Former vice-president and professional tree-impressionist Al Gore has sided with National Review magazine and will endorse the angry left's favorite candidate, Howard Dean.

Put the tree in the wood chipper, Al Gore's political career is over.

Democratic Leadership Council. Moderate Democrat. Pragmatic. Finding the center. Co-opting your opponent's issues.

Gone, all gone.

Syndicated radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt suggests that Gore is doing this for two reasons:

(1)Spite the Clintons. (2) Lay the early claim to the remnants of the Dean Machine.

Hewitt may be right about the first reason -- Gen. Wesley Clark is the Clinton's man -- but I think he's off-base on the second one.

Hewitt's theory presupposes the following:

First, Howard Dean wins the Democrat nomination for president.

Second, Howard Dean loses to George W. Bush.

Third, come 2008, the Democrat Party -- both the grassroots and the big money -- will forgive him for 2000. Remember, though Democrats felt robbed by the Florida recount -- it wouldn't have mattered if Gore could have won his home state.

Here's the problem with the second part of Hewitt's theory: the Howard Dean base won't transfer to Al Gore.

Howard Dean's base is largely made up of the anti-establishment left. (Prediction: Another Green Party run by Ralph Nader will have very little impact on a Dean candidacy.) In four years, that even-angrier group of leftists are not going to want a retread Al Gore. Especially when Hillary Clinton's available.

Al Gore is an intelligent man. He must realize this.

On second thought, maybe he doesn't. Hewitt thinks hat Gore is cool and calculating. I think he's just angry. I think this is a gut call and Gore has given in to self-destructive tendencies.