Former Vice President Al Gore, who nearly won the U.S. presidency in 2000, cited the outcome of that election as the reason why Barack Obama should be elected president in 2008.

Speaking to the Democratic National Convention ahead of Obama's nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, Gore said if he had won the White House, the United States would have captured Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden instead of going to Iraq. The Nobel Peace Prize winner added that the country would have maintained a strong economy, upheld the integrity of the U.S. Constitution and be on the road to solving the challenges of global warming.

"Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the polices of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them," he said.

"The same policies all over again? Hey, I believe in recycling, but that's ridiculous," he said to widespread laughter.

In the 2000 presidential race, Gore, who won more popular votes than then-Texas Gov. George Bush ultimately lost when the United States Supreme Court settled a Florida election recount in favor of Bush, thus handling him the Electoral College majority.

Since then, Gore has gone on to become an environmental activist, winning a number of awards -- including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and an Academy Award the same year for his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Gore referenced the film's title in his speech when he praised Obama's leadership experience.

"His experience has taught him something that career politicians often overlook," he said. "That inconvenient truths must be acknowledged if we are to have wise governance."

Echoing other speakers at this week's convention, Gore linked McCain to Bush and his policies in a rallying cry for change.

"We can tell Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, why our nation needs a change from the approach of Bush, Cheney and McCain," he said.

"After they wrecked our economy, it is time for a change. After they abandoned the search for the terrorists who attacked us and redeployed the troops to invade a nation that did not attack us, it's time for a change."

Gore said Obama represents a "clean break from the politics of partisanship and bitter division."