Al Gore comes out of the woods

A group of us saw Al Gore’s movie last night – An inconvient truth.

A question came up after the movie: If “this” Al Gore (a funny, charming, scientific, warm guy) was running against Bush, would the outcome have been different?

I remember reading a book about politicians (while I was running for port commissioner) and now it’s all starting to make sense to me… Al Gore has come out of the woods.

I think Al has been in two political camps during his career...

1. The 'hot topic of the moment' politician. This type of politician will eagerly change their point of view when it's convenient to them, to meet popular opinion, to get reelected, etc. In my opinion this type of politician does not have a real backbone, they are only interested in preserving their job in office, they will take the 'easy way out' to avoid conflict, etc. This was my view of Al Gore during his election vs. Bush. Al Gore appeared to be easily manipulated. And he was.

2. The Ideal-based politician. This type of politician has very strong beliefs on a topic and will not be swayed by popular belief. It is their goal to gain power, so they can enact their policies, and change the world damn it. These types of political figures go through LONG periods where they are "out in the woods" - that is, their political views are not valued by the general public so they have no chance of being elected, and they are seen as 'a little crazy'. They can go their entire career "out in the woods" and never have an opportunity to shine, or they can have great timing, and luck, and perhaps their 'hot topic" will become a national importance and they will rise to power. Winston Churchill has always been sighted as a good example of this type of politician - true to his beliefs - and took power when his views were in line with the political environment. And now... dare i say... Al Gore... is this type of politician too?