A personal story regarding Al Gore.............

[Tennessee Gal]

I have taken notice of the threads in recent days regarding Al Gore. If you will notice, I am a Tennessee Gal! I live not very far from Carthage, Tennessee. I am in the business world. Last Thursday I went to lunch with a local banker who had known the Gore family for over 20 years. Naturally being a loyal Democrat and Gore supporter, I asked a few questions. Here are some of the responses (paraphrased to the best of my recollections):

"I lived as a neighbor to Al and Tipper for over 20 years. They are wonderful down-to-earth friendly people. Just regular folks."

"When Gore was Vice-President and at his home in Carthage, the Secret Service hid in my bushes while they watched over him."

"On Sunday mornings I would go out and rev up my old Corvette to go to church and the Secret Service would come running. I would explain that I live here and I always drive my noisey Corvette to church on Sunday."

"I have seen Al go out fishing in the river just like anyone else - old baggy clothes and all!"

"I firmly believe that had Al Gore been in the White House the attacks of 9/ll would not have happened and we would definitely not be at war in Iraq."

"Al Gore and his family are nothing like the national media and the Republican Party have attempted to make him out to be."

"He should have been president."

As for me, I have personally met Al Gore at three political functions. I firmly believe that he is a genuine caring human being and this world would be a better place with him in the White House.

[JSK]

1. Just more salt in our wounds...

Sigh.

[90-percent]

2. interesting

What year is your Corvette?

Al's also a self described Frank Zappa fan.

This country could stand for greatness and goodness if Al became President.

-85%



edit: grammar

[Tennessee Gal]

5. I think you misunderstood

It was the banker who had the Corvette. Not me.

I wish it were me!

[spooky3]

3. Thanks for posting this.

[pearl]

4. I Agree

I am sick about it. I will never forgive
the national media for this.

[cloud75]

6. he would have been a great president the media IS to blame this time

[JSK]

7. Here's something that will make you sick

A fantastic piece, "The New Science of Character Assassination" that came out just before selection 2000. Really spells out exactly what they (the pukes and their lap dog media) did to Gore.

< Character assassination is, of course, nothing new for Republicans, who mastered the art in the days of Richard Nixon. What's new is that the press constantly repeats the lies. Not just once or twice, not just the occasional slip, but over and over and over.>

<A kind of coup is in effect, continuing the pattern of the Whitewater hoax and impeachment. If the far right succeeds in its campaign, then the incoming government will be staffed by people who are trained in the new science of character assassination. It's all they know. And having destroyed Al Gore, they will come after the rest of us.>


http://xraynet.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$202

(edited to add second quote)

[Tennessee Gal]

8. Great Link and thanks!

Damn the media and what they did to Al Gore!

[mojavekid]

9. Thanks for posting,

Nice to be reminded of what it felt like to be hopeful about our nations leadership...

[VPStoltz]

10. Al Gore must have had an inferiority complex.

It always seemed to me that he was always trying to say what he thought people wanted to hear in a way. He was never so real as the night he sadly conceded to that prick Bush. I kept saying, "If this had been the Al Gore we had been seeing all along, there would have been no contest. Bush would have been back in Crawford crying in his beer." Subsequently, he has shone himself to be passionate, very funny, and a true patriot in his love for the U.S. and his determination to make it a better place.

[FreedomAngel82]

29. I think now days

he's more who he is. He isn't in a public office so he probably feels like he can be more himself. I think that's what has changed about him in his public speaking. :D I also believe if Gore was president NONE of this would be happening now. No 9/11, no Iraq, no huge debt etc. Gore was already involved in the intelligence team with Clinton and had experience with Al-Quida. If it was Al-Quida who did knock the towers down Gore would have stopped this I believe. He would've probably created more jobs and the economy and surplus would've just boomed even more by putting people at the airport for safety, not ignored the memo, put people at the ports and boarders. SO much would've been different with our true president Al Gore. :cry:

[Tennessee Gal]

11. I wrote this for Buzzflash....

Mods please forgive posting the entire article, but I am the author........

Sorry for tooting my own horn folks, but I was incensed about the media's treatment of Al Gore in the 2000 election!

The Media's Violation of Public Trust

by Rebecca Knight

June 14, 2002

"The news and truth are not the same thing." - Walter Lippmann, American Journalist, 1889-1974

My patience with the corrupt Bush administration is wearing so thin that it is almost palpable. Every day the evidence of hypocrisy, partisanship, and blatant disregard for the needs of American citizens gets worse. You probably feel the same way because, just as I do, you inform yourself through the Internet. However, we must keep in mind that we may know a lot more than the average American about the Bush campaign and the Bush administration's agenda.

