Dear Al Gore,

In your concession speech to George W. Bush one wintry day in Washington, D.C. a little more than six years ago, you said you had one regret: “I do have one regret: that I didn’t get the chance to stay and fight for the American people over the next four years, especially for those who need burdens lifted and barriers removed, especially for those who feel their voices have not been heard. I heard you and I will not forget.”

Do you still remember, Al Gore? Do you still have that regret?

If you do, I think you know what you need to do: You need to enter the 2008 presidential race.

John F. Kennedy is famously quoted as saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Perhaps you’re wondering just how much a man should give for his country, when after all that giving his country does little for him in return.

You said something else that night: “I’ve seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It’s worth fighting for and that’s a fight I’ll never stop.”

Is that still true? I wouldn’t blame you if it wasn’t. I wouldn’t blame you if you wrote off George W. Bush’s America as a cesspool and moved to Switzerland or some other country with cleaner air and higher vehicle emissions standards. The America that you toured and loved in 2000 is not the America that it is today.

“As for the battle that ends tonight,” you concluded then, “I do believe as my father once said, that no matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.”

And if that’s true, then I’m glad you lost. Victory did nothing to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney that could be described as soul-shaking or glory-filled. Those two will never come within a light-year of a Nobel Peace Prize.

I’m sure many of those people you shook hands with out on the campaign trail would tell you that when they take stock in their lives, they have one big regret: the lover forsaken, the job not taken, the path down which they decided not to wander. Please don’t let yourself and the world wonder what could have been had you been president in 2008 the way the world (and you, I assume) wonders what could have been had you been commander in chief in 2001.

What better pulpit to promote the fight against global warming?

Your party still needs you. Sure, the Democrats seem to have an advantage: Control of Congress and the fact that the Republican party as a whole has caved in under its own leadership. Sure, we can cheer for Hillary and Barack, but each of them has a fatal flaw: Hillary is so openly hungry for power that she turns many loyal Democrats off, and Barack is no doubt a rock star, but voters may wonder, with his relative youth and experience, is he really ready to be president?

It’s easy to hate George W. Bush now, but in two years he’ll be gone from office, and it’s hard to turn as much negative sentiment toward a likeable potential Republican candidate like Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. The Democrats need someone stronger.

Furthermore, you have the ability to shake off the demons that plagued you during your last campaign. If you got the nomination, Bill Clinton could campaign for you in a way he wasn’t able to in 2000. The environment is fast becoming one of the most important issues on the table, and you’re the only candidate with the acumen to make a real difference.

Finally, there’s the fact that many people feel you were wronged in 2000. Americans love a comeback story, and yours is a doozy. You could be the Rocky of presidential candidates. Who wouldn’t vote for that?

If you don’t enter the race, you’ve lost, and we’ve lost too. Please, Al Gore. Your nation is calling.

Reach columnist Blythe Lawrence at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu