Al Gore: Emerging from his own "Wilderness Years"?

When I think of Al Gore these days, particularly after yesterday's masterful speech, I can't help but think of Winston Churchill. (And I must not be alone - I read a comment in one of the many diaries about the speech that compared it to Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in 1946.)

Am I saying that Mr. Gore will hold the same exalted standing in history that Churchill now holds? No; only time will determine that.

And I'm certainly not comparing the personal politics of the two men. Churchill, though certainly one of the great heroes of civilization and a courageous man with many fine qualities, was not exactly the most progressive of statesmen; his adamant, long-time opposition to independence for Ireland and India, and his antiquated, romantic view of British imperialism no doubt would serve as an inspiration to the worst impulses of today's neocons.

But I hope, for the sake of America's future, that one aspect of Churchill's life may, in time, serve as an analogy for that of Al Gore: Churchill's eventual political comeback from what is referred to as his "Wilderness Years."

Many of us probably only know Winston Churchill from one relatively brief period of his career: his wartime service as prime minister of England, replacing the hapless Neville Chamberlain and leading the struggle against Hitler's Germany.

But Churchill's political career started nearly 40 years before that - he entered Parliament in 1901, at the age of 26, and within ten years he would attain Cabinet-level status, becoming the First Lord of the Admiralty (the political head of Britain's Royal Navy) in 1911.

But, though being a political wunderkind and seeming to be on the fast track towards No. 10 Downing Street, Churchill would endure an up and down career with a number of political setbacks, culminating with his resignation from the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1931.

At this point, many considered his life in politics to be over, and his time away from the poltical stage is often referred to as his "Wilderness Years". But it was during these years that Fascism began its terrifying rise in Germany and Italy and, contrary to the policy of appeasement being practiced by the Conservative Party at that time, Churchill raised a loud but lonely voice against this growing threat.

Almost immediately after December of 2000, when he finally conceded defeat in the election and largely retreated from public life, I have considered Al Gore as being in his "wilderness years." Though he seemed to be a bit lost at first, his time away from the failing machine of the Democratic Party seems to have served him well; without handlers telling him what to think, what to say, even how to dress, his confidence, gravitas and credibility have grown exponentially.

And now, this great patriot is eloquently sounding the alarm against the new fascism of our time. And, like Churchill in the mid-`30s, he is largely out there on his own; yes, there are a few Democratic members of Congress who are speaking out but, just as Murtha has been left to face his critics largely alone, no one in Washington seems to have Al Gore's back. Yet.

I'm hoping that Al Gore's speech yesterday at Constitution Hall is the opening movement of another great, needed political comeback. As discouraging as things are in America right now, I pray that they won't have to become as bleak as they did in Britain in 1939 before her people come to their senses.

Mr. Gore, a nation - half of it, anyway - turns its lonely eyes to you.