Encouraging Caucus Results

My local club -- the Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley in Thousand Oaks, California -- held an Iowa-style caucus tonight. We talked, cajoled, electioneered, and even argued a little. At the end of the night, we voted by splitting into groups for our favorite candidates. And the results were surprisingly positive . . . .

Despite not having launched a campaign or raised any money, Al Gore finished second in the voting: Edwards 15, Gore 10, Obama 9, Clinton 4, and Richardson 2.

Best of all was how easy it was to persuade people to support Gore. My pitch was not complicated.

I said that the Democratic Party is blessed with a large group of talented and able candidates, but that the critical question is a simple one: who do you think would be the best president?

I also printed, and handed out, highlights of several Gore speeches from the past four or five years, showing that Gore had the courage, integrity, and talent to articulate devastating critiques of the current administration when few public figures were doing so.

I then said that it is way past time that we re-elected Al Gore.

When you get voters thinking in terms of who could best handle the job of being president, Al Gore is an obvious choice. And, that's not just some campaign tactic. Rather, that's what this election should be all about.