Congratulations to Al Gore for earning the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with the Intergovermental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC).

Since hearing this news yesterday, I’ve been wondering why Gore wasn’t elected President in 2000. Not to open old wounds here, but did the whole Monica Lewinsky sideshow with Bill Clinton damage sully the 2000 race? Or was it simply a lackluster Gore campaign? He got the popular vote it seems, but the electoral college votes are the ones that ultimately matter.

For many who figured Gore would go where coulda-shoulda Presidential candidates who were Vice Presidents go, he re-emerged with a movie about global environmental threats that won an Oscar called An Inconvenient Truth. Gore’s actions for raising public awareness about potential problems in our environment is what bagged him the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday.

Gore is in some fascinating company with past Nobel Peace Prize winners like:

2002 - Jimmy Carter Jr - former President of the United States of America for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
1993 - Nelson Mandela (Leader of the ANC) and Fredrik Willem De Klerk (President of the Republic of South Africa), from acceptance speech:

“We stand here today as nothing more than a representative of the millions of our people who dared to rise up against a social system whose very essence is war, violence, racism, oppression, repression and the impoverishment of an entire people.”

1990 - Mikhail SergeYevich Gorbachev - President of the USSR, helped to bring the Cold War to an end.
1989 - The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) - Tibet. Religious and political leader of the Tibetan people.
1979 - Mother Teresa - India, Leader of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity.
1977 - Amnesty International - London, Great Britain. A worldwide organization for the protection of the rights of prisoners of conscience.
1973 - Henry A. Kissinger (USA) and Le Duc Tho (Democratic Republic of Viet Nam) for jointly negotiating the Vietnam peace accord in 1973. Le Duc Tho declined the prize (was he the only one to ever do that?)
1964 - Martin Luther King Jr. - leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, campaigner for civil rights.
1952 - Albert Schweitzer - Missionary surgeon, Founder Lambaréné Hospital in République du Gabon.
1919 - Thomas Woodrow Wilson - President of the United States of America and founder of the League of Nations
1906 - Theodore Roosevelt - President of the United States of America who drew up the 1905 peace treaty between Russia and Japan.

Al Gore’s tech ties
Gore may not have “invented the internet” as he’s been derided in the past for allegedly claiming — which he actually never did — he does have some strong technology connections.

In contrast to other Nobel Peace Prize winners in recent years, Mr. Gore is a multimillionaire who has built a media and high-tech empire around himself and his environmental work. He is an adviser to Google, sits on the board of Apple and is the chairman and co-founder of Current TV, a cable network with 38 million subscribers. He receives up to $175,000 per speaking appearance, although he waives or reduces his fee for some nonprofit companies and schools. Fast Company magazine has estimated his net worth at more than $100 million.

I know many feel (with good cause) that the election was stolen from John Kerry in Florida in 2004, but what about 2000 for Gore?

Gore has been sticking by the story that he isn’t interested in running for President again and with the Prize in his back pocket, that’s inarguably a higher honor. Even if he doesn’t enter the race, this creates a very powerful ally for the Democrats in the 2008 race.

So will the Democrats get a Clinton / Obama ticket or possibly another — not out of the realm of possibility — Clinton/Gore ticket? For the betting types, the odds on Gore running are down from 100 to 1 to 8 to 1. Personally, I hope Gore doesn’t enter the race. What about you? Would you rather see him than Obama? I think whether or not you like Hillary Clinton, she is going to be on the ticket. The question is more likely will Clinton be the Vice President candidate as Geraldine Ferraro once was (and lost in 1984) or the Presidential candidate?

Following the race in 2008
I just registered for the site Political Base and will be following the 2008 race closer than the 2004 race. This election is shaping up to be the most important one in my voting life to date and I want to keep informed.

You might note from the image above that I classified myself as a moderate in the political arena. That’s true. I’ve voted both Republican and Democrat in the past on the local level. I’m more left of center than right, but I can weigh issues and candidates based on what I believe they will do for this country regardless of their political party affiliation. As far as past presidents and the current administration: I liked Reagan and Clinton but don’t care for either of the Bush clan.

The ability to see who Spock was giving campaign contributions to was the ‘logical’ clincher to join Political Base. I’m sure it’s merely the first of many political sites I’ll be registering for leading up to the 2008 election. As I’ve done with virtual worlds, the Mac and other topics deserving dedicated coverage, I’m planning to discuss politics occasionally (moreso than in 2004) and pursue in more depth elsewhere at sites like Political Base. You can find me there as my name wasn’t taken.

Seriously, there is a lot at stake in this country and abroad and we need to make sure the right people get in office in 2008 — if that’s even possible. I want the soldiers to come home, would like to see a balanced budget and/or at least some sort of fiscal responsibility in the White House and perhaps most importantly, we need to rebuild our relationship with foreign countries, and yes, Mr. Gore, the environment and future needs to become more important.

A lot of people around the world dislike America right now and should we blame them? It’s important to understand that not all of the American people support what’s happening here politically right now. We have a chance in 2008 to make some positive changes. I hope, along with people like Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, we can.

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