Gore-Clinton In 2004
Paramendra Bhagat
October 3, 2002

I think the Democrats will take back the White House if Al Gore were to seek his party's nomination - which is his for the asking - and pick Hillary Clinton for his running mate: Gore-Clinton 2004.

Joe Lieberman is a nice guy, and for someone who thinks Christianity is an idiocy without the framework of religious diversity, I will ever after sing Al Gore's praises for having picked the esteemed Senator who happens to be Jewish for his running mate in 2000.

But 2004 is not 2000. The recount is over. Florida was flawed, true. And Ralph Nader stole votes. For all my admiration for Nader's decades-long fights against corporate decadency and his Arab-Americanness, I do think it would have been far better for the environment and the Middle East if it was not Dubya but Al at the helm. I mean, gosh, a $1.3 trillion tax cut? Could have paid back some debt instead, invested more in education. If the rich would spend to stimulate the economy, they already have plenty to spend. Let them!

2004 will not be Florida continued. It will be a fresh challenge. Gore will have to come up with a fresh vision and a fresh approach, one that stands out with or without comparisons to Bush. The approach will have to be proactive. Attempts to organize a campaign of rebuttals against Bush, as has been the wont with some aspiring faces on Capitol Hill, will fail.

Hillary Clinton is the most famous Democrat holding public office on the scene. Intellectually she was ready in 1992 to have run for President. Now she has a tantalizing electoral victory in perhaps the most competitive state under her belt. Her legislative accomplishments have been top notch. If not Hillary, who?

Frankly, I think she ought to run for President in 2004. But then she has said she will not. And the country remains largely sexist. The second spot might be a nicer way to perhaps go to the top. And Vice-Presidents are supposed to be people who will take over should something happen to the person at the helm anyway, aka Lyndon Johnson, not that I see any misfortune coming Al's way. And Al Gore is a promise in his own right.

And Bill. Don't forget Bill. The guy is starving. For all the speech-making, and globe-trotting, and memoir-writing, what the guy really needs is a dose of campaign. If Hillary loves Bill - they are crazy in love, always have been - she will say yes to the ticket.

He is the best campaigner you ever saw. The roaring nineties were really something. Bill Gates was there before and after. Alan Greenspan too. As most players on Capitol Hill. It was Bill that was the new kid on the block. He was the captain of the ship while the U.S. made 33 of its 100 cents worth of net wealth, all in one decade. The guy is the Michael Jordan of politics.

Hillary was co-President when Bill was in. Now let the guy have his turn: Co-Vice-President. The best he can give is to be by Hillary's side as she makes it to the second spot, and then the very top. Active politics is what this couple is made for. Let them join the fray, let them serve. This is no dynasty. This a couple that first eyed each other at the Yale Law Library, of all places!

And, so I say: Gore-Clinton-Clinton in 2004!