Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Al Gore won't run for president this time. Still, whoever does assume the office in less than 15 months will face the presence, the shadow, of the former vice president immediately.

If it's a Republican, then the Democrats, having snatched defeat from the jaws of near-certain victory, will have two options: suffer a nervous breakdown or turn to Gore as a savior.

A Democrat, especially front-runner Hillary Clinton, whose sibling rivalry with Gore during the Clinton presidency endures, will confront Gore as a watchdog on national security, foreign policy and energy and environmental matters. It may be the most intriguing intra-party dynamic since Senator Robert F. Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson four decades ago.

This is the result of the most remarkable comeback in contemporary American politics. Seven years ago, Gore lost the presidency after getting more votes than the man whose victory was facilitated by a politically divided Supreme Court.

He was held in contempt by many Democrats for an inept campaign and for being outgunned politically in the post- election maneuverings on vote recounts.

Now, he is an internationally acclaimed Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the winner of an Oscar for his documentary on climate change, a best-selling author and a worldwide celebrity. He achieved this with discipline and dedication to his beliefs, particularly on the threat he believes global warming poses to the planet.

No Sulking

``He could have gone off and sulked, been bitter or just made money,'' says John Podesta, who was President Bill Clinton's last White House chief of staff. ``Instead, he devoted himself to what he really cared about, and around the globe is a very influential figure.'' (He has also made a ton of money.)

The Gore comeback was by no means easy. Ex-presidents have a natural platform to project themselves on the national and world scene, as Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter have done. Ex-vice presidents don't. Ask Dan Quayle.

And defeated candidates for the American presidency usually are more pariah than prophet within their own party. George McGovern, Michael Dukakis and now John Kerry were poster boys for the other party in the years after their defeat.

Out of office, Gore shunned the political route. Rather, as Podesta suggests, he focused on what really mattered to him, global warming. He worked and traveled relentlessly, proselytizing and preaching and developing a coherent way to discuss a complex issue.

Prescient Critic

Thus, the stiff presidential candidate of 2000 became a more natural and plausible figure in ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' his widely heralded documentary.

Gore was prescient in his criticism of the Iraq war from the inception and cheered Democrats with his book, ``The Assault on Reason,'' a harshly critical analysis of President George W. Bush and the Republicans.

The Tennessee Democrat is a policy wonk, reveling in national security and environmental matters. He lacks the communicative skills and political dexterity of his former boss, Bill Clinton, but no one in either party is a more forceful or knowledgeable advocate.

Gore also has a sharp wit and a very tender, compassionate side -- both of which were largely hidden from the public when he was in his political mode. Associates say they are more in evidence these days.

With the Nobel Prize, he commands worldwide attention rivaling that of former presidents. Yet there is a difference politically: They can comment or criticize but are virtually out of the running to become president again; he isn't.

`Position Without Parallel'

This, as presidential historian Michael Beschloss notes, puts Gore ``in a position without parallel'' in American political history.

He is 59 years old. His father, a former senator and his mentor, died at age 90, his mother at 92. Those genes suggest that whether from the White House or outside, Al Gore will be an important voice in the American body politic for another generation.

Looking at the current crop of presidential contenders is telling. The Republicans disagree with him respectfully. There is little of the derisive ``ozone man'' ridicule or the perpetration of myths about his hyperbole that were much in evidence in past campaigns.

Some Democrats, like Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who favors a carbon tax, invoke an association with Gore to gain credibility. Hillary Clinton was positively gushy when he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, in New Hampshire last week, boasted how Gore would play ``a very senior capacity'' in his administration.

Obama-Gore Ticket?

How about an Obama-Gore ticket? ``Having won a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar, being vice president would probably be a step down,'' Obama says.

Both Gore and his causes don't lack for critics. A British judge recently ruled that his film could be shown in schools there, as it was based on scientific research and fact, though he said it contained nine errors or omissions.

That decision was reminiscent of that old criticism of Ronald Reagan for sometimes getting a few details wrong, even as he usually got the big picture right.

In America, Gore is still intensely disliked and criticized by the political right, although some corporate executives and investors have moved much closer to his viewpoint.

The former vice president has never quite gotten over the press coverage of his 2000 campaign, or at least the rougher scrutiny he got in the major mainstream media than did his opponent, Bush. Those in touch with him now say he is much more relaxed and comfortable, even with the political criticism he still engenders.

``It is better to be hated for what you are,'' Gore said in a eulogy to his father nine years ago, ``than to be loved for what you are not.''

To contact the writer of this column: Albert R. Hunt in Washington at ahunt1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 28, 2007 10:31 EDT