How difficult is it for a well known political figure to break through the perceptual screens of partisanship, along with the ingrained frames of reference that citizens have developed over years, and boost their standing in the polls?Consider Al Gore. Despite winning an Academy Award, receiving tons of free (and often glamorous) publicity in news coverage and on entertainment TV, Gore’s favorability rating has only nudged up slightly in the latest Gallup polling.

According to the Gallup survey, only slightly more than half of Dems and only slightly more than a third of Independents would like to see him run for president (below). However, in a different question, when grouped together in a list of other candidates for the Democratic nomination, Gore appears to do a bit better: 14% of Democrats, as well as those Democrat-leaning independents, say they are most likely to support Gore, essentially placing him in a tie for second place with Obama (19%) and Edwards (15%), but still trailing well behind Clinton (39%).