Gore's surprise visit highlights Netroots conference Former vice president speaks at Austin convention for liberal bloggers. By Patrick Beach AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, July 20, 2008 Name-dropping Al Gore and his call for a switch to clean, renewable energy within 10 years was enough to pull whoops of approval from the 2,000 or 3,000 marauding liberals gathered for Netroots Nation at the Austin Convention Center on Saturday morning. So when the former vice president and Nobel Prize co-winner made a surprise — and cleverly scripted — appearance during U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's talk, it looked like the conference might turn...