As the tabloids report rumors that Al Gore is opening up to the possibility of a 2008 presidential run, there are observable, non-rhetorical indications of the same. A week ago, I received an e-mail message from Al Gore asking me to contribute money to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the fundraising arm of Democratic Party politicians in (and running for) the U.S. Senate. The web page to which Gore’s e-mail directs me is not a standard boilerplate DSCC donation page, but a particular page with the title of 20070612_Gore_OP.jsp.
Yesterday, I received in the mail a package of papers with Al Gore’s picture and title on it. This, too, asked me to make a donation to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The donation form contained tracking numbers, Gore’s picture, and an Envelope marked “Attention: Vice President Al Gore.”
Of course, Al Gore is not sitting in the offices waiting for these envelopes, exclaiming as they come in, “Oh, look! One for me!” No. Neither will Al Gore touch a single dollar of these funds. But what the online and snail mail fundraising appeals both do is to track which donations come in to the DSCC, how fast, for how much, and based on which person’s appeal. This is an exploratory move by Al Gore designed to provide him and his potential supporters with information about the breadth of his support among people with cash to spare. If the numbers are low, that’s an indication Al Gore isn’t going to draw the necessary bucks to run a campaign. If the numbers are high, Gore and/or those who want to draft him will know that he can money quickly enough to be a reasonable challenger in the Democratic primary season, which really only has six months left to go.
The second quarter is about to end, and the third quarter is about to begin. The beginning of the third quarter is a reasonable time — with Al Gore’s book still selling well, with his Live Earth concerts set to draw attention on July 7, and with hurricane season gearing up — for Al Gore to join the presidential race if he ever will.
