Does Gore have his foot in the door?

I'm finding it impossible to not be giddy at this news.

It seems that Al Gore might be waging a shadow campaign for president as we speak, quietly gathering a team for an announcement later in the year.

It was widely reported over the weekend, first in the Telegraph (U.K.), Gore is doing just that.

"I was asked whether I would be available towards the end of the year if I am needed," one of Gore's former campaign workers reportedly said. "They know he has not ruled out running and if he decides to jump in, he will have to move very fast."

Adding a little more fuel to the fire is President Clinton's who said last Thursday on Larry King's show, "You’ve got the prospect that Vice President Gore might run."

This is what I've been hoping for all along.

Don't get me wrong - I like the Big Three in the Democratic race right now - Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. They all are strong candidates, but each has drawbacks, too: Hillary - a polarizing figure who sounds as scripted as reality television thus far; Edwards, from my chair has painted some broad strokes, but has offered few specifics (and adding to his chances is the health of his wife, Elizabeth, although I don't think that's fair); and Obama is a magnetic candidate for many reasons, but the experience factor could hurt him.

I think Gore could beat this field, and ultimately, become president. He's been there before. He won the most votes in the 2000 election, despite running a largely uneven campaign. A man as smart as Gore would only use that experience to his benefit. How could he not? He's got to realize that this would be his last shot. He's not getting any younger, at 59 years old. Sure, he could run after '08 if a Republican wins, but incumbent presidents running for reelection are very tough to beat; even incompetent ones. Just ask John Kerry.

He's got experience, momentum and a track record of being right on most of the issues. What's more, he's leading the way on an issue that is finally, at long last, going mainstream - global warming. Even many Republicans are coming to the conclusion that something needs to be done about this global crisis, which, unfortunately, America is leading the way in worsening, since we lead the world in Carbon gas emissions.

Of course, some Repubes are licking their political chops at the prospect of a Gore candidacy.

Over the weekend, Red State had this to say about a Gore candidacy:

While God, of course, loves me and wishes for me to be happy...

...enough to give me and mine with this?

I mean, I try to be a good person and everything, but I don't think that I'm all that deserving. Read on. (Yeah, I know, it's a rumor. Let's just pretend for a moment that it's a founded one.)

Not to contradict Captain Ed on this, but even if it's true it's not going to particularly worry Senator Clinton. The person that it needs to worry is former Senator Edwards, who is probably counting on Gore not running to eventually boost his ranking. Gore has to knock out first him, then Senator Obama if he wants to go after Clinton - and a nice three-way knife fight is precisely what the junior Senator from NY would like to see happen in the primaries, especially since she won't be in it.

Ed thinks that Gore can wipe the floor with Edwards and Obama: frankly, I doubt it. The former will have the fundraising edge and the latter's simply more engaging on his worst days than Gore is on his best. For that matter, both candidates know that if they don't get the nomination now they'll be at a disadvantage in 2012, should a Democrat win. In 2012 Barack Obama will probably be a second-term Senator accumulating legislative baggage and John Edwards will just be a guy with a truly ugly country home. They'll go down swinging; and it's not like Gore is the sort to suffer in silence, so they probably have a good idea where to hit.

So run, Al. Run, and amuse me greatly.

Excellent - the cockiness has started already. Just what I'm hoping for. Anyone think McCain, Romney or Giuliani would stand a chance against Gore? I don't - not in a million years. I would give Rudy the edge over McCain and Romney - Rudy's been the toughest to nail down so far, but given time, his credibility is going to take lots of hits.

Here's hoping Al throws his hat in the ring. Write Gore and urge him to get in the race!

If he does get in the race, I just hope we don't get, ahem, More Gore from Seven Years Ago.

Academy Awards have begun

A few quick thoughts on the Academy Awards so far, at 9:15 p.m.

Up until a year or two ago, I wasn't too crazy about Ellen DeGeneres. I don't have any specific reason; her humor just didn't hit my funny bone. But, there's more to Ellen than her humor, and I realize that now. But, she's funny! Ten minutes into the show, she makes a funny joke about Al Gore and his being elected by America, but being at the Academy Awards. I don't really remember the whole joke, but it was funny.

Speaking of Al Gore (Above, with wife Tipper, arriving at the show), I'm really, really pulling for his film, An Inconvenient Truth, to take the two awards its up for tonight. And of course, I'm really hoping for an announcement by Al tonight along the lines of "I'm running for president." That would be great. I realize that it almost certainly won't happen, but it would be awesome, and historic, too.

I'm looking forward to hearing Melissa Etheridge (Above, Right, with partner Tammy Lynn Michaels) perform "I Need to Wake Up" tonight. I hope the theme song for An Inconvenient Truth wins, but either way, it will be cool to see it sung live. I flat out love Etheridge, but even moreso for contributing such a great song to a great movie.

Lastly, I'm reeeeallllly pulling for Martin Scorsese. The greatest living American director is more than overdue to win an Oscar. I hope tonight's the night. And I still haven't seen The Departed, so I need to get my act together.

###

Melissa's performing now - she's awesome. And they are displaying the words from the end of the movie with her performance. 'Way cool!

Okay, Gore was just on stage with Leo DiCaprio, and no announcement, but they did make a joke out of it. I'm not giving up hope on Gore running in '08, though. You can urge him to run by clicking Here.

Back to blogging - more after the show.

Photos from AP