Column Left

Former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. recently made a rousing speech under the auspices of MoveOn.org and I’m having some problems with several aspects of this event, to understate the matter.

Isn’t former Vice President Gore supposed to be part of the mainstream Democratic Party? Wasn’t he once a hair’s breath away from being the President of the United States of America, the Commander-in-Chief of its Armed Forces? Didn’t he lose the last presidential election in a furiously-contested, judicially-decided race?

And, isn’t MoveOn.org a far Left organization?

Knowing, of course, that the answer to all of these rhetorical questions is in the affirmative, it was quite unnerving to hear the Deanian tone in which he delivered this speech (heard on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show). The unleashed hysteria in which he called for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, the CIA director, et alia, makes me shudder. Has he been angry, seething and furious all this time? Has he not put the election behind him? I don’t know. Watching him now, I think how former Vice President Gore might have reacted to adversity as POTUS, say, during an attack on the home soil.

And then there are the things that he actually said.

At first, I had planned to do a by-the-book fisking of the speech. Former Vice President Gore’s mischaracterization of the circumstances under which the Abu Ghraib abuses took place deserves a point-by-point refutation all on its own. However, I decided to take one part of it to comment upon, because it is symbolic of the whole thing. Amid the lies, half-truths and out-of-context truths with which he peppers his speech, one part of it stands out as a symptom of the problem. That problem is defined as such: denial.

He [President Bush] has exposed Americans abroad and Americans in every U.S. town and city to a greater danger of attack by terrorists because of his arrogance, willfulness, and bungling at stirring up hornet's nests that pose no threat whatsoever to us. And by then insulting the religion and culture and tradition of people in other countries. And by pursuing policies that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women and children, all of it done in our name.

President Bush said in his speech Monday night that the war in Iraq is "the central front in the war on terror." It's not the central front in the war on terror, but it has unfortunately become the central recruiting office for terrorists. [Dick Cheney said, "This war may last the rest of our lives.] The unpleasant truth is that President Bush's utter incompetence has made the world a far more dangerous place and dramatically increased the threat of terrorism against the United States. Just yesterday, the International Institute of Strategic Studies reported that the Iraq conflict " has arguable focused the energies and resources of Al Qaeda and its followers while diluting those of the global counterterrorism coalition." The ISS said that in the wake of the war in Iraq Al Qaeda now has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks.

“hornet's nests that pose no threat whatsoever to us”

“the Iraq conflict " has arguable focused the energies and resources of Al Qaeda and its followers”

Were the attacks of September eleventh an example of Al Qaeda’s *unfocused* energies and resources? Did the “hornet's nests” demonstrate that they “pose[d] no threat whatsoever to us” on that day?

I am astonished by this speech.

I am frightened by the fact that a certain segment of our society sees President Bush and his cohorts as more of a threat to civilization than those who would convert us to Islam by the sword or destroy this country as an alternative.

And I am most frightened by the fact that someone like Albert Gore—for eight years and for one tedious month in the last part of 2000, inches from the presidency--chooses to be their champion.

UPDATE: Think I was exaggerating? Check this out.

(Thanks to Rachel Lucas)

Comments

[Steve Lambert]

Baldilocks: Read your post after reading about Ms. Cutler and Wonkette's Ms. Cox and the utter and complete lack of honor and decency that they represent in Washington DC. Al Gore's merely pandering to that crowd. This isn't new. There've been whores and demogogues around always. Honor and decency will out. I believe that.

[Steampress]

Appalling; I agree. Actually I think he has a screw loose myself. I saw him on tv the other night going on
about the new movie Day after tomorrow. He thinks it is a good example of what is to come and he was all chocked up about it. A scientist rebutted his statements about the possiblity of the movie becoming reality he said "not a chance". Ok,Al,go get a real job, step away from the mike; and get out of our face.

