Frankly I'm not surprised at Algore's endorsement. I'm only surprised it came so soon. I figured Algore would wait until after the New Hampshire primary to ensure he picked the right horse. This must mean internal DNC polls are looking really, really bad for Kerry and the other non-Dean candidates.
Gore picked the moment when he thought his endorsement would be enough to put Dean over the top.
I am still surprised at it. I would have thought it would have come after New Years, when people are not focused on the holidays.
If Hillary endorses Dean the week after New Years, then we'll know that what we thought was an internal power struggle was really choreographed for maximum impact. First Gore, then her.
As a matter of fact, it would not completely shock me if Hillary gets tapped for his VP and he announces, much like Bush did, that Clark would be his SecState or SecDef if elected.