By Tom Ashbrook

Al Gore took it in the teeth in the 2000 presidential race. A half million popular vote victory in the general election, and no White House for stiff Al Gore.

He went home to Nashville. He grew a beard. Taught a course. Put together a little slideshow on global warming and flew coach around the world delivering it.

“Hi, I’m Al Gore,” he said again and again,” and I used to be the next president of the United States.” Used to be.

Now flash forward to the exploding 2008 campaign. Hillary. Obama. McCain says he’s in. All kinds of hullabaloo.

But wait. There’s Al Gore. Nominated for a Nobel Prize. Winning an Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth.” Huge, smart, and cool.

This hour On Point: should Al Gore run for President? And will he?

Photo: Al Gore hugs Davis Guggenheim backstage during the 79th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007. (AP)

Guests:

Matt Bai, writer for the New York Times Magazine

Whit Ayers, Republican strategist

Arianna Huffington, author of “On Becoming Fearless” and publisher of the Huffington Post.;
Martin Peretz, editor in chief of The New Republic.