without using the super delegates. This is because Michigan and Florida didn't have an official Democratic primary and thus the delegate votes of those two states do not count. This will force the super delegates to vote and decide the winner. If Al Gore were to somehow steal the party nominee, the public would become so disenfranchised with the Democratic Party that you would pretty much be able to hand the general election to John McCain right now, no sense in dragging out the general election. For the past year, voters have gone back and forth between Obama and Clinton to find the right nominee for the party. Al Gore did already go through that process but he had his chance against the Republicans, losing to George W. Bush. If Gore is nominated by the Super Delegates, the youth voting bloc won't vote in the general election and Democrats will be utterly disgusted with their party.

2. Al Gore doesn't want the job: Folks, there's a reason why Al Gore didn't run for president again when he had a great opportunity to do so this past election year. Al Gore seems to be content for the most part in his role as a green energy spokesman against global warming. Yes he does have more experience than Obama or Clinton, serving as the Vice President under President Bill Clinton. However, in what was once a field of 7 Democratic candidates, Al Gore could have easily won this party's nominee but he chose not to run. There is no reason to believe that Gore would want to throw his hat into the ring at this stage in the game.

3. Al Gore has his own problems: As much as I wanted Al Gore to win the general election against George W. Bush, he lost. Simply put, Gore had his chance and he blew it. He received a bad reputation and portrayal by the media who portrayed him as a candidate who lacked trust. Moreover, he was perceived as a man without warmth and he failed to connect with voters who saw Bush as a friendlier, warmer person than Gore. If you think the current attacks by Obama and Clinton against each other are bad, just wait until the Republicans get their chance to hit back hard against Gore.

4. Gore isn't a lock to beat McCain: Would Gore really beat the Arizona senator? I'm not so sure. Gore failed to win his home state of Tennessee in the general election against Bush in 2000. Had he won his home state, he would have won the election. States that have traditionally voted Democrat would still vote for either Clinton or Obama. However, there aren't any states that have voted Republican in the last two elections that would vote for Gore. Obama could win some southern states like South Carolina or Louisiana with large African American populations. Hillary could win some states like Arkansas which is her home as well as some other states which Bill Clinton won when her won the presidency.