[Noble Eagle]

After reading your post, I became convinced that the former VP had become completely unhinged. Upon further reflection, I realized that he was probably never "hinged" in the first place. I am sooooo thankful that he wasn't POTUS on 9/11.

[Germnicus]

the other day E-Claire suggested that "al-Q oughta be serving up hummus and iced Turkish coffees to the naive SOBs dummies delegates" at the Dhimicrat Convention. Al Gore needs to start smoking weed again and chill the f*@% out. it is really scary when people become passionate about bad or dangerous ideas.

i listened to an interview with the founders of "moveon.org" on Fresh Aire with Terry Gross. much to my shock, the founders were not islamists or other foreign enemies who would try to destroy us from inside out, but Americans. that made me sad.

[BA]

I keep wondering if Gore's increasingly oddball behavior is the result of him sitting around fuming and thinking, "damn it, if only I'd gotten my way in the election, *I'd* be the one who got to be President during 9/11 and *I'd* be the one who would go down in history and *I'd* be a national hero!"

At least he shaved off that awful looking beard.

[ic]

"The ISS said that in the wake of the war in Iraq Al Qaeda now has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks. " But before we went to Afghanistan, there were app. 20,000 Al Qaeda in Afg.

[Nick Larsen]

Irony of Ironies. Here is a fellow speaking for moveon.org (the very name itself a self-contradiction considering the members are still hung-up on Al Gore's 2000 attempted theft), the organization that loves to morph images of Bush.

And so I'm struck (especially in a few speeches he made a few months ago) watching Gore's dark combed over, greased up hair, listening to the staccato cadence of his speech, the short raising and falling waves imposed on an every rising tone, ever climbing in furry, frenzy, and rage. And watching his arms swing more and more as the frenzy increased, watching that flock of greased hair start to flap down and bounce across his face as his pitch goes to a horrified scream.... And I find myself reminded of another public speaker, a European speaker, from about 70 years ago.

And the really scary thing is this, I wouldn't in the least be surprised if somebody told Al Gore, "You know, Hitler was a very good and effective public speaker who had a gift of converting otherwise sane people into following him." And off Al Gore went to practice for four years and "reinvent" himself,....again.

[meep]

Holy crap that's scary.

I thought they invented Prozac to cure a problem like that. I don't see why any Democrats would be eager to give Gore a microphone. Notice how Dean just kinda... disappeared? Haven't heard anything from Dean in a while. And he's just as relevant as Gore is.

[Deb]

That picture is amusing. Tom at Undercaffeinated had a humorous edit of it. :o)

Gore is still singing that sore loser torch song. So sad. For him, not for us. We'd have war here -- *HERE* if he had gotten in.

[Patrick Chester]

At least he shaved off that awful looking beard.

...Oh. My. God. Al Gore's been replaced by his evil duplicate from the "Mirror, Mirror" universe in that old Star Trek episode! ;)

[John]

We always have people of moveon.org's type; they complete the bell curve. At times, they develop a resonance which sends a blip along the curve making it appear that their opinion is more impressive than what it really is. It eventually peters out as it meets resistance on the rest of the curve.

I can't immediately point to events similar to this in our history, particularly with such prominent people as a former VP rallying their cause, but I am sure there are events to compare.

What is interesting and satisfying is that Gore's speech did not get the type of attention it would have a year ago, and the seriousness to which it was received as a contribution to the public debate has faded greatly.

I content myself with the knowledge that Gore's future will be that of the madhatted professor whose lectures the students giggle about on their way out of class.

Thanks, Baldilocks, for helping to make this future possible.

[Nick Larsen]

I hate to double post, but looking at that picture,...heeheehee, I just can't help it!

Y'all remember Gore's ram-rod straight mechanical posture in 2000? I always wondered if he had a stick up his a**.

Well, I think that picture captured the stick being re-inserted!

[Rae]

I am trying to think if I have ever heard a former VP ever speak in such a venomous and personally vengful manner of a standing president?

