Hillary Clinton is leading the field for the Democrats, but, according to a recent poll by Suffolk University's political research centre, that's only because Gore hasn't made the decision to run. As soon as those polled see him in the mix, the outcome shifts dramatically.

Democrats in the key state of New Hampshire would prefer Al Gore to run for president in 2008 even though he has yet to enter the race for the nomination.

A survey of Democrats in the US state has shown that the former vice-president would force Hillary Clinton, the current frontrunner, into second place by six percentage points. - Telegraph

"There's no doubt about the power of Al Gore," David Paleologos, a Suffolk University Pollster, said. "When we put him in the ballot test, he melted the entire Democratic field, even beat Hillary Clinton: 32 percent Gore, 26 percent Clinton." - 7 News

The results will add to the pressure on Mr Gore from his supporters to run for White House again, despite losing to George W Bush in 2000.

In recent years he has reinvented himself as an Oscar-winning environmentalist and multi-millionaire. In a further sign that he might be considering a run, Mr Gore has even dispensed with his beard.

Left-leaning Democrats in particular are pushing for him to declare his candidacy because of his strong stance on climate change and on the Iraq war, which he opposed from the outset. - Telegraph

"If Al Gore runs, Republicans should be very afraid," said one blogger on Politico.com yesterday. "As much as they like to make fun of him, no one can deny that he is the candidate that has the most appeal and ability to energise his base." - Guardian

But, will he? Few beyond Gore himself will know if he's just biding his time, and waiting for the odds to bait him into it.

Mr Gore has repeatedly denied he is planning a White House run. But the absence so far of a strong, unifying choice for the Democratic nomination, Mr Gore's enhanced reputation as an environmental campaigner, and deep Republican divisions are encouraging speculation that he may change his mind.

"I have not ruled out the possibility of getting into politics some time in the future but I don't expect to because I don't expect things to change," Mr Gore says in an interview in the July edition of Fast Company magazine. "If they did change, then I would feel differently."

... "In what may be the greatest brand makeover in history, Gore is being hailed as a visionary who was right about everything from global warming to Iraq," writes Fast Company's Ellen McGirt. "At 59, he's an Academy award winner, a bestselling author, a frontrunner for the Nobel prize, and a concert promoter." - Guardian

Over the last six months we've seen a lot of reluctant admissions from the current federal government - admitting that global climate change (they managed to actually string those words together in the same sentence) meant more than just balmy winters in New York State - and, more importantly, that the human race has something to do with it.

In February, two senior White House officials published an open letter seeking to correct inaccurate stories in the press 'that the president's concern about climate change is new.' 'In fact', they reported, 'climate change has been a top priority since the President's first year in office'. To prove it, they had found 37 words he said about the subject in 2001; 46 words in 2002, and 32 words in January 2007. In January 2007 he had even managed to say 'climate change'. This demonstrated, they claimed, that he has shown 'continued leadership on the issue'. - Heat, by George Monbiot, Preface to 2007 Edition

Revelations of dishonesty and smoke-screens at the highest level have put the spotlight back on Al Gore, standing with a perceived halo of purity.

We had our own poll a few weeks ago. Most of the votes came through from the political section of Digg, so should be a little more accurate than the potential bias of our regular Celsias readers. Gore is running at 71% on the Celsias poll at the moment! Add your vote!

Meanwhile, Obama is making his own global warming thoughts known:

Hat tip: Linton