"Al Gore Makes Surprise Visit to Netroots Nation" (UPDATED)

UPDATE: MORE details from Andrew @ the NPI Advocate.

Ari Melber (The Nation):

Al Gore made a surprise appearance at the Netroots Nation conference in Texas on Saturday, joining Speaker Nancy Pelosi on stage to address progressive activists. "I feel right at home here!" he said as he took the stage, while Pelosi and conference director Gina Cooper looked on. Organizers kept the visit secret all weekend, guarding details as if it were Obama's Middle Eastern CODEL. Rumors only leaked hours before Gore's speech -- and the New York Times Caucus blog picked up chatter on the visit from Twitter updates sent by the tech-savvy crowd.

Gore thanked the several thousand attendees for creating a "movement" that can "reclaim the integrity of American democracy" by fostering a "well-informed citizenry that is involved and engaged." Drawing on the critique of the media and democratic discourse from his book, The Assault on Reason, Gore contrasted the netroots' fact-driven writing and activism with the "malignant manifestation of hunger for power" among corrupt leaders on the right.

Gore devoted the bulk of his remarks to his crusade against global warming, casting it as a moral, economic and security imperative for the United States. He drew several standing ovations from the energetic crowd. Gore urged activists to join his bipartisan campaign at WeCanSolveIt.org. The effort has drawn 1.3 million supporters, he said, with a goal of ten million. "You speak to and influence and connect with so many millions of people," he said to the gathered bloggers, asking for their help in recruiting more bipartisan support for the climate movement.

Gore took open questions from the floor, which focused on climate change, alternative fuels, and the prospect of serving in an Obama administration. He respectfully demurred on the hypothetical of returning to government service, saying "I want to convey my respect for the idea...I really feel the highest and best use of whatever talents and experiences I've gained in my life is to focus on trying to enlarge the political space within which elected officials and cabinet members address this climate crisis." On the other hand, it's hard to imagine a more influential platform to advance those goals than serving as Secretary of State in an Obama administration, where Gore could prioritize climate change in the international portfolio and apply his NSC and VP experience to help end the war responsibly.

Gore also advised against proposals to use coal for automobiles, which would "vastly increase" CO2, in response to a question, drawing more enthusiastic cheers for his wonkery. Pelosi heralded Gore's early work on technology in Congress, saying "without him there would be no Netroots Nation."

Anti-war activists also briefly protested during her remarks, saying she should be held accountable for not using her power to end the war.

Howie P.S.: If Nancy thought appearing with The Goreacle would eliminate the pushback, I guess she was wrong. Avi Zenilman has more details about Gore's remarks.

"Al Gore Endorses Obama" (video)

WaPo, with video (02:14):

Former vice president Al Gore finally stepped forward to endorse Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign on Monday night, telling a crowd of thousands at a hockey arena, "Take it from me -- elections matter."

Obama's first campaign appearance with Gore came as no surprise, but it triggered renewed speculation about whether the two might form a joint ticket.

"The outcome of this election will affect the future of our planet," Gore said at the Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit. He mounted a fierce defense of Obama's age and experience, saying that the senator from Illinois, 46, has more than enough of both to serve as president.

Gore resisted efforts to elicit his endorsement during the Democratic primaries, but he announced Monday in a letter to supporters that he intends "to do whatever I can to make sure [Obama] is elected President of the United States." He also solicited donations from members of AlGore.com on behalf of Obama -- the first time, he said, that he has asked his supporters to give to a political campaign.

The theme of Monday night's speeches was Democratic Party unity, with Obama, Gore and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm all vowing to bring the party back together after a hard-fought primary. But the crowd was not ready to come along. It loudly booed Granholm after she mentioned Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), drawing a rebuke from Obama when he took the stage.

"I want everybody here to be absolutely clear," he said. "Senator Clinton is one of the finest public servants we have in American life today. . . . She is worthy of our respect. She is worthy of our honor."

Even so, Obama sent a strong signal Monday that he is not considering Clinton to be his vice presidential nominee, through his selection of Patti Solis Doyle to be chief of staff to whomever he does choose. Solis Doyle was ousted as Clinton's campaign manager in February.

The announcement outraged Clinton supporters, who saw it as proof that Obama is not taking Clinton seriously. Since losing her job, Solis Doyle is no longer a part of the Clinton inner circle and is barely on speaking terms with her former boss.

"It's a slap in the face," Susie Tompkins Buell, a prominent Clinton donor, said Monday. "Why would they put somebody that was so clearly ineffective in such a position?" She said it was a "calculated decision" by the Obama team to "send a message that [Clinton] is not being considered for the ticket."

Solis Doyle is the most prominent person allied with the Clinton campaign to move to the Obama circle; so far, no one who stayed with Clinton until the end has made a similar leap. Since clinching the Democratic nomination two weeks ago, Obama has sought to win over Clinton donors and is now facing a challenge by the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), for her female supporters.

