Gore Will Endorse ... No One

Photo: Steffen Schmidt / KEYSTONE

related articles

He won the popular vote in 2000, and saw his political clout grow to new heights in 2007, winning the Nobel Peace Prize, an Emmy, an Oscar and the respect of legions across the globe. He is credited with doing as much as humanly possible to raise the issue of global warming to the top of the world's agenda.

For those reasons, Al Gore has been seen as a king-maker among Democrats vying to be the party's 2008 presidential candidate.

But, according to the New York Sun, Gore won't endorse any candidate, at least not yet. Apparently his political capital is so great, he doesn't want to spend it on a loser (as he did last time around, with Howard Dean).

That's too bad, given that global warming has not risen to the top of the list of concerns on voters' minds going into the 2008 election. On the other hand, all Democrats have published extensive energy plans that, if implemented, would revolutionize the way we use energy and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, each candidate has done what they need to do to court Gore's favor, by making clear they'd make global warming a priority.

The same can't be said for the Republicans, who with the exception of Sen. John McCain, have provided little enthusiasm and less detail about their plans for dealing with climate change. But a Gore endorsement there, of course, would have little influence.

COMMENTS ()