Okay, this is a bit odd. Rep. Tim Mahoney, who replaced Mark Foley in the 2006 election has an interesting prognosis if this convention really does come down to the convention in Denver.

U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, whose district includes much of Martin and St. Lucie counties, is hoping he won’t have to attend the Democratic Party national convention in Denver in August.

If he does go, that will mean the Democrats still haven’t decided a nominee for the presidential election. And if neither Sen. Hillary Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama has clinched the nomination by August, Mahoney says we may see a brokered convention, meaning the nominee could emerge from a negotiated settlement.

“If it (the nomination process) goes into the convention, don’t be surprised if someone different is at the top of the ticket,” Mahoney said.

A compromise candidate could be someone such as former vice president Al Gore, Mahoney said last week during a meeting with this news organization’s editorial board.

This is just wishful thinking. However, I do believe that ultimately Al Gore will have a role to play in this nomination fight. If the spats continue through the spring and both Clinton and Obama are weakening in head-to-head match-ups against Johnny McCain, I’d imagine Gore, Edwards and Carter will step in to help ease tensions and likely convince Clinton (unless there is a major sea change between now and then) that it’s time to step aside and allow for the general election campaign to begin.