From Wired
By Sarah Lai Stirland

Beltway insiders discount the idea, but legions of Al Gore fans are still working overtime both online and off to convince the former vice president that he should jump into the race for president this year.

Speculation about Gore’s chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize this Friday for his work on climate change amped up the online buzz this week — and his supporters’ hopes.

Blog mentions of Gore spiked on Sunday, after The Times of London ran an article quoting two people in the know who predicted that he is likely to win the prize, according to Technorati. That Sunday spike was also recorded by the political buzz-tracking service Wonkosphere.

A glance online shows that a significant Draft Gore movement has mushroomed in recent months, with several websites and pages on MySpace and Facebook dedicated to drafting the former presidential candidate, bestselling author and environmentalist.

On Tuesday, Gore’s admirers in California launched a signature-gathering campaign to put him on the ballot in the Golden State. They need 26,500 qualified signatures by December 4, says Roy Gayhart, an entrepreneur living in San Diego who is coordinating the signature-gathering effort. That’s 500 qualified signatures from registered Democrats in each of the 53 congressional districts.

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