"If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal..." - Paul Simon

This assumes that Al would be happy to let someone else take the limelight as great liberal hope, Planetary Savior etc.

What was that Obama said in his SC victory speech about the "status quo" fighting back against him?  With enemies like that...

That's too sweet to actually happen, alas.

Agreed. It'd be great if he did it on Wed or Thur.

It would be a beautiful thing, especially after reading the Vanity Fair piece from a month or so ago that discussed his relationship with the Clintons and what happened in 2000.  It'd be a wonderful victory. Gore could help deliver the West coast states to Obama, and probably help in the Northeast.  

If you care about this, write him a letter.  I did today.  The last time I wrote his office I received a very gracious response (even though he didn't run!).

The Office of the Honorable Al Gore

2100 West End Avenue

Suite 620

Nashville, TN  37203

Mikey, is it true?  Has Obama one you over? Quite a change from a few months ago.  :-)

You know Al Gore isn't going to endorse Hillary Clinton, they can't stand one another. But I heard the other day that Al's Nobel Peace Prize has placed him above mere mortals like the rest of us.  Deities do not involve themselves in the affairs of men, at least not since the Greeks and the days of Zeus and Poseidon.

need I remind everyone what happened to the last Democrat that Gore endorsed? You know, President Dean. Can it be that since he was so badly burned last time that he is being very careful this time?

I disagree.  Al Gore endorsing now would seem like overkill.  It might invoke sympathy for Clinton, similar to what happened before New Hampshire.  He needs to wait at least a week, if not indeed until just after Super Tuesday.  Any sense of piling on couild backfire, especially among women voters.

An endorsement that would be *far* more influential would be someone like Colin Powell, perhaps side by side with Brzezinski.

"If he wanted to, Al Gore could deliver something close to a death blow right now by endorsing Obama."

A death blow to Clinton or Obama?

Gore's endorsement wouldn't be that huge. Gore is popular among younger voters; Obama already has that bloc sealed up.

The best thing is for old, grizzled liberal veterans to come out and say, "This man will lead us. He's the most ready for the job." That's probably the only way Bamsy can make inroads among older voters.

A Carter endorsement. That would be huge.

Blackie- it's true Dean flamed out after his endorsement, but it may be that Gore has increased in stature since then.

Thanks, Bhunziker, for the address. I'm writing Gore too and I also encourage interested parties to do so as well.

I've written Gore!  But to ask him to run for president, not endorse Obama.  

WHat if he endorsed Edwards as the way to unify the party?  Now that'd be fun.

I don't really think you can draw a real link between Dean's flame-out and Gore's endorsement, much as his enemies would like to. I tend to agree with huntlib that Gore's greatest appeal may be with the young and Obama is already way ahead of Clinton there. Still, every little bit helps and I don't see any downside to Obama to be able to point to the fact that he's been endorsed by a man who was a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. It simply reinforces the message that those who've served at the highest levels have examined Obama and believe he's fit for the office from Day One.

Gore will endorse Thursday.

Mister Crowley:

Great Seinfeld reference! I caught it. Anybody else catch it?

just remember, HC won't be dead until I see the stake in her heart and Van Helsing has stuffed her mouth with garlic and lopped off her head....

until then, I wouldn't let down my guard...

Virginiacentrist, what's your source? This is big, if true.

VC:  Do you remember the tagline for Death Blow?  "Death Blow: When someone tries to blow you up, not because of who you are, but for different reasons altogether!"  Good stuff, but I still like Prognosis Negative.

Don't forget "The Pain and the Yearning"  where the 92 year old protagonist experiences both "pain and yearning."  Though not quite 92, Hillary would surely feel a little of both.

Mr. Crowley - I am a current subscriber to TNR and have been for more than five years.  About 2 years ago, I read an article in TNR about John MCain’s pact with Grover Norquist not to pursue Norquist in the Indian Affairs hearings in exchange for Norquist’s support of (or at least his lack of opposition to) McCain as a presidential candidate in 2008.  I have searched ther TNR archives online but am unable to find the article no matter what search words I use.  I know I read it in TNR.  It was a featured article, possibly even the cover article.  Can anyone help me find it?   I would greatly appreciate it.  I would like to use it to demonstrate to my friend the high quality of TNR’s journalism.  Thank you.

Don't think Gore will endorse, but if he does, best time would be after FL, TH or FR.  

But he won't because he's on a MISSION and neither candidate really is any better than the other on that topic.  Further I agree it won't help much, but would just be great for a news cycle. Still, I'll take that, another former Clinton endorsement for Obama.  Carter would be great.  I think Powell and other Republicans wouldn't help, Powell has already said enough.

Some governors would be good in the 2/5 states.  Schwarzenegger (I know, GOP, but an exception)?

Virginiacentrist, who is this Thursday person and why will he endorse him or her?

Without doubt the biggest endorsement that Obama will get, and I get this from extremely high placed and confidential sources is....

oh, excuse me, my boss has walked in right now, I will get back to you later.

Blackton, not a person, the day of the week.  My sources (a specially trained pair of eastern gray squirrels) have procured an early draft of his speech:

"I, Al Gore, Oscar and Nobel Prize-winner, internet pioneer and former Vice-President of the United States, announce my support of Thursday.  Not only is Thursday an important day of the week, it is my favorite day of the week.  Thursday, like me, is unassuming and modest.  It bridges the dull, monotonous Wednesday with the busy and often confusing Friday.  It is also the weekday with the lowest energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.  Please join me in supporting Thursday all across this great nation."

Arnold's for McCain

teplukhin2you

Brzezinski's already endorsed Obama (and more importantly the thinking of the younger FP folks around Obama) and maybe I'm wrong but its my sense of things that Powell will be staying out of the primaries.

If McCain gets the nomination but Obama doesn't, Powell seems like a pretty obvious running mate, not sure he'd want to risk it.

VC:  The key to Hillary's win in New Hampshire though was "Cry, Cry Again."  She cried, and, when she won, we cried again.

bcbaird, too funny. are you channelling Gore?

McCain will choose Condi Rice as his VP if Hillary gets the nomination. My brother in law went to a party at John McCain's brother's best friend's house in Virginia last week and he heard it from the illegal Mexican immigrant mowing a neighbors lawn.

Death blow??? Gore? You're wishing to have a deus ex machina appear on behalf of Obama from the empyreum of the liberal elite. The thing that would be big for Obama is to actually be ahead in a poll in a major state. As of a few days ago, he's down by 37 points to Hillary in Massachusetts, by 17 points in California, by 25 in New York, by 18 in New Jersey, and by 18 in Florida. If he were up by a substantial margin anywhere, that would actually mean something. But he's not. What he has are two atypical wins and the media in thrall. Let's see what happens in Florida tomorrow, where the Kennedy endorsement , Bill's supposed mistakes, and South Carolina will have had time to have whatever effect they are going to have.

Has Jim Webb endorsed anyone?  For me, he must be Obama's most likely running mate.

It looks like the death blow won't be delivered. From Marc Ambinder : An adviser said that Mr. Gore

Forget Carter, dbhuff.  He's throwing some kind of Baptist-unity shindig in Atlanta this week, and last I heard Bill was supposed to speak there Friday.  (We'll see if that holds with Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Tuesday coming, but he is on the schedule--then again, GA does vote that day).  Carter can't really come out for anyone other than Bill in that situation.

Back in 2004, when Al Gore threw his weight behind Howard Dean, his endorsement didn't mean so much. But since Al-the-Bore's extreme makeover, in which he magically transformed from a grizzled, depressive also-ran into a Nobel Prize–winning environmentalist