We've all gotten pretty used to the new Al Gore by now: reinvigorated intellectual, shrewd businessman, nobel prize winner, altruistic man on a mission, champion of the global warming cause. Gore has shied away from the political limelight in recent years both as part of his successful foray into the private sector and, as part of what seems like a general embarrassment at his former political self. Gore himself states that he has "fallen out of love with politics". He has repeatedly denied even an interest in running for President in '08 and appears awkward and sheepish when pressed about it. The reason for this is that Gore has found the success in business that he lacked in politics precisely because forward-thinking is most often rewarded in the business world, whereas in politics it is often the recipe for failure, and rarely a major precondition for 'getting things done'. Politics in recent years has come to mean calculating just what can be achieved in the current moment instead of what ought to be accomplished as an ideal, where a myopic understanding of power manipulation and positional jockeying is of higher value than moral and ideological integrity.

What exactly do I mean by forward-thinking? No better example than Gore's fierce defense of global warming as a major threat to planet Earth in the 2000 election. Gore's prescient understanding of the gravity of the crisis clearly preceded that moment, but it was the election that brought the political ideation of it and then saw it crushed. In one of the more famous debates, Bush derided him for being an 'o-zone man', and in another he questioned the validity of the science behind it. Gore's forward-thinking and moral judgment applies not only to his stance on global warming, but also his courageous criticism of the Iraq war, both before the invasion and after as well as his shrewd concern over our curtailed freedoms as a result of September 11 (constitutional abuse, domestic spying, sanctioned torture). Going farther back, he was right about confronting Milosevic in Bosnia and Kosovo and he was right about welfare reform and cutting the federal deficit. But prescience clearly does not beget apotheosis in American politics. After the 2000 election Gore was essentially ridiculed and written off into political oblivion.

My point in writing this is that Gore is doing a disservice to the citizens of the United States by actively pursuing a disengaged role in politics. I'm not asking him to run for President or to be the savior of the Democratic party. I respect his decision to tackle the world's problems as a businessman and to try to solve the climate crisis from an entirely different podium than the President of the United States. But Gore has to understand the chips at stake both in this primary and in the general election. I'm sure, in fact, that he does. But he shouldn't allow his newfound political timidity to enfeeble his potential to change and influence the dynamics of the election. I strongly feel that Gore should endorse a democratic candidate. He himself has said he will do so. Skeptics say that Gore will abstain from endorsing any candidate because taking sides in the primary will tarnish his vaulted national/international reputation, that he has transcended the pettiness of American politics. Others say Gore will reserve judgment until the national election, so as to preserve the potential to sway policy in whichever future presidency. Still others point to Gore's endorsement of Dean in the 2004 election as caution enough for him to avoid making the same mistake.

As a true progressive and one who has always spoken his mind openly, I believe Gore should endorse Edwards or Obama. Gore's dislike for Clinton is well documented, and besides, one has to believe that Gore favors the two more liberal candidates and particularly Obama for his message of unity and bipartisanship as well as his consistent criticism of Iraq. Gore may have been ostracized from the political scene in 2000, but he should not allow his own embarrassment to keep him from doing the right thing. As iconic a figure as he's become, he has the power to directly influence the contour and direction of this primary. He would give any candidate in the field the imprimatur not only on the environment but on a whole range of progressive issues.