The Next Al Gore?

An intriguing idea for John Edwards from WorkingLife.org

Edwards--The Al Gore of Economic Struggle
So, John Edwards is dropping out of the presidential race. From trade to an ability to really talk about unions and on whole lots of other issues, Edwards shaped the Democratic presidential debate.

The question is: what now? I'm hoping that he becomes the Al Gore of economic struggles. Gore rose dramatically in stature--far beyond what he ever achieved as a political figure or a candidate running for office--when he became THE political voice on climate change. I'm hoping that Edwards, who made it clear that the campaign to end poverty in America was the calling of his life, now continues that fight. As a non-candidate, more people (and, maybe even, the pathetic press) will tune into a message that comes from someone who is not running for office.

Working Americans--the people who Edwards wanted to represent and whose policies and positions were superior to the other major candidates--will need an advocate for them past the general election. In the past several months, I've told virtually every person or audience that I've spoken to that, no matter who wins, we--that would be, labor advocates or people trying to build an economic justice movement--will still have a fight on our hands because the system that a new president would confront (whether they feel audacious and hopeful or not) will be hard to change without a movement out in the country demanding that change.

We still face a battering of wages, disappearing pensions, 47 million people without health care, so-called "free trade" deals that Democrats don't seem united to vanquish from the agenda, unprecedented greed in the CEO ranks...you know the drill.

Edwards has a role to play as a rallying force for those people who want to change the economic system.

Edwards, seize the moment.

Of course I want him to keep doing the good that he's doing and also spend time with and let his family know how much he loves them while he can but,
I really like that idea- I think he would be amazing at it (and once the Great Recession starts and everyone is struggling economically (even more so) we'll look back and say a collective, damn
And if you think about it who will history look more kindly upon Al, or GweeB.
Only after he lost and devoted himself to a forgotten issue and made people understand its importance did people really understand how much they screwed up.
I can see that happening again.

But then there is pretty legitimate and understandable speculation that JRE would be named the AG, which he would also be amazing at.

Plus in order for him to be President I’d only have to kill:
the president, vice president, speaker of the house, president pro tem of the senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury and secretary of defense.
Damn, that's a lot of people

(and about the line of succession, from wikipedia here are some thoughts that I never thought about it before and why its screwed up:


from James Madison (whom James Monroe may have been in love with-check his last words)

Under the principle of separation of powers, the Constitution specifically disallows legislative officials from also serving in the executive branch. For the Speaker or the President pro tempore to become Acting President, they must resign their position, at which point they are no longer in the line of succession. This forms a constitutional paradox to some.

and some other controversies

1. The reality that all figures in the current line of succession work and reside in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. In the event of a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that everyone on the list would be killed or incapacitated.
2. Doubt (such as those expressed above by James Madison) that Congressional leaders are eligible to act as President.
3. A concern about the wisdom of including the President pro tempore in the line of succession as the "largely honorific post traditionally held by the longest-serving Senator of the majority party." For example, from January 20, 2001 to June 6, 2001, the President pro tempore was 98-year-old Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
4. A concern that the current line of succession can force the presidency to abruptly switch parties mid-term, as the Speaker and the President Pro Tempore are not necessarily of the same party as the President.
5. A concern that the succession line is ordered by the dates of creation of the various executive departments, without regard to the skills or capacities of the persons serving as their Secretary.
6. The fact that, should a cabinet member begin to act as President, the law allows the House to elect a new Speaker (or the Senate, a new President pro tempore), who could in effect remove the cabinet member and assume the office him- or herself at any time.
7. The absence of a provision where a President is disabled and the Vice Presidency is vacant (for example, if an assassination attempt simultaneously wounded the President and killed the Vice President).

also:

There are no explicit provisions for what would happen if everyone on the list were dead, unable to serve, or otherwise ineligible to assume the Presidency. Deputy secretaries would not be eligible, as the line of succession only applies to full Cabinet members. In the event of the death of their superior, deputy secretaries only assume the responsibilities as "acting secretary"—positions that are not counted in the line of presidential succession. If Congress were still able to convene, then the House could elect a new Speaker or the Senate could elect a new President pro tempore who would then immediately act as President. However, this could be dangerously time consuming during a national emergency, and would be delayed even further if the crisis left both houses of Congress without a quorum to fill those key leadership positions, requiring special elections to fill seats in the House of Representatives or state gubernatorial appointments to replace Senators. This possibility has caused some discussion on constitutional or legal remedies, although no formal action has been taken.

Our government is way too easy to disrupt and throw into turmoil. When will people learn-democracy has failed

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