Al Gore in The Wall Street Journal

On Energy & Oil: UN report confirms global warming; Gore revives the issue

Gore’s turn to global warming suggests he now thinks he can use the subject to cast an unfavorable light on Bush, who has expressed skepticism about the danger. Global warming has long been a central concern of Gore’s. But he has rarely raised environmental issues during his presidential campaign. When he has, he’s cast them as measures to reduce energy dependence on foreign sources.

On Government Reform: Regulatory style: smaller & smarter govt, but stronger regs

Bush, a frequent critic of heavy-handedness in government, would take a less-is-better stance through his appointees, stressing flexibility and voluntary actions by industry and the states. Gore, while touting the importance of a “smaller, smarter government,“ would push for more muscular regulation.

Critics worry that each man, in his own way, would go too far. Bush’s ”notion that government should get out of the way is the Ronald Reagan mantra,“ says one analyst, referring to Reagan’s aggressively antiregulatory stance. For his part, Gore ”shows an instinct to intervene in the marketplace,“ says another economist, who insists such intervention only makes problems worse.