Gore’s Endorsement A Surprise

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

ROYTERS –
Al Gore’s recent endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) came as quite a surprise to the media and to political experts. Most pundits predicted that Gore would sit this election cycle out, but not only did he get involved, he endorsed a Democrat.
“I can tell you, no one expected the fiercely Republican Gore to get involved in this thing,” said Chris Matthews while measuring the desk on the set of Meet The Press, “Gore has been a pretty staunch Republican throughout his life. He only became a Democrat for about eight years or so when he was Vice-President, but he returned to the GOP after that, only leaving for a few days to endorse Howard Dean in 2004. If Obama can get a hardcore Republican like Gore to endorse him, then it really says something about his ability to bridge partisan divides.”
Most political experts tend to agree with Matthews. “This is a huge story, no two ways about it,” said Chuck Todd of MSNBC, who was measuring Tim Russert’s office, “When the media learned that Mr. Republican Al Gore was going to back Obama, CNN had no choice but to air the endorsement live and NBC just had to make it the number one story the following morning on the Today Show. Had Gore just been a regular Democrat, we wouldn’t have spent any time on it, but Gore’s more than that. He’s been the bridge that’s united the country on key issues like border control, the War on Terror, and civil liberties. This endorsement, coming from a bipartisan guy like Gore, is going to give Obama a tremendous edge. Oh, uh, can you hand me that trash can? I gotta throw out some of this Bills stuff.”
It is not yet clear whether Gore’s endorsement will pull independents and Republicans back to the Democratic fold. A recent poll indicated that 95% of American voters were not surprised that a Democrat endorsed another Democrat and that it will not affect their decision to vote for or against Obama in the fall. When asked about the poll, Gore was surprised people believed he was a Democrat. “I think I’ve pretty well established my Republican credentials. Sure, I ran for President twice as a Democrat and have been involved in every Democratic campaign since 1988, but that doesn’t mean I’m a Democrat. Just because you’re involved in the Democratic Party for a while doesn’t mean that you’re not a Republican. People are just misinformed about this issue, we’ll get it straightened out.”
Regardless of whether people learn the truth about Gore’s politics, it is clear that Gore helped Obama answer his critics by proving that Obama has the ability to unite different political elements of the country. The road to victory just got a little easier for Sen. Obama, and he has bipartisan Al Gore to thank for that.