Earlier in the night, former Vice President Al Gore addressed the crowd to tout Obama and criticize McCain. In an apparent dig at three-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his supporters, Gore referenced his own election loss to President Bush in 2000.

Al Gore: “Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties, and it didn’t really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity, and some assumed we would continue with both, no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn’t matter. Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq, we would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him. We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting for middle-income families. We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution; we’d be protecting the rights of every American, regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. And we would not be denying the climate crisis; we’d be solving it.”

Many Democrats have blamed Nader for Gore’s narrow loss to President Bush in 2000. Gore also criticized Republican candidate John McCain for backing the Bush administration’s policies.

Al Gore: “John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them. The same policies, those policies, all over again? Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous. With John McCain’s support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to facts; their readiness to sacrifice the long term to the short term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few and short-circuit the rule of law.”