The Tripod

For the first time in most of our age group's political consciousness, the Democratic Party seems to have what it takes to win on a national scale. Now, we just need a superhero to keep the momentum from last fall's midterm elections going. Why not Captain Planet?

Al Gore should give a presidential run another go. As a former candidate and Vice President, he has eight-plus years of name recognition - just like Hillary Clinton.

With his return to the national spotlight with his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, he has an excitement factor that matches Barack Obama's.

And with his years of experience in both the White House and Congress, he has more experience than any of the top contenders in the field, balanced with a few years out of the Washington political limelight. On top of all of that, the polls indicate that he has a good chance of winning.

The latest polls show him in a statistical tie behind Clinton, with Edwards and Obama, (Obama slightly ahead in some instances). Though Gore is significantly behind in current polls of the Democratic field, he shows promise. First, there's Gore in isolation, or perhaps Gore in the abstract: in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 52 percent of respondents expressed a favorable view of Gore. Clinton gleaned a 58 percent favorability rating, Edwards had a mere 49 percent, and Obama's favorability was at 53 percent. This statistic does not show much except that there are no significant hurdles to Gore's candidacy - and with 16 percent of respondents still undecided about him, there is room for his favorability to increase once he actually enters the race.

Even more encouraging are the polls of Gore in a comparative situation. A December sample (the latest in which he was included) pitting likely Democratic candidates against likely Republican candidates, shows Gore just as likely as Clinton to beat Republican frontrunners Rudy Guiliani and John McCain. He is decidedly electable, even before campaigning.

The Fix, washingtonpost.com's political blog, analyzed a recent Gallup poll of voters' impressions of the three early leading Democratic candidates in '08 - Clinton, Obama, and Edwards (sorry, Kucinich). To sum up the results: "We're simplifying here, but it seems to suggest that the 'head' of Democratic voters is with Clinton while the 'heart' is on Obama's side. Voters like Obama better but believe Clinton is the stronger candidate due to her deeper - and broader - resume." That is, those polled generally like Obama more but feel that Clinton is more electable.

As The Fix points out, and as I remember all too keenly, Democratic voters experienced a similar dichotomy in 2004, and the head - Kerry - won. I was in New Hampshire that winter working for Howard Dean's campaign, and I remember the disappointment of realizing that New Hampshire's voters were not as idealistic as I'd hoped. It didn't work out so well then - Kerry was a bit too cerebral (read: dull) for most of America.

However, I'm not sure that the solution can be found by ceding to the heart's more subjective judgment. The Democratic Party must instead find an electable candidate who appeals to the whole voter, maybe with some young idealism thrown in as a vice presidential bonus.

With a movie that brought America's collective head out of the sand on the issue of global warming, and an impressive "SNL" appearance, Al Gore has transcended his image of a stiff, boring candidate in 2000, and has become a man on a mission. He would be a media darling - though, of course, it would be difficult to garner the same, unfaltering loyalty that Obama has inspired.

Combine Gore's passion and Obama's rhetorical skills, and you have an unstoppable duo. And so we return to the Democrats' future - even more appealing than Captain Planet himself, Gore-Obama '08.

As if Ellen isn't reason enough to watch the Oscars.

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