Inside Politics

Gore lore

Now that former Sen.John Edwards has endorsed Sen.Barack Obama, someone else is lurking like the ultimate Democratic trophy for either Mr. Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Who will win Al Gore’s most weighty and most majestic endorsement?

There’s already a “Gore Watch” under way among select pundits, though Mr. Gore has suggested he won’t utter a peep until the primaries are finished. Mr. Obama recently said he had spoken “periodically” to the global warming scion. Mrs. Clinton has said little about the man who was once a stalwart in the old Clinton White House — back when “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” blared from every loudspeaker.

It is a “Maalox moment for Hillary,” noted Lucianne Goldberg, a figure from the Monica Lewinsky scandal who now runs a conservative chat site.

We won’t have long to wait for the big news, according to the Daily Kos, which has projected the most likely dates for Mr. Gore to go public with his favor.

“Obama has proven to be so clever with stealing Hillary’s thunder he has Al Gore in the bag and is just waiting for the right moment to announce it,” noted the political blog.

The projected dates? It’s either May 21, June 3 or June 4 — following the final primaries in Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

“An endorsement by Gore now, combined with all of the contests being finished, would perhaps seal the deal and cause Hillary to drop out immediately,” the Daily Kos said.

Conventional thought

The moment of truth for all giddy Democrats is just 101 days away, according to the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC), which released a few details about the bash in Denver — which begins Aug. 25.

Every one of the 650 official buses and motor poll vehicles are hybrids powered by flex fuel or biofuel. There will be 900 “Green Team” volunteers “to assist with our comprehensive recycling, composting and waste minimization program,” said Leah D. Daughtry, chief executive officer of the DNCC.

But hold your ears, folks — media buzz will be deafening: While there’s 675,000 square feet of space devoted to the convention itself, an additional 200,000 square feet has been given to the press — all 15,000 of its members.

Our hospitality

The Tennessee Republican Party “welcomed” Michelle Obama’s visit to Nashville for a fundraiser last night with an online video that takes the Democratic presidential front-runner’s wife to task for saying she hadn’t felt proud of her country for more than 20 years, the Associated Press reports.

Story Continues →