Gore a Likely Convention Star

The Democrats haven't finalized the lineup for their upcoming convention in Denver, but one man seems certain to land a central role in the proceedings: Al Gore. Once mocked for his wooden style, Gore now enjoys even higher approval ratings than Barack Obama, Reuters reports. Tickets for a recent Gore lecture were snapped up in less than 24 hours.

Gore's transformed persona has won him new fans in Washington as well. With a Nobel Prize in one hand and an Oscar in the other, he now commands respect from a huge swath of the political establishment. Both presidential candidates have embraced the former VP's challenge on renewable fuels. "There has been no more successful defeated presidential candidate," said one historian. (More Al Gore stories.)