Al Gore wins Oscar, teases over candidacy for US president By Hans Dahne

dpa German Press Agency Published: Monday February 26, 2007

By Hans Dahne,
Los Angeles - Seven years after his election defeat against
US President George W Bush, former vice president Al Gore has
received belated vindication.
While Bush was bestowed with a Golden Razzie award two years ago
as worst leading actor in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Hollywood
honoured Gore with an Oscar.

An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim, follows Al
Gore on a lecture tour highlighting the dangers of global warming.
The film won the coveted statuette on Sunday evening in Los Angeles
for best documentary.

The 58-year-old visibly relished his moment of triumph, but when
pushed, he declined to answer the most important question - whether
he would run as a candidate in the 2008 presidential election.

When actor Leonardo DiCaprio probed for an answer, Gore had the
audience holding their breath when he replied with, [0x201c]My fellow
citizens, I am using this opportunity to formally declare my
intention to[0x2026].," before being drowned out by music, and left the
stage, laughing. He has repeatedly said he has no plans to run again
in 2008.

Gore[0x2019]s story is the improbable tale of a failed presidential
candidate who, after his election defeat, returns to his long-time
environmental quest. He toured the country with his one-man show
warning his fellow citizens of the dire consequences of climate
change.

A new side of Gore was revealed in the documentary. His former
image of being stiff and robot-like from his presidential campaign,
was replaced with a "relaxed and happy " one, as described by the
Washington Post.

Gore now has fans admiring him like a rock star. In Boise, Idaho,
10,000 seats to Gore's environmental presentation sold faster than
tickets for an Elton John concert scheduled for the same day.

The zeitgeist has begun to change, according to Gore, crediting
popular will to "confront and solve" the global warming crisis.

[0x201c]It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue," he told the
worldwide audience on Sunday with the Oscar award in his hand.

"We have everything we need to get started with the possible
exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's
renew it," he said.

Gore earned himself the nickname [0x201c]The Goracle" due to his
apocalyptic warnings of an impending climate deterioration in the
documentary and book printed last year under the same title.

The self-styled environmental activist takes his audience and
readers on an emotional and intellectual journey. Gore explains
clearly and with surprising humour why the earth is heating up, which
consequences this development will have and what every citizen can do
against it.

For a full 100 minutes, Gore discloses in his movie to his fellow
Americans, consumers of about a quarter of global energy, some of the
bitter truths as a result of their wasteful attitudes.

Entire city blocks of Manhattan and greater San Francisco are
doomed to be inundated in the future if sea levels continue to rise
due to global warming, warns Gore citing several scientific reports.

Even the White House could look forward to a beachside location if
the Potomac River bursts its banks, he joked.

Gore[0x2019]s documentary shook audiences awake and has become a
commercial success, topping 45 million dollars at the box office
worldwide and selling 1 million DVDs.

Since its premiere in May 2006, the movie is the
third-highest-grossing documentary, behind Fahrenheit 9/11 and March
of the Penguins.

The message, reinforced by the latest UN climate report with
sinister warnings about increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts
and rising sea levels, has even been noticed in Washington.

The direct relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and
climate change is not entirely doubted or even completely denied by
the US government anymore.

However, Dick Cheney, Gore[0x2019]s successor as vice president, frankly
admitted that he had neither watched Gore[0x2019]s film nor did he plan to
do so in the future.

And Gore should thank President Bush in his Oscar speech,
according to US talk show host and comedian Jay Leno, after all,
Gore[0x2019]s Oscar award was only possible due to Bush[0x2019]s shortcomings in
his environmental policies.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency