Last night in Detroit, Michigan, former Vice President and former presidential candidate Al Gore endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president.  One interesting fact is that Gore announced his presidential run on June 16, 1999, exactly nine years to the day that he endorses Barack Obama for President.  In his speech, Gore spoke specifically about how important elections are to our foreign policy, our Supreme Court,  Katrina, the Iraq War, wounded veterans, food safety, tainted products from China, and the national deficit.  The former vice president and preeminent expert on climate change reiterated that we need change with respect to our government as well as to how we solve our global warming crisis.  Alluding to John McCain, Gore also stressed that a long tenure in Washington DC does not amount to “judgement, wisdom, and vision.”  This endorsement is significant for the Obama campaign for one reason, “Florida, Florida, Florida.”  After the 2000 debacle, Al Gore is the poster child for what could have been.  Gore out on the campaign stump will remind a significant portion of  Floridian voters of what happened in the 2000 presidential campaign against George W. Bush.  Given the state of the economy and the many colossal foreign policy blunders of the Bush administration, Gore will be a vivid reminder of what many believe to be the injustice of 2000.  His presence will remind Floridians how important it is that they turn out in great numbers.  Further, considering the reaction of the Michigan crowd when Gore brought up the 2000 election, there are many still hoping to right that wrong.  It doesn’t help that McCain has a 95% pro-Bush voting record thereby making it easy for Floridians to replace the GW of 2000 with the McCain of 2008 enabling them to exact their vengeance.  So though Gore did not come out when it really could have given the Obama campaign a boost, his endorsement is still very valuable to the campaign especially if he backs it up by stumping for Obama in Florida.   Si Se Puede!