Since losing to President George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election, Gore has spent much of his time researching and raising awareness on the effects of global warming and climate change. He won an Oscar for his "An Inconvenient Truth" and the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. It is clear that Gore plans to continue working as one of the world's leading environmentalists.
Gore's announcement on Oct. 12 that he would split the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change increased the speculation that he will return to politics. Many politicians, as well as the general public, thought that this win would provide a good foundation for Gore to enter the presidential race. However, since winning the prize, Gore seems more devoted than ever to continuing his climate change campaign and environmental work. This is a smart choice; global warming, climate change, as well as many other environmental dilemmas have posed problems for years. Gore's campaign is only a step in a series of many necessary actions that must be taken in order to solve these dilemmas. Gore's winning the Nobel Peace Prize raised more awareness of the issues at hand and provided Gore with another push to move forward with his environmental work.
Even if Gore is to run for president, and become one of the Democratic frontrunners, he would more than likely lose the election. At this point, his rivals include Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, each of whom has raised over $70 million. This puts Gore at a distinct economic disadvantage. Along with acute monetary disadvantages, Gore will be splitting the vote with Hillary Clinton. Gore's constituency is similar to Hillary Clinton's because he was former President Bill Clinton's vice president. This will reduce Senator Clinton's lead in the Democratic polls, which would not be beneficial to Gore, Hillary or the Democratic campaign in general.
This does not mean Gore will never be a good presidential candidate, or that he should not or will not run for president again. The current race for the presidency, however, is not the right time for Gore. It seems that many of his supporters want to get him into the White House so he can use presidential power to take action towards saving and protecting the environment. Gore thinks, "When the American people have the awareness of what this [climate change] means for their children, and for their grandchildren, that all of civilization is at risk here, then they will demand that whoever is running for office, whoever is elected to serve, will have to respond to this." Maybe after Gore fulfills his duty of raising environmental awareness, he will be that someone that the American people elect to "respond" to the "risk" of environmental dilemmas such as global warming.