Graduated from Harvard, with honors
Bachelor of Arts degree in government
Opposed the Vietnam War and could have avoided going by taking a NG spot, but did not.
As a journalist, investigated and uncovered corruption in government.
Eight years in the House of Representatives.
Eight years in the Senate.
Eight years as Vice President.
Won the Presidency by more than half a million votes in 2000.
Before it was 'popular' Gore went out on a limb to protect the planet.
From Wikipedia:
"According to The Concord Monitor, "Gore was one of the first politicians to grasp the seriousness of climate change and to call for a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases. He held the first congressional hearings on the subject in the late 1970s."<56> During his tenure in Congress, Gore co-sponsored hearings on toxic waste in 1978–79, and hearings on global warming in the 1980s.<57> In 1989, while still a Senator, Gore published an editorial in the Washington Post, in which he argued, "Humankind has suddenly entered into a brand new relationship with the planet Earth. The world's forests are being destroyed; an enormous hole is opening in the ozone layer. Living species are dying at an unprecedented rate."<58>"
2007 Nobel Peace Prize
"The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level. My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis." Al Gore
Widely respected and admired, Gore can restore the world's confidence in America and American's confidence in their government. He has also proven he is not afraid to speak truth to power.
And, apparently a lot of people agree:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/the_democrats_best_hope_is_al.htmlSeth Swirsky, Conservative writing for Real Clear Politics:
"Whether you agree with his Global Warming stance or not (I don't), or whether you think he should be wearing earth tones or not, Al Gore is by very far the most substantial candidate the left has and yet it continues to ignore him. . . . As a conservative, I'm glad."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=242088http://www.newsweek.com/id/77828http://pundits.thehill.com/2007/10/11/al-gore-for-president/http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/19/nobel-prize-gore-oped-cx_hwm_1022maathai.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/11/15/forbes-tracker-appeal-oped-cx_daa_1115appeal.html