Obama says would consider Gore for a Cabinet post

Al Gore, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Chairman of Generation Investment Management attends a news conference with Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch (LODH) Private Bank at Cointrin airport in Geneva March 11, 2008.

WALLINGFORD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday he would consider asking former Vice President Al Gore to become a top adviser should he win the White House.

Asked at a town hall meeting if he would look at Gore for a possible Cabinet position, Obama said, "I would."

The Illinois senator, who is vying with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for president, also said there was no question Gore would play an important role in shaping his policies on climate change and that he already consults him on the subject.

"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 someone I talk to on a regular basis," Obama said. "I'm already consulting with him on these issues. Climate change is real. It's something we have to deal with now."

Gore's consultations with the presidential hopeful are of interest amid speculation over whether he will publicly endorse either Obama or Clinton.

The former vice president, who served with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, is considered one of the most influential of the so-called superdelegates in the Democratic Party who will play a role, along with delegates selected in state-by-state voting contests, in picking the Democratic nominee.

Gore, who lost his own bid for the White House in 2000 to George W. Bush amid the disputed Florida voting, is highly regarded by many in the party. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work to try to halt the warming of the earth.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan; editing by David Wiessler)