Al Gore Wows the Netroots Crowd

Gore is doing more now for America, and the world, as a private citizen than he ever did as a politician.

Former Vice President Al Gore surprised a convention of bloggers here, appearing on stage after Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, held a question-and-answer session that included tough questions on the wiretapping bill.

In response to a question about climate change, Mrs. Pelosi glanced at her Blackberry and said she had an e-mail from a friend on the subject. Mr. Gore’s voice then came over the public address system, producing quizzical looks in the audience of nearly 3,000 people and then gasps, cheers and a standing ovation as he strode on stage from the wings.

Mr. Gore’s arrival was the first electric moment at the conference, the Netroots Nation, a group of progressive bloggers whose major interests — stopping the war in Iraq, saving the planet from global warming and pushing the edge of the envelope of technology — mesh well with Mr. Gore’s current pursuits.

As waves of cheers washed over him across the cavernous convention center, Mr. Gore said to Mrs. Pelosi, “We ought to take that act on the road.” She said, “We are on the road,” and he replied, “Well, I feel right at home here, I’ll tell you.”