Imagine three cases:
Gore runs for President. He is given candidate-level treatment by the press, akin to what happened in 2000.
Gore issues a Shermanesque statement ruling out a presidential run. "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve." He is no longer seen as a potential candidate, and that level of buzz disappears.
Gore continues to not rule out a presidential run, while also continuing to not run. The press and the public remains intrigued about what he may or may not say.
In which case does Gore have the strongest voice? The one where everyone will most likely listen to what he actually has to say?
This isn't a long diary but it's a point that people should keep in mind.
Gore may actually have no intention of running whatsoever. He may just be wanting to get his message out. And that may be exactly why he won't rule out a run. He might just want to position himself such that he has the best chance of getting his message out.
If he rules out a run, he's deemed irrelevant. If he runs, the press will diminish what he's saying. (They're doing that already as the time of his hypothetical campaign announcement nears, but it's nothing compared to what would happen if he announces a run.)
Much in the same way that the threat of a lawsuit can be more powerful than the lawsuit itself, the threat/promise of Gore's candidacy might be more powerful than the candidacy itself. And it's very much in Gore's interest to use that power to get his message out, if he's trying to get it out in as powerful a way as possible.
Of course, this also underscores to me that if it is true, then Gore understands power in a way that most Democrats don't. Witness how the Democrats overreached with the recent Iraq bill. So it makes me wish even more that Gore would run.