This could be huge:
From The Washington Note
A well-placed spouse of a Clinton campaign insider just told me that a rumor is spreading like wild fire in Hillaryland that Al Gore is going to endorse Barack Obama.
Here is the story:
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.
Frankly, I'm surprised that Gore would do this -- despite his clear disaffection for the Clintons. He is the undisputed king of the climate change franchise now, but even kingdoms can be assaulted, undermined, outfoxed, circumvented, ridiculed, and starved.
If Hillary Clinton wins this tight race -- which she may still do -- then Gore is gambling with his own status as a climate-change first-and-only transcendant politician.
It will be interesting to see what happens, and of course if Barack Obama wins the primary and then the presidency, Al Gore will get significant credit. The problem is that that can work the other way too.
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Assuming that the Rumor is true:
The timing of this endorsement could be huge. With a lot of negative press for Clinton and her $5 million dollar loan - compared to Barack's fund raising rampage, this could be a hard blow to withstand for the Clintons.
Moreover, if he were to endorse, he would likely do it prior to the Potomac Primaries (where Gore is very popular with Democratic DC types) for optimal impact.
That said, does this affect Obama's "fresh face" for Washington mantra like some have argued happened to Dean's outsider campaign in 2004?
I think that Gore is clearly no longer the Washington type, instead he has become an agent for change himself that could prove a valuable asset to the Obama campaign.
BUT, this would line up all of the Big Dems not named Clinton in the Obama camp .... which might be seen as Anti-Clinton more than Pro-Barack Obama.
No matter how it may turn out, let's hope that this has positive effects on the Democratic Process and does not turn into a Anti-Clinton parade no matter what!