As far as journalists are concerned, it seems, the only thing better on the campaign trail than a story is a non-story. To wit, reportage of former vice president Al Gore's endorsement of ... Barack Obama. (Shocker!)

The all-time most successful Election Day loser (so successful was he in losing that he actually won), Gore proclaimed on AlGore.com that "From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure [Obama] is elected President of the United States." This would include, presumably, helping run a campaign that steadfastly avoids mention of his former boss Bill Clinton; after all, that worked out well for him the last time, eh?

Perhapest the statesmanest of all statesmen never to actually hold the highest office in his home country, Gore's mark is all over this election. Gore's vice presidential nominee in the ill-fated Election 2000 campaign, the switch-hitting Joseph Lieberman, was rumored as short-listed for a veep nod from Republican Party nominee John McCain; though Lieberman has since denied that he would accept such an offer from McCain, it's hard to believe that the conservative's recent chumminess with the Republican would be ignored when handing out McCain Administration positions.

Meanwhile, ties to the Democratic Party ticket are obvious, particularly with Hillary Clinton presumably holding a choice spot among Obama's candidates for ticket partner. Gore has often been criticized for not directly deploying then-President Bubba to stump for him during Election 2000, but Gore may have been (non-)motivated then due to Hillary's reported dislike for the man.

(The footnote here references Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr.'s "Hillary Clinton Her Way: The Biography," starting with, say page 123:

[Hillary] had never had to compete fore her husband's attention on policy matters. ... The two "never had a good relationship" and vied over access to Bill. Hillary was upset that Gore had too much influence over her husband. Gore, for his part, saw Hillary "as too much involved" in presidential decision-making. The bad chemistry between the two was obvious to White House insiders...)

Gee, no wonder Gore waited for so long to get behind a Democrat ... unless, of course, this strategery was merely further indication of Gore's winning/losing tactics. Four more years for vice president Gore, anyone...?