Al Gore vs. H. Clinton. This poll puts Gore in second place.

Of Course Hill is first. Right where CBS wants her to be. Don't buy it.

Al do you watch the debates? Last night showed why Hillary is not the one, she can't even give a straight answer when asked.

Please run....Dodd or Obama would be good VP for you. Have you checked the latest polls?? You are almost in first place with out even running!!!

You are great with huge challenges and this would be the challenge of a lifetime leading us out of Bush's mess.

So many of us are ready to work full time for you, me included. We know we are asking a lot so we will leave our normal lives too to be by your side through out the country.

Dear Al:

In our ballot signature drive to get your name on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in Massachusetts, I ask folks the question: Would you like to have Al Gore on the ballot?

For the most part, there are two common and predictable kinds of responses: the first is the excited puppy reaction - "Ohmigod, is he really running?", and I practically have to peel the eager person off me to stop them from grabbing my clipboard and pen, before I instruct them how to sign carefully.

The other response has an element of frustration dipped in annoyance: "Well, it would be great but ... Oh, come ON, he SAID he’s not running! Leave him alone - he's doing great work as it is! Why force him back into that morass?"

Why indeed? We all know that politics has been toxic - never more so than in the last 7 years. And there’s no doubt that you, Sir, are doing great, great work as a private but global citizen.

Here are two reasons why: 1) There is no one besides yourself capable of wielding vast power who can offer the breadth of qualities necessary to lead us out of the shambles of the dark neo-con dream of tyranny, conquest, and domination. We need what you have - a quicksilver, open, brilliant mind which sees the big picture, asks the necessary questions, and takes the long view, decades of leadership experience, commitment to democratic principles and the Rule of Law, love of learning & teaching, integrity, moral force, initiative, courage, wisdom, humility, tenacity, vision, faith, electability, orientation to the future, self-sacrifice, noble patriotism, and humanitarian priorities - to usher us into a new era of American innovation and cooperation with others and with the planet itself. 2) The presidency alone can offer you the greatest platform, megaphone, pulpit, and classroom that you will ever have, to use yourself for the highest possible purposes, those of restoring our Constitution and democracy, and of changing the consciousness and direction of America and the world at large, to reach for a future which is sane, liveable, creative, and full of promise.

I repeat: there is no one who comes close to having your vision-powered skill sets to make these changes happen. And without the presidency, your continued influence upon America and the world AFTER January 20, 2009 remains tentative and at risk; someone else would be creating the syllabus for the 21st century.

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it - lead us (kicking and screaming if necessary!) to save ourselves, save the country and the earth, that is. No one wakes up wanting to be Prometheus or Cassandra or Atlas or Moses, but there you have it. You are the smartest, most decent guy in the room. You deserve to set the agenda for the next 4, hopefully 8 years. Without you at the helm, it’s hard to imagine that America can ever fully recover from the hemorrhage of principles, alliances, human treasure, material resources, ideas and ideals. You are the best president we never had ... (yet)! So we, who already honor the enormity of your contribution to the world, beg you - step up, Al: we’ve never needed your leadership more!

I answer the doubters with as much faith as I can muster:

“If we build it, he will run”.

We toil in the vineyards of the growing nationwide (even worldwide) Draft Gore movement, and pray that you will.

Dinah Kudatsky
Amherst, MA.