I was wondering when or whether this might happen. I guess one of the benefits of being retired from electoral politics is that it gives you a little independence. I a show of resolve that he never demonstrated when he was actually, you know, in office, Al Gore came out swinging at Obama over both the Tar Sands pipeline and backing off on the EPA's proposed new rules on ozone. Kind of nice coming from the man George Bush Sr. always referred to as "Ozone."
As reported in the London Guardian, Gore ripped Obama in a blog post, taking the President to task for "bowing to pressure from polluters."
On Friday afternoon, as brave and committed activists continued their non-violent civil disobedience outside the White House in protest of the tar sands pipeline that would lead to a massive increase in global warming pollution, President Obama ordered the EPA to abandon its pursuit of new curbs on emissions that worsens disease-causing smog in US cities. Earlier this year, the EPA's administrator, Lisa Jackson, wrote that the levels of pollution now permitted – put in place by the Bush-Cheney administration – are "not legally defensible." Those very same rules have now been embraced by the Obama White House.
Instead of relying on science, President Obama appears to have bowed to pressure from polluters who did not want to bear the cost of implementing new restrictions on their harmful pollution – even though economists have shown that the US economy would benefit from the job creating investments associated with implementing the new technology. The result of the White House's action will be increased medical bills for seniors with lung disease, more children developing asthma, and the continued degradation of our air quality.
The Guardian article notes that MoveOn is also pissed. Perhaps we can take this one on the road and run ads featuring Al Gore's missive. Maybe that would steer President Obama back onto the straight and narrow. But I doubt it.