Clinton insiders said picking a fired Clinton staff member will not help ease the transition. "Who can blame Obama for rewarding Patti? He would never be the nominee without her," said one person who has worked for both Hillary and Bill Clinton and remains close to them.

Although she has devoted most of her career to working for Hillary Clinton, Solis Doyle was blamed by some close Clinton loyalists -- and reportedly the candidate herself -- for not keeping the campaign in order heading into Iowa. After being yanked from her role, Solis Doyle said she would travel with the campaign and remain an adviser, but she was not seen on the road again.

Officially, Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee offered praise for Solis Doyle. "Patti will be an asset and a good addition to the Obama campaign," Elleithee said. "After nearly two decades in political life, she brings with her the ability to tap an extensive network that will be a huge asset to Senator Obama. As Senator Clinton has said, we're all going to do our part to help elect Senator Obama as the next president of the United States."

As long-standing as Solis Doyle's ties to Clinton once were, her Chicago roots are even deeper. Her first job in politics was working on Mayor Richard M. Daley's campaign staff, and she has a long friendship with Obama's chief political adviser, David Axelrod. She also is close to Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), another Chicagoan and Obama confidant.

Since clinching the nomination, Obama has moved quickly to prepare for the general election. He moved key parts of the Democratic National Committee to Chicago, announced a vice presidential selection committee and pivoted to confront McCain.

On Monday, Obama announced that he will travel to Iraq and Afghanistan before the November balloting. He may also make a trip to the Middle East, his advisers said. Obama spoke by phone with the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, about the war Monday, one day after McCain met with Zebari in Washington.

Obama, speaking with reporters as he landed in Flint, Mich., for a campaign event on the economy, repeated his call for U.S. troop withdrawal and for Iraqis to bear a larger share of the war's fiscal burdens, especially reconstruction. He again tied the war in Iraq to U.S. economic concerns. And later, in a speech there, Obama said: "It's time to stop spending billions of dollars a week on a blank check for an Iraqi government that won't spend its own oil revenues."

Barack Obama

"Al Gore Hosting Major Fundraising Event For DNC Uniting Clinton And Obama Donors"

TPM Election Central:

Al Gore is set to do a major fundraising event uniting top Hillary and Obama donors on behalf of the Democratic National Committee on May 31st, a sign that the Dem fundraising establishment is beginning to unite and ramp up in earnest for the general election.

Of those listed on the invite, Maureen White, Robert Zimmerman and Al Puchala are major Hillary backers. Meanwhile, Orin Kramer, Mitchell Draizing, Brian Mathis and Jamie Whitehead are Obama supporters.

There's a lot of chatter out there to the effect that the Republican National Committee is outraising its counterpart, the DNC, in advance of the general election.

While this won't mean that Obama won't have a financial advantage against McCain, given his astonishing fundraising success, Obama backers would of course like to see the DNC as flush as the RNC, and will be cheered by signs that the Dem donor and fundraising establishment is uniting -- in this case, with the help of Al Gore -- to gear up for the general.

For the privilege of attending this particular Gore event, donors are being asked to shell out up to $28,500 apiece.

"For Obama, a convenient truth: There's no sign Gore will run"

Lynn Sweet (Chicago Sun-Times):

Former Vice President Al Gore, in Chicago on Wednesday, gave no indication he wants to run for the White House again as he delivered the best stump speech I have heard in the 2008 presidential season.

Gore talked about change in its most useful context, attached to a subject -- the climate. He also, in his dismal predictions, gave reason for hope. There is a lesson here for candidates who campaign on change and hope.

"I'm Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States," he deadpanned in opening before the Economic Club of Chicago. A crowd of 2,101 people came to the Hyatt Regency to listen to Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize last Friday for sounding the alarms on the climate crisis.

"The planet has a fever," said Gore, who was introduced by new club chief William Daley, the mayoral brother who chaired Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

Gore calls himself a "recovering politician." The Nobel Prize triggered speculation that Gore would jump into the 2008 race. There is no political intelligence to indicate that's a course Gore will take.

Earlier on Wednesday, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee told a Norwegian broadcaster, "I don't have plans to be a candidate again."

"What I am working to do," said Gore, is to "create conditions" in the United States so that a new president in 2009 "will face a new transformed political situation at home."

Gore painted a depressing picture of the catastrophic effects of global warming in a 35-minute verbal version of his Oscar-winning movie, "An Inconvenient Truth."

The North Polar ice cap is melting at a record pace, but Gore said it's not a reason to quit. "Don't give up hope. ... We can solve it."

I've been in Chicago listening to supporters of White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). They're worried that Obama's message of change and hope is too vague and cautious. They're worried that he is so consensus oriented that he is not making it clear where he draws a line.

Rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards also are chanting the change mantra. Obama does not own the word. His most ardent backers I've been talking to worry that his caution makes it hard to discern his non-negotiable moral imperatives.

"We now face common challenges worldwide," said Gore as he wove climate change into the international picture. He said he wants to use the recognition from the Nobel Prize to deliver his climate warnings "more effectively."

Said an Obama backer, "Good thing he is not running."