A question that has been posed by pundits, journalists and concerned citizens alike, is how will the Democratic Party survive this monumental nominating contest?

This historic race in the Democratic Party pits the first viable female Presidential candidate and the first viable black Presidential candidate against one another for the nomination.

Former Vice President and the 2000 Democratic Presidential Nominee Al Gore is being watched by a hawk as a party “elder” who has said he will stay neutral.

Don Van Natta Jr and Jo Becker are quoted over on truthout.org from an article in The New York Times:

Although Mr. Gore has expressed concerns to some associates about the damage a brokered convention could cause, several associates said he was hopeful that one candidate would soon break through, sparing the party such an outcome. He told a close friend recently that his decision not to endorse “feels like the right thing” and that he remained optimistic the race “is going to tip at some point,” the friend said.

According to CNN, Gore doesn’t seek to be the broker between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as the above quote describes: Gore wants it to end of it’s own accord.

“I’m not applying for the job of broker,” he also said when pressed about the possibility he will be one of the few neutral Democrats who could sit Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton down together.

The question becomes: Will a brokered deal hurt the party more than a bitter fight to the very end?

Some think so, others disagree; we may not know but we’ll see what happens.