I saw Al Gore’s speech endorsing Obama, and I just don’t get it.

Where was Al when Barack really needed him?

Any time during the grueling primary battle would have been better than now,
two weeks after the last balloting.

Gore could have done a world of good right after Iowa to help Obama sew up
the race in New Hampshire.

Or before Texas and Ohio.

Or before Pennsylvania.

Or even during the annoying last-gasp Florida maneuvering that the Clintons
were engaging in.

But now?

I don’t see the percentage.

Maybe Gore dreamt of a divided convention that would end up throwing the
nomination to him.

But that was never going to happen.

Or maybe he prefers the role of elder statesmen, too clean to muddy his hands
in a dirty primary run.

Whatever his reasoning, his tardy decision to endorse was an odd one.

But while his timing was off, his message was on.

He underlined Obama’s message of hope and change, saying that his campaign
heralds a “massive wave of reform and recovery and regeneration [that] is about to take
hold and renew our nation.”

And, a bit ruefully, he said, “Take it from me, elections matter.”

But he quickly broadened that personal lament.

“If you think the next appointments to our Supreme Court are important, you
know that elections matter,” he said. “If you live in the city of New Orleans, you know
that elections matter. If you or a member of your family are serving in the active
military or the National Guard or Reserves, you know that elections matter.”

He even told a joke, mentioning the “tainted pet food made in China,” and
concluding: “After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that
elections matter.”

But lest you think he was being overly partisan, he said that Democrats need
to “conduct this campaign in a spirit of respect for the Republican nominee.”

When that flushed the boo birds out, Gore chided them: “No, no. In that case,
I’m glad I brought it up, because as Senator Barack Obama has said, John McCain is
deserving of that respect.” And he praised McCain for taking an independent stance on
global warming.

Some pundits have been suggesting that Gore would be good for Obama because
he could attack McCain as being insufficient on global warming, but Gore seemed to have
no appetite for going after McCain on that.

Which made the timing of the endorsement even odder.

To be sure, it’s better for Obama to have Gore’s endorsement now than not.

But there was no drama in it, no risk in it, and not much benefit, either.