[Silicon Valley Jim]

I'm increasingly disturbed by the thought that I might well have voted for him in 1992 if he'd been the Democratic nominee for President. I thought that he was a principled and decent man. What a fool I was.

[Jim]

Easy explanation: He's been important all his adult life, and now he's unimportant. So, he lashes out.

[Cassandra]

Silicon Valley Jim:

I had the same thought looking at that picture. Many moons ago ago, when I was just a young lass, I thought that I might just vote for Al Gore for President one day.

Scary thought.

Like the song says, thank God for unanswered prayers.

[Cassandra]

Well, it really wasn't that long ago that I needed to type "ago" twice... :)

[Pearl]

Have the Democrats come up with a way to make their candidate look good by comparison?

[BloodSpite]

Gather round boys and girls, Gather and see the latest discovery of science
Democratus Nohumilitus.

I agree scary, frightening, terrifying even, but if each, in our own little way, make people aware of this mad, foaming beast that lurks out there in the political jungle, we can prevent him and his like from being released upon the world.

Sorry stayed up too late watching Animal Planet I guess....... :)

[StinKerr]

Moveon.org has seriously eroded whatever credibility they may have ever had. They just get worse and worse. I was willing to listen to Joe Wilson when he was bitching about someone blowing his wife's CIA status untill he said that he had associated himself with moveon.org. It looks like Al is doing everything he can to make himself less and less relevant or maybe he's after some of that Soros money.

Disappear again, Al, and take Ted Kennedy with you. No, wait... these @$$hats make GW look good. Nevermind.

[Sharon]

Aww geeze Baldilocks, what you've missed is that President Gore (if you count the votes and not the court that put Bush in office,) is trying to point out is that "W" is not up to the job.

I was not a fan of the incursion into Iraq, but holy moly, if you're going to invade a country, do it well.

When I'm being charitable, I think that these (BushCo) guys got "played", by Chilabi (sp) and the Iranians. [And you know what, if the Iranian's punked us, FIRE Bush's war cabinet!]

Aside from that, if I'm reading the situation from jump, OSP bent intel to make a PNAC theory work, [and paid no attention to the people (experts in their fields,) our tax dollars pay, each and every day, to stop our country from embarking on George and Dick's Excellent Adventure.]

Either way, once W put boots on the ground, he really didn't give them the support to do their job.

There were not enough people on the groundto keep everyone safe, he gave them an ever changing strategy in country, contracted out essential services--see CACI, and a signed off on a CPA that was run by know-nothing-kids from The Heritage Foundation, etc, etc.

Nope, come November, it's time to fire this CEO and his senior staff.

Al isn't just speaking truth to power, he's giving us a road map to an honorable America in a difficult time.

Note to those who think that I'm ragging on the guys in Iraq--they've performed in ways that have astonished me. You can't read about (in the WSJ) a man who falls on hand grenade to save members of his unit and not be awed by his sacrifice.

[wes jackson]

It's two down, then left for the Hale Bop Express, Sharon.
It's not a good plan to receive a "road map" from a man with drool on his chin.
Anyone who lies so easily and frequently knows nothing of "honor"

[Nick Larsen]

Sharon, I'm sorry but I have to despute the validity of some of your facts. The first is the the election result. Every recount done, both by the state of Florida and by the media (both by county and state wide) re-affirmed Bush as the legitimate winner. Sorry, but you are simply flat wrong on you assertation that it was only the courts. (I will grant you that Gore tried to use the courts to steal the election himself).

Perhaps the Bush administration was played by Chilabi (as it is starting to look). What you fail to mention is that Mr. Clintion and Mr. Gore also used Chilabi as a prime information scource. So, though techincally correct, you are being misleading. A more accurate statement would be, "Chilabi mislead the U.S. over the course of two administrations."

As far as support for the troops and ever changing roles. Well, first I should hope the commanders are adapting to changing situations on the ground and changing the role of the troops to match the situation. Not enough troops to keep tp keep the troops safe? Well, I have an opinion on that as well, but I'll leave it to the military folks to comment.

