Terriers for Al!

Like most Democrats, my moms are already hemming and hawing about the 2008 presidential race. They go back and forth on the subject as fast as a retriever going after a frisbee. One day they're ready to jump onto the Hillary bandwagon and walk around the house humming, "I am woman, hear me roar." Then somebody will mutter something about her support for the war or her even more incomprehensible pandering on the issue of flag-burning, and suddenly they're singing the praises of Barack Obama, who is, I have to admit, the cutest of the likely candidates. Last Sunday, after they watched the series finale of West Wing, they were back to wishing Jed Bartlett were more than just a fantasy president. Hell, even Arnold Vinick looks good compared to the current occupant of the Oval Office. . . .

I, on the other hand, have made up my mind. I want Al Gore to run for president again in 2008 and not just because I like the goofy smile he has on his face in this photo with a dog who bears a striking resemblance to yours truly. No, being a serious political animal, my reasons are far more substantive than that. Here, then, in reverse order and with some assistance from Moose on the big words, are Roxie's Top Five Reasons for Praying that Al Gore Runs for President:

5. Because he was right about freakin' everything--e.g., health care, global warming, energy independence, Social Security (get us a lockbox, puh-lease!), foreign policy, everything.

4. Because he's been liberated from the Democratic Losership Council and won't feel compelled to toe its vapid Republican-lite line in order to avoid offending a bunch of fascistic theocons who would never vote for him anyway. Nor will he have to defend having voted for the war. He wasn't in office and he's been a forceful critic of the war since its inception.

3. Because his exit from the stage after the Supreme Court stole the election from him in 2000 was the most decent, gracious, selfless political act of the last fifty years in the sorry, selfish nation of the United States. To this day, Moose gets choked up when she remembers his saying in his speech to the nation conceding the election, "And now, my friends, in a phrase I once addressed to others, it's time for me to go."

2. Because he's got the irresistible appeal of the comeback narrative on his side. I borrow this insight from blogger Rodes Fishburne, but think about it: Cinderella Man runs for president! Lady Terps erase 13-point deficit to beat Duke for national championship!

1. Because he has stopped sighing and learned how to laugh in public. Al Gore on Saturday Night Live was a million times funnier than George Bush obscenely mocking the search for weapons of mass destruction in the bit he did for the White House Correspondents Dinner back in 2004. Gore's laughter is generous, not mean-spirited; inclusive, not arrogant. His is the laughter of a leader who knows that his connection to the pack matters far more than his "power" over it.

Al Gore is the leader as strong, good, happy dog. America doesn't deserve him, but for our sake, I hope we can get him. Run, Al, RUN!