For one, Gore's favorabilities are up an astounding ten points overall since early August, and even more importantly, his approval rating among Democrats rests at an impressive 79%. Just for comparisons sake, that is nine points higher than Obama's favorabilities and fifteen points higher than Edwards'; Hillary only bests Gore by five points in the category. I'm also willing to speculate that many Democrats don't remember than Gore was the first of the bunch to oppose the war - if and when such information were to ever be learned by the Democratic masses, I imagine his ratings would exceed those of Clinton's.

Even more importantly than favorabilities though is the fact that a plurality of Democrats would like to see Gore jump into the race for the White House. By a 48-43% margin, respondents would like to see the former vice president throw his hat into the ring. No, it's not a majority, but when you would potentially have four top-tier contenders for the nomination, 48% is an awfully high number. Does 48% wanting him to run equal 48% of the primary votes? Probably not, but its still a very good reflection of Gore's appeal as a candidate. It's also likely a reflection of the electorate's weariness of a year-long race for the nomination - it has long been said that Gore, believe it or not, would provide voters with a fresh face with a late October entry.

Now, the same poll also finds a slight uptick in support when Gore's name is thrown in with the rest of the Democratic field - he's up four points since earlier in the month and in third place. That being the case, I've long said that these polls are not a reflection of Gore's actual support should he run (as evidenced by the previous paragraph). For an accurate picture of how many people might vote for Gore in the primaries, the question must be asked as such: "If Gore were to run and the Democratic primaries were held today, who would you vote for?" These polls instead have not included the clause that I highlighted and thus, many, many Democrats do not choose Gore based on the fact he's not currently running. See an earlier diary that I wrote for a further analysis of Gore's viability. Also, as NeuvoLiberal points out in the comments, check out Pollster.com's "Gore Roundup" for a relatively accurate take on his polling over the past year.

Lucky for us, a little birdie has told me that the AlGore.org people have commissioned a Zogby Poll that will ask the question correctly - stay tuned for a poll that may very well shock the pundits and mainstream media later this week.

Also, in case you missed it, Barcelona wrote a diary about the new Current TV website and how Al himself uploaded three clips online where he advocates for single-payer health care, a safe and immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and a less overreaching executive branch. After well over a year of nothing but climate change - The Assault on Reason being the exception - and little else, the timing of these clips is very, very interesting.

Finally, if you are in the Chicago area tomorrow, consider stopping by the big event that Draft Gore-ers are assembling outside the Hyatt Hotel where Gore will be addressing the Chicago Economic Club. From what I understand, there will be people across the street holding up huge letters that spell the phrase "AL GORE 2008." They also ponied up and hired a bike to ride around the building the whole time is there with two huge billboards that read "Run Al, Run!" It's the last public event, that we know of at least, this month, so we want this to be as big and visible as possible!