They say those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I'd agree with this. But I'd also extend it with a coda, and it goes something like this: history repeats itself anyway, but in favor of those who have learned the most from it.
Therefor, this former Hilary-booster is happily ready to concede the next Presidential contest to Albert Gore, Jr. It's fate, man. And here's why...
First, a pop quiz. What do these three Presdients have in common: Jefferson, Jackson, Nixon. Give up? It may be tough comparing good ol' Tom to Tricky Dick, but these three men all LOST their first bid at the Presidency in super-tight races, only to come back and win two more (in a row, no less!)
See, we're all so caught up in the 2000 fiasco, which really does take the cake, that we forget the razor thin margin of 1960, the backroom deal between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams in 1824. So that ought to dispel any argument that Gore has no chance because he's already run.
Then we need to remember that when Jefferson, Nixon, and Jackson came back to win, it was because they ran campaigns that were totally new, innovative. For example, Nixon found his "silent majority," while Jackson quite simply got rid of factionalism and created the modern Democratic Party. If you all haven't read the American Prospect article yet, you definitely should, to find out all the cool things Al Gore's been up to and how it seems he'll take the change that Howard Dean started to a whole new level...kinda like how Nixon took Goldwater's wackiness and packaged it into a cute story about a dog to win his lying ass into the White House. Uncanny!
In fact, if Gore does run, and then wins, then the pattern of history repeating should reassure us all that Mr. Gore will also win two terms! His career path, then, would almost EXACTLY mirror that of Mr. Nixon's....except without all those tape recorders. Oh, and three times the Congressional experience, too.
I'm converted! Go Al, GO!