Gore Will NOT Endorse Before Super Tuesday…Did You Catch That Drudge?

Aided by the oft sensationalist Drudge Report, Josh Green’s recent piece in The Atlantic, which speculates that Al Gore will endorse Obama soon (read: before Super Tuesday) has gotten way more attention than it deserves. Green concludes:

Gore has already seen one presidency (his own) slip away over a handful of votes. He must have pondered how it would feel to play kingmaker and shore up someone else’s path to the White House.

A well-connected Tennesseean told me two things today that got me thinking about this. The first is that Obama and Gore have been speaking regularly, about every two weeks or so. The second is that, despite this, and despite Tennessee’s primary on Tuesday, Obama has not visited the state since June. It may be simply that he does not plan on competing there. Or it may be that he’s been waiting for a special occasion.

When I first read this, I didn’t really buy it. Why? Several reasons, among them was my awareness of the fact that John Edwards also stayed in contact with Gore throughout the primary. Accordingly, the fact that Obama and Gore speak doesn’t mean anything more than Obama and Gore speak. Ambinder aware of same Edwards/Gore chats clarifies Green’s position, but not before Andrew Sullivan advanced the needless speculation. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think there are plenty of reasons to support the notion that Gore would endorse Obama over Clinton; however, Green’s article is definitely not one of them.

Fortunately, TPM set the record straight:

I checked in with a source close to Gore for a response to the piece. Asked if there was any shot at a pre-Feb. 5th endorsement, the source said: “He has no plans to endorse in the near term.”

So yea, don’t expect Gore’s endorsement before Super Tuesday. And if you were tricked into believing this by a Drudge headline, then you should be aware that I have a time machine, bridge and magic beans for sale.