Vice President Gore is waging a fierce campaign for recognition and an Oscar statuette for his global warming documentary, while reviving talk that he’s pursuing a bigger prize: the presidency.

His recent itinerary has been the ultimate in high profile. The former vice president made self-deprecating jokes on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” offered ideas on preserving the environment to Oprah Winfrey and her daytime audience, and parried questions on Iraq from Matt Lauer on the “Today” show.

This Saturday, Mr. Gore is hosting a network of 1,600 house parties across the country to watch and discuss his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” with the Democrat planning to address the gatherings by satellite hookup. The movie is on the short list of feature-length documentaries being considered for Oscar nominations.

Crisscrossing the country to promote the DVD version of the movie — just in time for holiday gift-giving — Mr. Gore insists that he’s not planning a return to politics.

“I am not planning to run for president again,” Mr. Gore said last week, arguing that his focus is raising public awareness about global warming and its dire effects. Then, he added: “I haven’t completely ruled it out.”

Those words make Mr. Gore the 800-pound noncandidate of the Democratic field. The possibility of another presidential bid delights many Democrats still steamed over the disputed 2000 election, in which they argue a few more votes, a state other than Florida, and a different Supreme Court could have put Mr. Gore, not President Bush, in the White House.

Senator Clinton is the front-runner, but a polarizing one for some Democrats. Senator Obama of Illinois is the electrifying newcomer, but he is limited in his experience. Mr. Gore remains, for many party activists, the Democrat and popular vote-getter done wrong.

“He won the election in 2000 — he just lost the count,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler said. “If I were he, I wouldn’t rule out a run. It’s an uncertain field, and he’s a person who is widely respected.”

In many respects, Mr. Gore is better positioned for a political comeback than in his previous bids.

He has won fame for “An Inconvenient Truth,” the highest-grossing documentary of the year. His outspoken environmentalism and opposition to the Iraq war has drawn raves from many Democrats, who have been frustrated by the caution among some party lawmakers on those issues.

Derided in 2000 for being a wooden know-it-all, the new Mr. Gore is funny. He’s done humorous turns on “Saturday Night Live” and voiced a disembodied head on the cartoon “Futurama,” which is being made into a movie.

Perhaps most important for his future political endeavors, Mr. Gore has gotten rich. Thanks to a range of business ventures, including a longtime advisory relationship with Google and a seat on Apple Computer’s board of directors, aides say he could spend as much as $50 million of his own money to launch a credible presidential run.

To be sure, Mr. Gore has given plenty of signals that he does not intend to become a candidate.

While Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and other likely contenders have begun courting activists and building their organizations, Mr. Gore has steered far from campaign mechanics.

And while many prospective candidates have visited states with early presidential contests such as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Mr. Gore spends most weekends at home in Nashville, Tenn., training environmentalists to deliver a slideshow presentation on global warming to audiences across the country.

“I see no signs of Gore organizing supporters right now,” Mr. Gore’s presidential campaign manager in 2000, Donna Brazile, said.

Neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Obama has yet announced plans to run. Governor Vilsack of Iowa has declared his candidacy, while Senator Bayh of Indiana has formed an exploratory committee. Other likely candidates include the 2004 presidential nominee, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts; the 2004 vice presidential nominee, a former North Carolina senator, John Edwards; Senator Biden of Delaware; Senator Dodd of Connecticut, and Governor Richardson of New Mexico.

Despite his protestations to the contrary, some Democratic strategists believe that Mr. Gore could be persuaded to enter the race and will wait to see how the field shakes out before making a final decision.

Joseph Trippi, who managed Howard Dean’s Internet-fueled presidential campaign in 2004, said Mr. Gore would be a formidable candidate and could probably wait longer than others to enter the field.