The Workday Liberal

There is a near convergence of seemingly unrelated events that I believe combined will put Al Gore in the national spotlight. The recent announcements by more than a few ambitious pols intending to be our next President make me wonder if Gore might use the upcoming swell of publicity to forward his own candidacy.

Let me be perfectly honest. I fervently hope Gore runs. I would support him whole heartedly in the primary and general election. I understand the excitement and historic nature of Obama and Hillary as candidates, but my appreciation of Gore has gone back decades.

So here are the events that will combine to raise Gores national profile. His documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. The Oscars award ceremony will be held on Feb. 25th.

The other event in relation to Gore occurs next week, when over 600 scientists will release a report to the U.N. reporting in exhaustive detail that humans are the main factor in contributing to a sudden increase in global warming. I only wish the U.N. would delay releasing this report until the end of February in order to coincide more closely with the buzz about Gore's documentary.

The U.N. report does not involve Al Gore directly, but it bears upon the issue which is his calling. If the alarm bells regarding global warming go off for the entire population as they ought to, Gore would be the natural leader of the nation as we attempt to come to grips with the issue.

These then are the two events I believe may combine to bring Gore to the national stage with a calling to run for the Presidency. However, as I noted in a recent post, the nation right now is focused on the war in Iraq. On that issue in particular let me point out that Gore was absolutely prescient prior to the invasion in speaking against it.