After the 2000 elections, Democrats around the country found themselves at a loss for words. The unthinkable had happened and George W. Bush—so inept he can’t even pronounce the word “nuclear”—was moving into the White House. And for the loser of that election? It seems Al Gore ’69 consoled himself with donuts and grew a beard any aspiring Mountain Man would be proud to bear.

Flash forward several years and Gore’s an Oscar-winning, PowerPoint junkie. He’s included in Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” under scientists and thinkers. By all accounts he’s single-handedly credited with teaching an entire nation about global warming—and the Nobel committee agrees.

Ever since the success of “An Inconvenient Truth,” we’re looking at a newer, more relaxed version of our one-time Vice President. Indeed, this freshness looks good on him; he looks more comfortable standing next to Leonardo DiCaprio than he ever did next to Bill Clinton. Stepping out of politics really was the best decision of Gore’s life.

Every time the question arises of whether he’ll make a last-minute bid for the presidency, Gore consistently maintains that his place is outside D.C. Thank God.

I’ve heard some environmentalists call Gore’s decision not to return to Washington inconceivable. While it sure is cool to be friends with Bono or Madonna, common wisdom dictates that the President of the United States is still the man (or woman) who can champion issues to greatest effect. If you want to change the world, we’re told, pack your bags and head toward the swamp-land of Washington.

Gore’s predicament actually represents a transformation in how environmental action, and to a greater extent political activity, is shaped. We’re witnessing a battle between two very different camps: those who believe change must come from the hallways of D.C. and others who think the very opposite—it’s the people, en masse, who will make the difference.

According to recent polls President Bush is remaining steady at a 29 percent approval rating. His counterparts in the U.S. Congress fare even worse at an abysmal 14 percent. American’s aren’t necessarily clamoring to hear anything from an inept and ineffectual president and a Congress. So maybe Gore really is onto something.

It’s possible that we now live in an era in which politicians and the other goons in Washington are actually detrimental, or, at best, ineffectual, in enacting policy. It seems counterintuitive: After all we elect these people to competently steer the country in the right direction. But now more than ever, the influence of elected and appointed officials has reached a new low. The public realizes they’re actually paid to be sleazy and self-absorbed.

And what makes Gore so valuable to our country is that he’s no longer among the ranks of these politicians. If he did decide to make a run for the White House again, it’d be akin to sinking his success down a toilet.

His more populist approach, focused on educating Americans about climate change is refreshingly devoid of the muck associated with Washington politics. For over 25 years many scientists and climatologists have held that our environment is headed towards a tipping point, after which it’ll never recover. Until Gore started his (nearly) one-man crusade the public remained largely ignorant and apathetic about this very subject.

Now, global warming has become a mainstream topic of conversation; daily we’re presented with news segments or articles discussing some facet of the world’s climate. We, the larger public, listened to Gore and others like him precisely because they’re not just attention-whores from D.C. Gore’s brilliant maneuvering, based upon meaningful change, proves that a political solution and mass collective action are not mutually exclusive.

For the sake of his new career I, for one, hope Gore doesn’t run for President. Though he deserves the power and acclaim, it’s just not where his project belongs. He’s done more good outside D.C. than he could ever do within the suffocating framework of politics.

Jessica C. Coggins ’08, a Crimson arts editor, is an English and American literature and languages concentrator in Cabot House.