Benjamin Barber, over at the Huffington Post, asks Draft Gore? And, he comes up with an answer that I obviously agree with: DRAFT GORE!

Gore complains he lacks tolerance for the "triviality and artifice and nonsense" that it takes to run for president. And it's true, we've made running for office an endless exercise in foolishness that contradicts the very qualities we want in a sitting president. How about Wolf Blitzer asking the candidates in this week's debates to "raise their hands" like third grade children to signify whether they accept or reject HIS stark and dumbed-down version of some momentous policy choice? As if raising your hand yes or no had something to do with the kind of nuanced and mature judgment we expect from a president.

But what about it, Al? Yes, as with so many things in life, getting there means hard and sometimes absurd work -- the price that must be paid for securing success and power. You acknowledged to Bob Herbert that there is no other position "that even approaches that of president in terms of inherent ability to affect the course of events." But how then can you live with your green and good convictions and not run?