I like the guys at the Politico, but sometimes one gets the feeling their headline writers are a little over-caffeinated.
The headline: Gore’s Oscar Fuels Call for Late Run
And yet, in the story, there’s no one quoted who actually is calling for him to run for president. The closest is the opening comment from his former campaign manager…
“Honestly, this was the inaugural parade we all envisioned,” said Donna Brazile, his former campaign manager. “Gore’s political stock is hot right now. I don’t know if I would cash in now with so many players still on stage. There’s no reason to force him to declare tomorrow.”
So actually, it sounds like she’s calling on him to wait until the “stage” is less crowded. In other quotes, I guess one could argue she’s calling on him to run – she says she opposed a run in 2004 – but is it terribly shocking that Brazile would be an enthusiast of a Gore candidacy? Couldn’t they find somebody who’s not a potential campaign employee to quote calling on Gore to run?
Friends who talk regularly with Gore say that he believes what he tells the press – that he’s not planning to run for president. Backstage on Sunday night, he repeated his mantra: “I do not have plans to become a candidate for office again.” No draft movement is being authorized or encouraged, and there are no internal discussions of a campaign, the friends insist. But they say he has deliberately not closed the door. It just doesn’t feel right to him and he’s only 58. So the crescendo will rise. Brazile, now the founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates, is neutral in the race but says she would work for Gore if he declared…
“The crescendo will rise”? I’m still waiting for the orchestra to warm up the overture. Or for the conductor to tap his baton. The closest thing to a person encouraging Gore to run quoted in the story is Leonardo DiCaprio, during his on-stage schtick with the former Vice President.