If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the American public, it’s that a movie can influence just about anything. Most of the time, the big screen leaves its mark on fashion or music, but on occasion, it expands its area of impact. And in the most extreme cases, it can even affect politics.

CNN.com is reporting that Al Gore could make a surge in the race for the White House. And the reason why, you ask? Simple. He made a movie.

As the big loser in 2000, Gore completely dropped off the political radar, but thanks to the movie An Inconvenient Truth, he could make a move out of obscurity. An Inconvenient Truth is nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature (note: I’m writing this before the awards are handed out on Sunday night). By the time this runs in the paper, Al Gore may be holding the award.

While the movie’s producer claims Gore has no intention of announcing a bid for the presidency, a nice little trophy could change his tone. And he wouldn’t be the first presidential candidate to star in a movie. I mean, Ronald Reagan started out on the big screen. My question is, could there be a better place to announce his candidacy for president than on center stage at the Academy Awards? Millions of people will be watching.

Plus, this is the best free publicity Gore could ever ask for. This isn’t like every unbearable political commercial the average person just complains about, regardless of his or her political affiliation. The Academy Awards is something people actually want to watch. Amazing. This also lends itself to my point that Americans care way more about celebrities than politics, and that’s just sad to me.

With the presidency on the line, the Democratic National Committee would pull out all the stops to make sure the critical states turn blue in 2008. Because the electability of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has been questioned, it would be the perfect time for someone with big name recognition and a new-found personality to step forward. While Gore could be seen as, well, plastic at times, doing something outside the box has definitely increased his likelihood to win votes.

Though Gore lost in 2000, he has done a lot better at keeping himself in the public eye than other former Democratic presidential losers, such as John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards. And he’s done this in a positive way. He has brought attention to global warming instead of accidentally insulting every soldier overseas by not reading his speech word for word. Cough, cough, Kerry.

So even though An Inconvenient Truth was a great way to educate Americans about the effects of global warming, it was also a good way to get Gore back in the spotlight. It’s just proof once again that a movie can do just about anything.

Jen Steer is a junior broadcast news major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].