...!?w00t
That's right folks. Al Gore's version of the Sherman statement is official. He is going to change the world through the free market just like you dreamed!
I'm just a little snarky there. Actually I endorse Gore avoiding this three ring circus we call a presidential race. It is below anyone with a conscience or principled point of view. The fact is if you look at what 2006 brought us you can see what 2008 is going to bring. Pretty much more of the same. The real suckers are the voters that keep pulling the lever and expecting a different result. The system is broken and Gore told you so. If you read his latest book about the political system you could plainly see he was trying to get you fired up to do things outside of that system. There is no hope in a society that votes based on who they want a beer with between two candidates cut and pasted from polling data wishes and a media more concerned with one slip of the tongue or what color tie you may be wearing than the issues at hand.
This is nothing, but American Idol for President. We don't choose intelligent leaders from the cream of the crop. We select the one biggest panderer from the highest bidders. The truth is Al Gore can't change the world in that system. No one can. It has to be tore down from the outside. Crashing the gates to rush in to be part of the spoils is not going to get us anywhere. If you want to fix things do it locally. Don't vote...it only encourages these people.
Gore's smartest move is to avoid running this time no matter how seductive a run looked. It isn't worth the hassle especially when this yellow brick road leads exactly to the same hollowed out empty hall as Dorothy's road did. Every election we vote, donate, and volunteer for some Wizard of Oz that promises to grant this government a brain, heart, and courage, but we are always left empty when we jerk back the curtain and realize there is no wizard.
So good for you Gore. Work around, over, and under this corrupt system, but avoid working in it at all costs. There is no hope there.