It sounds pretty final.
This will disappoint Frank Rich, who wants Gore to run as a spoiler:
Even so, let’s hope Mr. Gore runs. He may not be able to pull off the Nixon-style comeback of some bloggers’ fantasies, but by pounding away on his best issues, he could at the very least play the role of an Adlai Stevenson or Wendell Willkie, patriotically goading the national debate onto higher ground. “I think the war looms over everything,” said Karl Rove this month in bemoaning his boss’s poll numbers. It looms over the Democrats, too. But the party’s leaders would rather let John Murtha take the heat on Iraq; they don’t even have the guts to endorse tougher fuel economy standards in their “new” energy policy. While a Gore candidacy could not single-handedly save the Democrats from themselves any more than his movie can vanquish “X-Men” at the multiplex, it might at least force the party powers that be to start facing some inconvenient but necessary truths.
