“Gore the Policy Apostle can utter statements that most colleagues would regard as wildly impolitic: calling for elimination of the internal combustion engine by 2020 or denouncing excessive consumerism in Western nations as evidence of a ‘dysfunctional civilization.’ Gore the Politician, say some of these people, is prone to brooding over the electoral risks of his beliefs.”

“… environmentalists note that the [Clinton/Gore] administration since [the Kyoto Protocol of 1997] has done little to build support for the treaty’s passage or to reduce U.S. emissions.”

– John F. Harris and Ellen Nakashima, “Gore’s Greenness Fades,” Washington Post, February 28, 2000.

A niche of MasterResource is remembering the past to inform the present in energy/environmental policy debates. With a strong worldview and historical perspective, this emphasis is a rich vein to mine.

I recently uncovered a Washington Post piece written on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign by reporters John Harris and Ellen Nakashima. It contrasts candidate Gore from Climate Apostle Al. (There is also a large disconnect between environmentalist Gore and consumer Gore.)

Lastly, this disconnect can be seen with other opportunistic politicians (including the late John McCain) that opportunistically seized upon the climate issue only to drop it like a rock when it did not have political traction. Evidently, only an out-of-office Gore is the climate alarmist of his alleged convictions–and still the hypocrite when it comes to limos, airplanes, heated pools, and the rest of it.

————-

In his 1992 book, “Earth in the Balance,” Al Gore described boldly where environmentalism fit in his priorities: “We must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization.” Eight years later, those words carry an ironic echo. As he runs for president, environmentalism has yet to emerge even as a central organizing principle of Gore’s campaign–never mind his plans for civilization. Instead, improving the quality of air, land and water–an issue Gore once spoke of with almost spiritual fervor–has been at the margins of his race for the White House. Gore usually gives the environment a passing mention during stump speeches, but the campaign has not devoted a major policy address to global warming, the subject of his book. Only last week, with the environment at last emerging as an important subject on the Democratic campaign trail, Gore aired his first television commercials on the subject. His campaign Web site has a place to click for policy statements about “The Environment,” along with 31 other click-points such as “Responsible Middle-Class Tax Cuts,” “Saving Our Schools” and “Protecting America’s Steel Industry.” Gore’s wariness about the implications of his environmental beliefs in the 2000 campaign underscores a larger tension within the candidate, according to many environmental activists and some administration officials who have worked with him on the environment and other issues. Gore the Policy Apostle can utter statements that most colleagues would regard as wildly impolitic: calling for elimination of the internal combustion engine by 2020 or denouncing excessive consumerism in Western nations as evidence of a “dysfunctional civilization.” Gore the Politician, say some of these people, is prone to brooding over the electoral risks of his beliefs. Even some sympathizers believe he has trouble merging his passion for millenarian ideas–his book calls for a “Global Marshall Plan” on the environment–with the instinctive caution that has marked his political career. Head and heart often seem out of step. “If I was to give him one piece of generic political advice, it’s to seize the moment,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. “He’s a very well-informed and dedicated environmentalist. Sometimes I wish he would take more risks. Al Gore waits for the opening.”

It is a view shared by some administration officials. “There is no one that has done a better job of raising the issue in terms of the science,” said Eileen Claussen, a former assistant secretary of state who worked with the vice president on global warming. But she added: “The reality is that he hasn’t been courageous.”

“His first inclination is always to take the most aggressive approach,” said a former administration official during the first term, who worked closely on policy with Gore at both the White House and at an agency. “But the political side of his mind turns on and makes him aware of the traps that might be sprung.” Gore’s reputation–whether he should be viewed as a principled champion or a politician who talks a better game than he delivers–has taken on particular currency in recent days. The environment is a potent issue in some of the next primary states, such as Washington, which votes Tuesday, and California, on March 7. And Bill Bradley, Gore’s rival for the nomination, is trying to revive his campaign by accusing Gore and the Clinton administration of repeatedly neglecting environmental interests. Gore has now put some focus on the topic, but that has come, according to Democratic sources, only after discussions extending back a year or more about what role environmental issues should play in his strategy. Last year, some Gore advisers were urging him to approach the issue warily. The theory then, according to participants in the discussions, was that stressing his environmental commitments would spook business interests and hinder his effort to be seen as a centrist “New Democrat.” Moreover, while some environmental issues are popular–cleaning up waste sites, for instance, or protecting parks–less tangible issues such as global warming are not effective at motivating the swing voters critical to Gore’s general election strategy. When Gore was confronted with a stiffer nomination fight against the former New Jersey senator than he anticipated, it was still unclear where environmentalism fit in the strategy. Bradley has a solid environmental record: The National League of Conservation Voters gave him an average lifetime rating of 84 on environmental issues, compared to 64 for Gore. Gore’s lower score reflects a more conservative voting record as a member of the House from Tennessee, when he supported a federal dam project in his state that environmentalists opposed, a point Bradley has been hitting on in recent days.

Former White House chief of staff Leon E. Panetta, a Gore supporter, said that the environment is “a gut issue” for the vice president and that it is a mistake for him to “tiptoe around these issues” on the campaign trail: “He ought to make this part and parcel [of the campaign]. This is who he is.”