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Some folks
are born made to wave the flag,
ooh,
they're red, white and blue.
And
when the band plays "Hail to the Chief"
they
point the cannon right at you.
It
ain't me, it ain't me, I'm no senator's son.
It
ain't me, it ain't me, I'm no fortunate one.
Remember
the old tune “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival? It seems to
have been written with Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. in mind. The son
of Tennessee Senator Albert Gore, Sr., Al
Gore has spent his entire life preparing to enter rooms
accompanied by the band playing “Hail to the Chief.” And, it’s likely
he understands exactly what it means to have the cannon pointed right
at him. After all, power at those dizzying heights is a double-edged sword
indeed. The nominee of the Democratic Party for president, Al Gore has
only one obstacle left in his quest for the presidency—another fortunate
son, George W.
Bush.
The
Need to be First—Sun in Aries
 Born
on March 31, 1948, at 12:53 pm, in Washington, D.C., Gore has his Sun in fiery Aries. As would befit the first sign of the zodiac, those with
Sun in Aries typically want to be first in all that they do. Ruled by
the planet Mars, they are natural competitors who will fight for what
they want. Impatient and impulsive, they are the quintessential “alpha”
types. Those who know Gore well say he performs best under pressure. He
walked away easily with the Democratic nomination, in spite of the pundits
who predicted that Bill
Bradley would give him the political fight of his life.
But perhaps that threat gave him the edge he needed to win and to make
it interesting for him.
Who
am I Anyway? A Touch of Neptune
Neptune,
the planet of illusion and idealism, is opposite Gore’s Sun in Aries, and
it is this aspect that most defines his personality. The influence of
Neptune often leads one to sacrifice oneself for a higher cause. Neptune
can lend an air of mystery, and often creates misunderstandings. There
are always many questions and few answers. We rarely see Sun/Neptune people
clearly, if at all, and they may not even have a clear picture of themselves.
This is the aspect of the “identity crisis.”
While
Gore struggles to be more spontaneous, more appealing, more like Bill,
he must surely wonder why and how he got to this point. He’s always prided
himself on doing the right thing, and therefore expects that the right
thing will happen. Yet, his advisors suggest that to be elected, he must
overcome his over-achieving Boy Scout image. He went to Vietnam, albeit
as a journalist, but he went. Clinton evaded the draft and, in effect,
so did George W. by joining the reserves. But no one seems to care anymore
about presidents and military service. On the other hand, it’s pretty
much an accepted fact that Gore “inhaled,” but he’s still viewed as a
stiff. How confusing it all is—how, well, how Neptunian!
Gore’s
reasons for going to Vietnam are very illustrative of the Sun-Neptune
pattern. He told a childhood friend that since there weren’t a lot of
people from their county to be drafted, if he did not go, he would know
who went in his place. Guilt, another manifestation of Neptune, motivated
him to do his duty to his country. Perhaps he also dreamed of running
for president someday, and believed military service would be expected.
Gore, in typical Sun-Neptune fashion, idealized his father, and might
have thought he could help his father’s tight senate reelection race.
Ironically, it was Al Sr.’s own lukewarm attitude to the war that eventually
cost him his Senate seat. Thus, if Gore went to Vietnam for his father’s
sake, it was for naught. It was his father’s devastating political loss
that led Gore to reexamine his own career goals. He even entered divinity
school and sought answers in the spiritual realm before jumping back into
the political arena to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Trusting
and being trusted are major issues that will crop up time and again for
those with Sun-Neptune. Even when they are telling the truth, they may
still appear deceptive. As a result, some can become quite defensive.
Frequently, the line between reality and fantasy is all too blurred. Gore’s
Sun-Neptune opposition is currently being activated by a challenging square aspect by the July 1, 2000 eclipse. Eclipses tend to put a spotlight on
the planets involved, and, right on cue, suspicions about Gore’s activities
in the 1996 campaign financing events are in the news. There is even talk
of a congressional investigation, led of course by the opposition party
which has everything to gain by attacking Gore’s character.
Whether
or not there are formal investigations of the finance issue, Gore’s integrity
will certainly be called into question by the Bush camp. And Gore, no
stranger to being misunderstood, will undoubtedly respond in such a way
that his answers will evoke even more questions. But, then he will move
on to campaign even harder. Though Bush currently enjoys a comfortable
lead in the polls, all astrological indicators point to the fact that,
in the end, this will be a close contest between the two fortunate sons.
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