That’s the headline of this New York Times article, which offers analysis of Gore’s role in the 2004 convention and greater campaign. Sample:

Carter Eskew, a top strategist for Mr. Gore in 2000, said that the former vice president would use his time in the spotlight to reinforce the now well-understood concept that “every vote counts.”

“He feels his election in 2000 is an opportunity to make that very obvious but very powerful point,” Mr. Eskew said. “That cliché has suddenly come into very stark relief in this election, and he’s a good messenger for it. He’s the embodiment of the moment at which the country took a different path.”

But Mr. Eskew acknowledged that Mr. Gore, 56, would have to “walk a fine line between exciting the base of the Democratic Party and reaching out to people in the television audience who are unaffiliated and don’t go in for a lot of rally and pep talk.”

Other analysts said Mr. Gore might have difficulty reaching beyond that base because of the harshness of his critiques of Mr. Bush’s policies, particularly regarding Iraq.

“There are some Democrats who quietly appreciate him for his growl, but they don’t want to embrace him for it,” said Ferrel Guillory, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.