Although Gore consistently outpolled Hillary in the early days of the 2004 campaign, the combination of Hillary’s high profile and his time out of the limelight appear to have taken a toll, as a Marist poll in late February had Hillary up 33% to 17% against Gore.

"The numbers suggest that a case could be made for Mr. Gore in 2008 though it’s a little unclear what he may have in mind," said Marist pollster Lee Miringoff. "Clearly, he is someone to be watched, especially as an alternative to Hillary Clinton."

Another possible wildcard is Bill Clinton’s view on a Gore candidacy. Would the former president endorse his loyal VP, or at least have kind words to say about him?

Mr. Clinton could follow the example of Bush 41, who also had to choose between a loyal VP — in this case Dan Quayle — and a family member during a presidential primary. This will be probably be an instance where Hillary will muzzle her husband just to be on the safe side.

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