Al Gore could still run for president

Tajikistan News.Net
Friday 28th March, 2008

The heated battle by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President could take its toll on both candidates.

Obama and Clinton are wearing each other down, and tearing the Democratic party apart, in what is becoming a bitter fight to the finish.

Talk around the nation in Democratic circles Friday was that a fresh candidate may have to be wheeled out to puncture the frustration and bitterness now developing between the Obama and Clinton camps.

One name being bandied about is the Democrats' 2000 nominee, former Vice President Al Gore. Gore has steadfastly ruled out any interest in running for president, saying his ideals can be better achieved in other forums.

When questioned Friday about the Obama Clinton battle he said he hoped it would play out soon.

'What have we got, five months left?' Gore told Associated Press reporters after addressing an audience at Middle Tennessee State University. 'I think it's going to resolve itself, but we'll see,' he said.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, Friday called on all party superdelegates to declare whom they support by July 1st.

Currently Obama has 1,628 delegates to 1,497 for Clinton, and with only a few primaries left to go neither seems set to garner the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination at the party's convention.

Dean, while being interviewed on CBS Friday morning, was asked about the prospects of a vote among the superdelegates before the convention, an idea floated as a way to settle the still undecided Democratic race.

“Well, I think the superdelegates have already been weighing in. I think there’s 800 of them and 450 of them have already said who they’re for,” Dean said. “I’d like the other 350 to say who they’re on between now and the first of July so we don’t have to take this into the convention.”

Democrats are concerned the rivalry between the Obama and Clinton camps is demoralizing Democrats and dividing them.

Some in the party believe an elder statesman like Gore could broker a compromise between the two, or even bid for the nomination himself.

Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida has suggested Gore could assume the role of a compromise candidate if Clinton or Obama fail to seal the nomination.

"If it goes into the convention, don't be surprised if someone different is at the top of the ticket," Mahoney said, suggesting the party would accept either a Gore-Clinton or a Gore-Obama ticket.

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