Fortune Magazine reports on Al Gore joining the venture capital firm Kleiner-Perkins:

“What we are going to have to put in place is a combination of the Manhattan Project, the Apollo project, and the Marshall Plan, and scale it globally,” Gore continues. “It’d be promising too much to say we can do it on our own, but we intend to do our part.”

Well, I guess you would not expect him to suggest that what we need is a combination of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, a $600 toilet seat, and the mohair subsidy.

When people ask me who I want for President, I say “Dwight Eisenhower.” Here was a guy who had real administrative experience before he took office. He oversaw D-Day, one of the most complex operations in history. And yet he had the least hubris of just about any President. He is not known for any significant legislation, any major treaties, or for starting any wars.

Eisenhower was chosen by Republican Party leaders, back in the days of the proverbial smoke-filled room. Either party would have been willing to have him as their standard-bearer.

Not today. Under a primary system, Eisenhower would have had difficulty capturing the nomination, and it is doubtful that he would have run. Nowadays we select for partisan hubris.