Yeah. . . In case you hadn't heard.

In the last year he's also won both an Oscar and an Emmy Award. And in addition to the years he's spent lecturing and travelling the world to campaign for policies to combat man-made climate change, he also co-founded and ran an investment firm specializing in sustainable, environmentally progressive business ventures. And he created an interactive television network -- the first of its kind -- that enables viewers to create their own programming about the issues and topics that they think are important to society. And he wrote a book about how the founders of the U.S.A. intended for our democracy to thrive on informed and vigorous public debate, and how that "marketplace of ideas" has been squelched by tabloid media obsessed with trivial celebrity gossip and choked by religious superstition that allows fear and popular myth to trump science and reason. Earning the affectionate moniker, "The Goracle," he predicted with astonishing accuracy the disastrous outcome of the U.S. invasion of Iraq before it happened. He spoke out against the Iraq War and the Bush Administration's assault on domestic civil liberties as early as '03, before we had the faintest idea what was really going on. But the media back then reported that Al Gore had "gone nuts."

It's also worth noting that, back in the 80s, seeing the potential benefit to the nation, as a Senator he introduced the legislation that made way for the creation of a public Internet. In his spare time, he's on the boards of both Apple and Google.

There's a strong grassroots movement that believes Al is the most qualified person in America to be President, and they recently bought a full-page ad in the New York Times to say so, and to try to drum up more support. But every indication is that he still has no intention to run.

Whaddya say, America? Would you have a beer with him now?

-jw