Yes, he's this month's It Girl, but with good reason. He spoke out against the Iraq war way before it was fashionable to do so; he has relentlessly injected energy into the anti Bush movement; he presciently outlined the power of the internet when we were mostly still using typewriters; but most importantly, he has a long-standing and comprehensive understanding about the most pressing issue of our day: the environment.
We have no choice.
It is clear that he has found his issue, his passion, his voice. With the relatively imminent end of the oil age, if anyone can lead us into a future where skies can still be blue, whales still migrate, economic growth be maintained (somewhat), and childhood still be innocent, it is Al Gore.
Al Gore has finally become the leader he was meant to be: a leader who has figured out how to frame the conversation in a way that is at once brutally honest and yet motivational. If you haven't read his piece in the Green issue of Vanity Fair...catch it on line. Yes, it's only words, right now...but they are transporting, inspirational in his call to action. He points out the great benefit that can be found in moral challenges, and that we can come together for change.
Gore has finally thrown off the yoke of his political bg that kept him wooden and uninspired. He has found his voice and his leadership.
We have no choice. There's not another person out there who understands the environmental crisis that is ahead on several fronts.