Last week's Wag the Blog discussion focused on who Al Gore might endorse for president and whether such an edorsement could hurt or hinder a candidate.

Most of you seemed to think he'll check Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) off his list of potential candidates (Gore steered clear of tying himself to the Clinton legacy when he ran in 2000). So who will he pick?

Of those of you who tossed out names, at least half of you guessed he'll support Barack Obama. A smaller group of you suggested he'll choose former John Edwards; a few of you think Chris Dodd or Clinton; one person said he'll go for Bill Richardson. Some candidates names weren't mentioned, while one of you mentioned a name that's not even on the list.

The best of your responses -- as culled by washingtonpost.com politics producer Sarah Lovenheim -- are below: first, who you think he'll pick and why, and then your thoughts on whether his endorsement could affect a campaign.

POTENTIAL PICKS:

OBAMA:

Posted by George:
[Gore] dislikes Hillary a great deal and knows that Obama is the one person in her league right now ... Gore's endorsement will solidify Obama as the candidate for the left.

Posted by Rufus:
Go Obama-Gore '08.

Posted by Chilidogger:
Considering Gore's newfound "hipness" ... I think he's going to go with Barack. Gore's trying to speak for a younger generation, and Barack is the best representation for that ... besides, they have the same alma mater!

EDWARDS:

Posted by Brokenlinks:
He'll endorse Edwards ... it seems these two gentleman have the most in common.

Posted by AndyR:
The endorsement would be HUGE for Edwards, because it would say to all of his supporters "look I am not running but I think this guy can win. And when he does he is going to owe me, and I will use that to get some real change in regards to the environment." It also will seriously increase his street cred with the progressive crowd.

CLINTON:

Posted by Greg:
In an ideal world, Gore will endorse Hillary. In the new Clinton administration, Gore would be appointed the EPA Administrator ... to really make a difference on global warming.

DODD:

Posted by Dryfish:
I could also easily see him following the firefighters example of making their endorsement irrelevant and and endorsing Dodd as a way of not offending the eventual nominee, and giving a boost to a friend, and bringing more attention to specific narrow policy issues.

Posted by Joe:
Dodd wouldn't surprise me at all. He likes him and his environmental proposal...and he'd never be blamed for that loss.

RICHARDSON:
Posted by Howless:
Really, the only person really helped by an en-Gore-sement, IMO, is Bill Richardson. He'd at least get a chance to credibly spin a few more "Is Richardson ready to surge to the front tier?" stories out of it.

THE NON-CANDIDATE: BLOOMBERG:

Posted by GeorgeK:
Al Gore will be running for president in '08. He's smart enough to realize this is his last shot at greatness and he's not going to pass it up. A Gore-Bloomberg ticket would be unbeatable!

THE GORE-FACTOR:

Helpful::

Posted by Sam:
Gore, the environmentalist ... may carry a good deal of weight. People might feel like they can trust him because he cares about a real problem, and because he doesn't seem interested in future political favors (like Secretary of whatever or, certainly not, VP.)

Posted by R M Gopal:
Gore has acquired considerable extra stature over the past few years ... Liberated from his own presidential yearning, Gore is free to do what he sees as the right thing -- at peace, unencumbered.

Hurtful:

Posted by Jeff:
Why would you want Gore's endorsement? While I admire him, he ... managed to run two poor national campaigns. The man lost to Dukakis for heaven's sake ... While global warming is a hugely significant issue--it won't win votes where it matters--border states, the Southwest, etc ...

Posted by Peter L.:
Endorsements count very little anymore - can anyone name ten endorsements so far this year? ... If "Big Al" is smart he will stay out of the endorsement game and maintain his position as the 2nd Ballot choice at the convention.

Posted by Golgi:
I don't think it matters who Gore endorses. Picking Dean was enough to convince me that Gore is not a good picker. For what it's worth, I support Obama.

By Sarah Lovenheim  |  September 18, 2007; 11:12 AM ET
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