Al Gore officially kicked off his presidential campaign yesterday in Tennessee, making brief mention of the environment. “Some want to cut back on environmental protection and let polluters off the hook. I will never let that happen,” he said, making a clear comparison between himself and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the leading Republican candidate, who recently backed a bill that would put in place a voluntary compliance program for Texas industrial polluters. A New York Times editorial notes that Gore has been a key policy player on environmental issues in the Clinton administration, while Bush is weak in the environmental arena.