* in 2000 Debate with Gore re:crises "it's a time to test your mettle"

[Roland99]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/2000debates/1stdebate3.html

MR. LEHRER: New question. We've been talking about a lot of specific issues. It's often said that in the final analysis, about 90 percent of being the president of the United States is dealing with the unexpected, not with issues that came up in the campaign. Vice President Gore, can you point to a decision, an action you have taken that illustrates your ability to handle the unexpected, the crisis under fire, et cetera?

<...> (Gore's response snipped)

GOV. BUSH: Well, I've been standing up to big Hollywood, big trial lawyers -- what was the question? It was about emergencies, wasn't it? (Chuckles.)

I can remember the fires that swept Parker County, Texas. I remember the floods that swept our state. I remember going down to Del Rio, Texas. I've got to pay the administration a compliment -- James Lee Witt of FEMA has done a really good job of working with governors during times of crisis. But that's the time when you're tested not only -- it's a time to test your mettle, it's a time to test your heart when you see people whose lives have been turned upside down. It broke my heart to go to the flood scene in Del Rio where a fellow and his family just got completely uprooted. The only thing I knew to do was to get aid as quickly as possible, which we did with state and federal help, and to put my arms around the man and his family and cry with them. But that's what governors do. Governors are oftentimes found on the front line of catastrophic situations.

[bballny]

1. impossible

no heart to break.

[sniffa]

2. but 9-11 changed everything

:puke:

and nominated.

[Beam Me Up]

3. fifth nom. THIS SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. What an ass.

[Chico Man]

4. Wondering why Gore's response was snipped

I'd like to see the responses side by side.

[Roland99]

7. I snipped it for the sake of brevity

Gore's response is viewable at the link.

[RevCheesehead]

8. Gore's response:

VICE PRESIDENT GORE: When the action in Kosovo was dragging on and we were searching for a solution to the problem, our country had defeated the adversary on the battlefield without a single American life being lost in combat, but the dictator, Milosevic, was hanging on, I invited the former prime minister of Russia to my house and took a risk in asking him to get personally involved, along with the -- the head of Finland, to go to Belgrade and to take a set of proposals from the United States that would constitute basically a surrender by Serbia. But it was a calculated risk that -- that paid off.

Now I could probably give you some other examples of decisions over the last 24 years. I have been in public service for 24 years, Jim, and throughout all that time, the people I have fought for have been the middle-class families. And I have been willing to stand up to powerful interests, like the -- the big insurance companies, the drug companies, the HMOs, the oil companies. They have good people, and they play constructive roles sometimes, but sometimes they get too much power.

I cast my lot with the people even when it means that you have to stand up to some powerful interests who are trying to turn the -- the -- the policies and the laws to their advantage. That's -- you can see it in -- in this campaign. The big drug companies support Governor Bush's prescription drug proposal. They oppose mine because they don't want to get Medicare involved, because they're afraid that Medicare will negotiate lower prices for seniors, who currently pay the highest prices of all.

[Chico Man]

10. It's besides the point...

But what a terrible response from Gore.

[Roland99]

11. That's kinda why I snipped, too.

;)

[mattclearing]

13. He basically ignored the question and moved to his script.

That's why Bush disingenuously asked what the question was...it was a poke at Gore's lame answer.

Edit: Actually, the question didn't have to do with disasters, necessarily, so I take it back. Gore's answer still seems evasive and scripted, though.

[drummo]

22. Which is usually what happens

in these damn TV debates where the candidates cannot elaborate on any damn issue in any damn meaningful way because of those damn time limits.
So the result is that they always go back to the script. Always. They want to create a perception based on a few talking points that the press will repeat.

Why? Because most people are too stupid to remember something that is not repeated over and over and over again. The echo-chamber media knows that. Gore knows that too.
Stupid voters deserve stupid debates. That's it.

[berni_mccoy]

5. Eat your words SHRUB*!

:kick:

[RevCheesehead]

6. That's what GOVERNORS do???

Time for you to back off big-time, asshole. Because the governor of Louisiana has run circles around you: THEN AND NOW.

edit/f.y.i. - this hit the front page with only 5 nominations. :)

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. "Governors are oftentimes found on the front line of catastrophic

situations." The only one that does him better was Brown. In a press conference he said something like, yes, I've had a few disasters.

New Orleans must be just the latest.

[Roland99]

12. Oh, and this one time, at a horse show....

[The Doctor.]

14. Then he should have stayed Governor. nt

[Roland99]

15. Hey...homepage!

[savemefromdumbya]

16. I guess he wasn't on vacation at the time?

Bush hasn't been known since then to move quickly in a crisis? Take the morning of 911 and now Katrina...

[savemefromdumbya]

17. I guess he wasn't on vacation at the time?

Bush hasn't been known since then to move quickly in a crisis? Take the morning of 911 and now Katrina...

[formercia]

18. So, George, where's the beef!?

or is more than one family more than you can fathom? Dumb ass cracker.

[mpendragon]

19. tried, tested, and found wanting

Again and again and again he fails the American people. He's just not up to the job and he doesn't really want to do *that* job. He wants to rule an empire and that isn't what being president means.

Leading is a form of service. It means being responsible for your decisions before you make them and the consequences of your mistakes and the mistakes of those you lead after your decisions have been enacted. Being responsible before you make a decision means making sure you are informed with the best information you can get and consult with people that know more about it than you do. Being responsible afterward means reflecting on what happened, determining how you failed, and following through with your vow to never let it happen again. If you show a history of failure be adult enough to admit you are over your head and offer your resignation with a sincere apology.

He doesn't have the character to serve the American people and he doesn't have the character to admit that.

[Roland99]

20. The "War" President failed to protect his citizens.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

21. Kind of off topic

and I have been often dumbfounded by what geedubya says but what exactly does it mean to "stand up to big Hollywood?"

You can usually guess what he means to be talking about but that makes absolutely no sense.

[Roland99]

25. Liberal media types?

:shrug:

[struggle4progress]

23. Yep. He's been the frontman for several catastrophic situations by now.

[Justyce]

24. He seems to think

putting his arms around people & crying with them solves everything -- his answer to any crisis - seems to be enough to appease his supporters who think that's sooo sweet & caring of him... rather than actually doing anything official. (he would draw back nubs if he tried to put his arms around me....)