NYT: Star in New Role, Gore Revisits Old Stage
By MARK LEIBOVICH and PATRICK HEALY
Published: March 21, 2007
WASHINGTON, March 20 — The last time Al Gore appeared publicly inside the United States Capitol, he was certifying the Electoral College victory of George W. Bush. He returns on Wednesday, a heartbreak loser turned Oscar boasting Nobel hopeful globe trotting multimillionaire pop culture eminence....
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In a brief phone interview Tuesday night, Mr. Gore said he was eager to appear before the House and Senate on Wednesday, even though he has turned down invitations in the past. There is, he said, “an unwritten tradition” that former presidents and vice presidents testify only rarely before Congress. He accepted this time in light of the Democratic takeover and what he calls “a new determination to deal with this issue,” referring to climate change.
“Mother Nature is a powerful witness and has been sending some pretty powerful messages that people are hearing,” Mr. Gore said....
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Since appearing at the Academy Awards last month, Mr. Gore has crisscrossed the Atlantic (twice) on a blitz of speaking engagements, some of which earned him six figures. In May, he will publicize his newest book, “The Assault on Reason,” billed in promotional copy as “a visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism and blind faith has combined with the degradation of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason.”
Friends say Mr. Gore is content to be an evangelist for the world rather than a candidate for office. Hassan Nemazee, a Gore fund-raiser in 2000 and a friend of Mr. Gore and his wife, Tipper, was host of a dinner for them last fall, and recalled that Mr. Gore expressed his disdain for the “tomfoolery of politics” — the endless fund-raising, the repetitive glad-handing, the sniping among operatives.
“It’s hard to imagine that returning to politics would make them happier than they are now,” Mr. Nemazee said....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/us/politics/21gore.html?hp
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