An honorable America is what we strive for, but I think France, Kerry, Gore, Germany, you, and I have very different ideas on what and honorable America maybe.

I will certainly agree that people like Jason Dunham are part of that ideal though.

[Lola Lee]

I sure hope they don't let Gore anywhere near the mic at the Dem convention. He just might give an even worse speech than this one he gave at the MoveOn's sponsored event (and I long since unlinked myself from the org when they started getting more and more loony). On the other hand - might as well do us all a favor and let him speak during primetime - will be good to see just how far gone the Dem party has gotten.

[PurpleStater]

I had heard portions of the speech on talk radio, but forced myself to watch the entire thing on CSPAN. What was interesting was that, just as Gore reaches the point in his tirade when he is denouncing half the Bush administration and calling for their resignation, the camera operator suddenly decides to pull back for a long shot of the audiotorium, even though Gore is obviously animated and at the height of his address. Thus, the viewer does not get to see him close up during his tirade. As he settles down, the camera moves back in, and does not pull out again, save briefly at the end, again as Gore appears to be getting worked up. I normally do not associate CSPAN with media bias, but this move got me wondering.

[Justene]

Al Gore strikes me as a man just divorced and, no longer hampered by the conventions of society, hangs out with every cute thing that strikes his fancy. He was always more moderate than most but now he doesn't have to be. I like Al. I didn't want him to be President but he can enjoy himself however he wants.

[baldilocks]

LOL, Justene. Interesting metaphor. But, to continue on that theme, you know what they say about what happens when one lies down with 'dogs'...

[Isome]

Nick Larsen wrote:

"Every recount done, both by the state of Florida and by the media (both by county and state wide) re-affirmed Bush as the legitimate winner. ... (I will grant you that Gore tried to use the courts to steal the election himself)."

No, Nick, you are dead wrong. The Florida Ballot Project at the University of Chicago, sponsored by a number of major U.S. News organizations, conducted a comprehensive review all uncounted ballots in the Florida 2000 presidential election, and its findings were reported the week after 11/12/2001. Recounts showed MIXED results. Gore would have won a state-wide recount under MOST counting standards.

However, in direct refutation of your false claim that Gore tried to STEAL the election through the courts, the recount also showed that under the ballot standards that GORE pursued and if the Court had not stopped the recount in Florida, Bush would have won the recount.

The 2000 election remains a contentious issue, as well it should. If you were one of the 57,700 voters who were incorrectly listed as felons on a "scrub list" and had your vote discounted (if you were allowed to vote at all) in an election that ultimately was decided by 537 votes, you would be too. Given that, in some cases, the alleged felonies were dated several years AFTER THE ELECTION and the vast majority of the listed were not felons, you as an American citizen should be concerned that this happened. Wholesale disenfranchisment of citizens with the legal right to vote is frightening. When you add the fact that these people were disproportionately Democrats of African-American and Hispanic descent, you should be holding your nose at the unmistakable stench of something rotten in Florida.

Nick Larsen wrote:

"What you fail to mention is that Mr. Clintion and Mr. Gore also used Chilabi as a prime information scource."

No, Nick. Again, you are dead wrong.

The CIA funded a 1996 foray by the INC and other anti-Saddam groups into Northern Iraq which ended in a fiasco. Chalabi's forecasts that the Iraqi troops deployed in Northern Iraq would desert en masse and join the INC proved wrong. Following the debacle Clinton approved cutting off funds to Chalabi and the INC.

The current administration had no such qualms about making $340,000 monthly payments, of taxpayer monies, to Chalabi. Bush spoke of sitting down with Chalabi in the Oval Office.

Gen. Anthony Zinni, who was the Commanding Officer of the US Central Command, derisively referred to Chalabi as " that silk-suited, Rolex-wearing guy from London." The neo-conservatives in this administration did not (still do not) want his fact-based opinions though.