Gores to host Obama fundraiser

NASHVILLE, July 23 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is preparing to host a Nashville fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, say officials.

A spokeswoman for Gore, has confirmed that Al and Tipper Gore have agreed to the event although a date and location have not been set, nor even whether Obama himself would attend, The Tennessean, a Nashville newspaper, reported Wednesday.

Wade Munday, a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party, said "we would certainly welcome the senator with open arms should he arrive in Nashville before the October debate" at Belmont University, the newspaper said.

Republicans however dismissed the news, with spokesman Bill Hobbs suggesting an Obama visit would make very little difference in Tennessee.

"(He) can fire up the liberals, as we know, but he's just not very popular in Tennessee with ran-and-file Democrats," Hobbs told The Tennessean. "It'll be interesting to see if he even remembers how to get to Tennessee."