Green war: Al Gore vs. Barack Obama

Al Gore says President Obama isn&#039;t living up to his climate change promises, an accusation that some say could ignite the Right.

(Image credit: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis)

last updated 8 January 2015

Former Vice President Al Gore has launched a "friendly fire" attack on President Obama, criticizing his record on environmental issues in a 7,000-word Rolling Stone article. Admittedly, the president faced some "incredible challenges" when he entered office, Gore says, but despite some achievements with our energy policy, "President Obama has thus far failed to use the bully pulpit to make the case for bold action on climate change." Gore acknowledges that his essay could be used by "opponents of the president," and says "it would be self-defeating to weaken Obama and heighten the risk of another step backward." But, he says, "it is time to face reality." Will Gore's attacks hurt Obama? (Watch a PBS discussion about Gore's claims.)

Obama's immune to attack — voters on the Left don't have options: Those who care about the environment "may see little choice in the 2012 election," says Dina Cappiello for the Associated Press. The Republicans now running for the White House "either deny global warming is a man-made problem altogether or say actions to address it would harm the economy." So "the biggest risk" for Obama is that some disaffected "environmental voters may not turn out." But it's not as if they can flock to a candidate who tacks left of the president.