Gore gives credit for HCEI, but not where it’s due

Al Gore, the vice president-turned-champion of green energy, told admirers packing the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday that the issue of green energy is building quite a consensus across the political spectrum. However, if politics is about keeping score, maybe the Democratic side got a little extra credit, at least where Hawaii is concerned.

Gore, who gave a rousing talk to a receptive University of Hawaii audience, had nothing but praise for the state’s policy work on clean energy. He cited the current governor for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, for example. He seemed unaware that the whole HCEI thing started under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.

Perhaps some of her former staff or other supporters were out there in the crowd, itching to raise a hand.