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Former Vice President Al Gore announced his support for Barack Obama in a letter sent to supporters this afternoon.

The 2000 Democratic nominee, who did not endorse a candidate during the primary season, will join Obama at a rally in Detroit tonight.

In Gore's letter, he urges his supporters to make a contribution to the Obama campaign.

"I've never asked members of AlGore.com to contribute to a political campaign before," Gore writes. "But this moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action."

Read Gore's letter below.

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When ABC News reported that Hillary Clinton had tried to convince Bill Richardson that Barack Obama "cannot win" the general election, it was the latest example of the concerted effort the Clinton camp has made to convince superdelegates to stick with her.

Clinton's aggressive attempt at persuasion didn't work in Richardson's case, but that hasn't stopped her campaign from honing its pitch to the party leaders who could decide the nomination.

Clinton adviser Harold Ickes recently admitted to bringing up the Reverend Wright controversy in his conversations with superdelegates, in order to try to convince them that Obama's baggage may be too heavy to beat John McCain.

Of course, the Obama campaign isn't just sitting on its heals while the Clinton operation tries to wrangle as many superdelegates as possible, and party leaders are being solicited actively by his campaign, as well. Al Gore even joked that he was getting so many call from both sides that in order to do his "60 Minutes" interview with Leslie Stahl, he had to disconnect his phones.

But Obama's frontrunner status affords him the luxury of taking a more nuanced approach to wooing superdelegates. The Illinois senator does not have to take the kinds of risks that Clinton does in trying to convince party leaders that his opponent is fatally flawed.

Obama has recently been described as more "magnanimous" in his approach to Clinton, an approach that the Obama campaign seems to hope will signal to superdelegates that when he becomes the nominee, the wounds of the party will heal rather quickly. The Clinton campaign, on the other hand, may not be able to attempt such subtleties.

Asked on "60 Minutes" recently who he is supporting in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Al Gore said he's "tryin' to stay out of it."

But the Associated Press reports that Barack Obama wants him to be very much in it, if and when he takes the presidency.

Asked if he would consider Gore for a cabinet position* to address global warming, Obama told the crowd at a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania that he would.

"Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem," Obama said. "He's somebody I talk to on a regular basis. I'm already consulting with him in terms of these issues but climate change is real."

Both Obama and Hillary Clinton have courted Gore, the climate change activist who backed Howard Dean in 2004. The former vice president and presidential nominee has also been discussed as someone who could serve as a broker to help settle the hard-fought Democratic race.

*CORRECTION: Because of an Associated Press error, this post initially stated that Obama said he would consider Gore for a Cabinet position "or higher." Neither the questioner nor Obama discussed a position higher than Cabinet level.

Time to revamp that old line about revenge being best served cold. In the case of Al Gore, it may be best served globally warm. With his crusade on climate change, Gore has won personal, public and political redemption, an Academy Award and, now, a Nobel Peace Prize. And suddenly, he’s landed smack-dab in the middle of a 2008 presidential campaign heretofore dominated by an old rival – Hillary Clinton.

Long gone are the days of the 1992 campaign when the Clintons and Gores barnstormed the nation connected at the hip like lifetime friends on a family vacation. Eight years of the Clinton presidency – and one bitter campaign in 2000 – have left the two power couples estranged and, perhaps, resentful.

The Clintons think that Gore’s decision to distance himself from the administration fumbled away what would have been a resounding affirmation of its record after the tumultuous impeachment of the president. The Gores believe that Clinton’s tryst with Monica Lewinsky combined with a general malaise after eight years of high drama, prevented Gore from winning that razor-thin election easily.

Another eight years later, Hillary Clinton is riding high in her bid to win the Democratic nomination and Al Gore is an international superstar. Now the question is, will Al run? The answer is most likely no, but that doesn’t mean Gore still can’t cause plenty of trouble for Clinton in the nomination fight.

While Gore’s stature would certainly allow him to enter the race at the highest levels, he would face plenty of practical obstacles in organizing a real campaign. He would lose the luster he currently carries and be forced into a process that has been in place for nearly a year. Besides, Gore is basking in the glow of his newfound stardom, not to mention making a very comfortable living in the process. Why give that up for the rough-and-tumble of a campaign?

But the mere speculation serves to take some of the steam out of Clinton’s machine-like march to the nomination. When ads are being run in the New York Times begging Gore to run, it signals at least a measure of dissatisfaction with the field and the front-runner. Even if Gore were to outright rule out the possibility or when the filing deadlines have passed, the former vice president still holds a card – the endorsement. Should Gore publicly and strongly back and campaign on behalf of, say Barack Obama, it could be one of the most important endorsements of the campaign.

Of course, Gore endorsed Howard Dean in 2004 and we know how that worked out. But 2008 is not 2004 – or 2000 or 1992. Plenty has changed since and Gore is almost literally on top of the world at the moment. He’s hot – will he heat up this campaign?

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Update: Gore spokesperson Kalee Kreider now tells CBS News that Gore initially canceled plans to attend Sen. Barbara Boxer's fundraiser Thursday night to attend an event in Asia. However, that event was later postponed, allowing Gore to keep his previous plans.

We wrote today about how former Vice President Al Gore is a frontrunner for the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced tomorrow in Oslo, Norway, and what that could mean for his entry into the presidential race.

Now the San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci is reporting that Gore cancelled an appearance today at a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer in San Francisco. Boxer explained why in an email to supporters: "I just got a call from Vice President Al Gore. He told me that he needs to travel abroad tomorrow for an exciting and urgent mission that could result in a major breakthrough in the fight against global warming."

Incidentally, as Ben Smith points out, the gamblers over at Intrade are putting Gore at a 13.8 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination. Sen. Barack Obama's only at 11.5 percent.