A Variety of Fabricated Reasons That Al Gore Wants To Endorse Obama

Al Gore has said he won't endorse a primary candidate. Before that, he said he wouldn't be coaxed into running for president. He has said each of these 600 million times, and still, some people still think he might jump into the presidential race if they kiss his Global feet a few more times. But internet petitioners aside, let's look at internet writers: They assume that Al Gore wants to endorse Obama, but he's just too scared or respectful or something.

In an Atlantic   article yesterday , Joshua Green -- who, to his credit, tags this as "Department of Wild Speculation" -- lays bare his utter confusion that Al Gore won't endorse Barack Obama right now :

Yes, yes, I know. Gore has said he won't endorse. He's happily retired from politics now, a senior statesman, a big-shot investor. He's won an Oscar and a Nobel. The cause he crusaded for has become central to the public conversation in a way even he could never have imagined.

All of these are good reasons to stay out of the fray. But they're equally good reasons to jump into it. What would be the risk? There's no chance that his endorsement would be followed by an embarrassing Dean-like collapse; Obama has already notched wins. Climate change won't suddenly disappear from the agenda if he loses. And nobody's going to take away the golden statuette.

Here's an idea: maybe he doesn't give a shit? Or maybe no one knows what Al Gore actually thinks ! Gore's friends and advisers may be spreading whispers about Obama. But what if Al Gore's thinking is this: I want to endorse Clinton, but the liberal elites hate her, and that would ruin my reputation.

Or... uh... Joshua Green could say this:

Gore has already seen one presidency (his own) slip away over a handful of votes. He must have pondered how it would feel to play kingmaker and shore up someone else's path to the White House.

If he's that self-centered, then he's probably more likely to support the more self-centered candidate, Hillary Clinton, and shore up her path.

Basically, I think it would be funny if Al Gore told the internet to fuck off.

 Waiting For Gore [Atlantic]