The commission was supposed to start at a later date, the Democrats complained, and then the Republicans decided to let it start when it was planned. I don't know why Clinton and Gore haven't been scheduled, I do know the commission wants to talk to Bush himself. The commission wants to drag their feet and drag Condi Rice out because this commission is nothing more than a bunch of hardlined liberals and spineless Republicans, in hopes of tearing down the Bush administration to make way for a Kerry presidency.
The fact that the Democrats wanted to start early won't affect the elections as much as they'd like to hope. By November, this commission will be nothing but a footnote in history as one of the biggest blunders of the Liberal establishment.