Steve Clemons of Huffington Post Blog writes that an Al Gore endorsement of Barack Obama is rumored: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
A well-placed spouse of a Clinton campaign insider just told me that a rumor is spreading like wild fire that Al Gore is going to endorse Barack Obama. My source emphasizes that this is rumor and may just be paranoia and hyperventilation of the campaign, but it's important to know that this rumor is out there. Another source of mine inside Obamaland has told me that they have been working very hard to secure Gore's public support and trying numerous avenues to "encourage" him.
But should Gore endorse at all? I'm of two minds. Follow me below the fold, please.
As an Obama supporter I'd be ecstatic to get Al Gore's endorsement. There is no stronger public voice in the world on climate change than Al Gore's.
However, as an Al Gore supporter/someone who is genuinely concerned for climate change, I would like to see the issue and the man synonymous with the issue stay above the primary fray.
Climate Change and the reduction of our impact on the earth really needs to be an issue that is beyond politics. I don't pretend that Gore's endorsement would lower the visibility of climate change. In fact it may elevate it. However, I'm just not sure that wrapping the champion of climate change prevention up in the rhetoric of a campaign is wise. It opens it up for the same kind of petty back-and-forth we've seen on all the other issues in this campaign. I foresee us all (not just DKos folks) getting caught up in that Rovian distraction of the meta-debate: debating the science instead of how to respond to it.
On the other hand, I don't think either candidate in the Democratic primary has been vocal enough about the issue. Maybe an endorsement by Al Gore will bring this very real issue to the forefront again. As Democrats we are more credible on the problems of global climate change; in general we didn't spend the last 10 years or so arguing it wasn't real.
It's a little disheartening to have this major winning issue shoved to the back burner in favor of "Snubgate 2008" and the tedium of how many years really count as "experience."
So, I'm no less ambivalent than I was when I read the story at Huffington post.