The economy? Balderdash! The Wars in the Middle East? Hogwash! It's the environment, stupid!

I had planned on diving into the current Middle East "crisis" full-bore this evening, but it's simply too fluid. Yes, this ongoing Israel-Lebanon-Gaza-Iraq-Iran-North Korea-India-Pakistan-European Union-US mess is surely the most serious international crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis, in my opinion, but I need a day or two to see how things play out. Perhaps GWB will say "To hell with the G-8 summit!" and will return instantly to Washington, DC to appoint a senior level negotiating team (Bill Clinton as Chairman, Brent Scowcroft, George H. W. Bush, Colin Powell and/or Jimmy Carter, for example) to get the hell over to Israel and Lebanon to talk with both Israel and the Hezbollah -- now -- and with an iron clad promise to keep himself, Condi and his other "advisors/minders" totally uninvolved, and I can let my thoughts wander back to the more important matters of the world ... like the environment.

Which brings me to the current posting.

Chatting with my brother, Richard from Connecticut over the past week or so has revealed that we are in complete agreement that the truly most electable candidate that the Democrats can field in 2008 (as of right now) is ... you guessed it! Al Gore!!

Al Gore!

Say it again! Al Gore. Music please ...

I've just backed a man named Al Go-ore.
And suddenly I've found how wonderful a sound can be.
Al Go-ore, say it loud and there's music playing.
Say it soft and it's almost like praying,
Al Go-ore, I'll never stop backing: "Al Go-ore!"

Okay, it's a little corny and you have to sing it with "Gore" taking two syllables, as in "Go-ore," but when my brother, Richard, sings it on the phone to me, it sounds ... GREAT!

Having watched An Inconvenient Truth, I saw and heard a man who not only recognizes what the most serious crisis in the world is, but he lives and puts his entire energy behind a life totally consistent with the recognition that the environment is man's most pressing problem.

What's most impressive about Al Gore today is that he's actually optimistic about the future and believes that we can and will stop the dangerous increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

And as regards the election in 2008? Time is on our side, fellow progressives! (That is, if GWB doesn't cause the earth to be consumed in a nuclear war ...) Mr. Gore is so consumed by his campaign to warn us all (worldwide and I mean everybody -- even George Bush whom he has invited to view his film, An Inconvenient Truth, although he doesn't hold out too much hope that GWB will bother to view it), that he would have virtually no time to campaign until about 2008! Great! I'd rather he saved the planet first anyway, and his popularity will only grow with time.

His easy, non-assuming manner and straight honesty (a breath of fresh air at a time of neoconservative bullshit ruling our Government) will draw persons to him, just as Mr. Bush's easy manner drew nearly 50% of the voters to vote for him in 2000 and 2004 -- and remember, Mr. Bush only lost in 2000 by 200,000 votes!

In the movie, and in his slide show presentations (more than a thousand, he said), he introduces himself with the opening, "I'm the man who used to be 'the next president of the United States!" But aside from his powerful attack on Global Warming, he isn't immune from knowing what's going on around him politically. He has spoken out on the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and even courageously accused George Bush of "using" the 9-11 attacks to pursue the neocon's illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

It's just that he's got a far more important job right now, and he's true to his calling. Still wouldn't it be great if after he leaves the White House after an 8-year stint in January of 2017, he can open his presentations with "I'm the only former future first 21st Century president and past actually-having served second 21st Century president of the United States"?

Let's all start singing ... "I just backed a man named Al Go-ore! ..."