Gore could be Democratic dark horse

US: Tipped to win an Oscar later this month for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth and nominated last week for the Nobel …

US:Tipped to win an Oscar later this month for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth and nominated last week for the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore is enjoying the kind of publicity many politicians would kill for.

The former vice-president is touring the country with his talk about climate change and will shortly publish a new book, The Assault on Reason, which will explore the damage he says the Bush administration has done to the functioning of American democracy.

At a Silicon Valley conference last Friday, Mr Gore rolled his eyes when asked for the umpteenth time if he would join the 2008 presidential race, before giving his standard reply.

"I don't have any plans to run for president, but I appreciate the request," he said.

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While Mr Gore was talking about the environment on Friday, a dozen presidential hopefuls were addressing the Democratic National Council at the Washington Hilton hotel.

Barack Obama and John Edwards sought to present themselves as fresh, daring alternatives to Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner whose cautious style and shifting position on Iraq have cost her support among liberals. For her part, Mrs Clinton reminded delegates that she was a fighter who understood how to defeat Republicans.

Among the stalls offering buttons and bumper stickers celebrating everyone from Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama to former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (who was giving out popcorn) there was no mention of Mr Gore. No matter how often he insists that he has no plans to seek the presidency, however, many Democrats believe that Mr Gore could yet join the race.

Donna Brazile, Mr Gore's campaign manager in 2000, when he won the popular vote but lost the presidency to George Bush, said recently that a 2008 run could not be ruled out.

"Wait till Oscar night. If Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows," she said.

Mr Gore's weight, which has ballooned since he left office, is widely seen as a barometer of his ambitions, and the Clinton, Obama and Edwards campaigns have been studying his girth closely.

Mr Gore's Oscar and Nobel prize nominations recognise his success in calling attention to the crisis facing the world in global warming and the passion he has brought to that campaign. Last week's report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that Mr Gore's warnings were supported by scientific authority.

The former vice-president was an early opponent of the Iraq war and a harsh critic of the Bush administration's approach to civil liberties, condemning the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay as well as restrictions on the rights of US citizens.

If Mr Gore does decide to join the presidential race, his high name recognition and huge fundraising potential mean he can afford to wait longer than most candidates. He could even wait until after the Nobel peace prize is announced in December, a month before the first caucuses and primaries.

As a former vice-president and a Vietnam veteran, Mr Gore's national security credentials are impressive and he has more executive experience than any other potential candidate, Democrat or Republican.

One Democratic pollster, who works for a rival campaign, suggested that Mr Obama, who has been criticised for his inexperience, could team up with Mr Gore before the beginning of the primaries next year.

"A ticket offering Gore for president and Obama for vice-president would be irresistible. It could blow Hillary right out of the water," he said.