I‘ll believe the rumors of an Al Gore 2016 presidential campaign when somebody can confidently report that Gore himself has been involved in the conversations, “soft” or otherwise. At most, it seems as if people with some level of connection to Gore have begun talking about the possibility to each other and the press.

But there’s more at play here than bored reporters trying to fill space during the August doldrums. There’s enough concern about Hillary Clinton that Democrats loyal to other party leaders, like Gore and Joe Biden, are beginning to fantasize more openly about their preferred candidates getting into the race. And there’s enough desire among other Democrats for an “in case of emergency, break glass” option that people are willing to listen.