One of the single biggest challenges facing American citizens right now is wading through the hype the mainstream media feeds the public. Just imagine being cut off from the Internet and forced to receive your news from the local newspaper or television only. Now, take it one step further and imagine you don't even have cable television news, but only the big three networks. Just imagine. Think about it. You might believe, through lack of evidence to the contrary, that W is doing a wonderful job and respond favorably if questioned by a pollster.

Evidence of this contention is confirmed by a report completed recently by Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting entitled "Who's On The News?"(1) Approximately one quarter of television-viewing homes in America tune in ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News or NBC Nightly News on an average weeknight -- that's about two-thirds of the U.S. public that claims to follow current events regularly. It serves the country poorly when, as these findings show, broadcast news functions more as a venue for the claims and opinions of the powerful than as a democratic forum for public discussion and education.

The Nation published a great article by Mark Crispin Miller in January entitled "What's Wrong With This Picture?" that detailed the corporate control of the media, including a chart.(2,3) At that time there were ten multinational corporations ruling most of the media, but this constantly changes as mergers and acquisitions take place. What does the public lose when AOL Time Warner, General Electric, Viacom, Disney, and Rupert Murdoch own the vast majority of our sources of news? We lose a lot! I am not comfortable with NBC News, The Washington Post, Newsweek, MSNBC Cable, MSNBC.com, washingtonpost.com, and Newsweek.com all being controlled by one conglomerate. This concentration of ownership tends to reduce the diversity of media voices and puts great power in the hands of a few companies. As news outlets fall into the hands of large conglomerates with holdings in many industries, conflicts of interest inevitably interfere with newsgathering.

Conglomerates are run for profit. They don't put much value on the "public trust." Lawrence K. Grossman wrote about this issue for the Columbia Journalism Review recently.(4) Mr. Grossman states that what is needed is a new breed of owners with old fashioned values that put a premium on the "public trust" instead of the bottom line. I seriously doubt that any of today's owners would agree with the sentiments expressed by Bill Paley of CBS who once answered concern about the news division costing the network money: "Don't worry about that," Paley replied. "You guys cover the news. I've got Jack Benny to make money for me."

In our society, large corporations are a more common source of censorship than governments: Media outlets killing stories because they undermine corporate interests; advertisers using their financial clout to squelch negative reports; powerful businesses using the threat of expensive lawsuits to discourage legitimate investigations. The most frequent form of censorship is self-censorship: Journalists deciding not to pursue certain stories that they know will be unpopular with the boss. Those reporters who have the courage to buck the pressure from the top run the risk of losing their jobs as corporate media conglomerates are getting rid of the few remaining aggressive television investigative reporters.(5)

One of the best reports I have read about behind the scenes manipulation of the media is an account put together by makethemaccountable.com that details the interference of Jack Welch, then head of GE, on the reporting of all the media outlets under the GE umbrella.(6) Welch was contacted by Karl Rove in 1999 and was convinced by Rove that it would be financially beneficial for GE to have Bush in the White House. Welch had long believed that it was ludicrous for news organizations to work in conflict with the best interests of the corporations that own them. Welch proceeded to influence the news from GE sources to promote GE's financial well being.

Imagine that the only reporting you read or saw about the two candidates for president in 2000 came from your local newspaper or the big three networks. If you did not have the Internet with which to explore the facts, would your opinion have been skewered by the news media reports that Al Gore was an accomplished liar and George W. Bush was a "compassionate conservative?" See the difference?

I firmly believe that the mainstream media's coverage of the 2000 presidential election was so biased it is the primary reason Shrub is in the White House. Biased! Yes, indeed! The mainstream media is biased in favor of W. I said it! Now, why would I believe that?

Consider the outrageous hypocrisy in the reporting by the mainstream media. Last fall Howard Fineman covered Shrub's trip to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to address the troops regarding the war on terror. The fawning Fineman reported gleefully regarding W's attire: "Dubyah loves to wear the uniform -- whatever the correct one happens to be for a particular moment. I counted no fewer than four changes of attire during the day trip we took to Fort Campbell in Kentucky and back." Now compare that to Fineman's contention that Al Gore's wardrobe changes during the campaign proved Gore was a nut. Brian Williams raised the question of Gore wearing polo shirts on five separate occasions in one week alone. Fineman was with Williams for the last account. Fineman said, "I mean, he's already gone through seven or eight changes of clothing here." Fineman was quickly assuring the world that something bad was wrong with Gore -– because of the Gore changes in attire. This type of Gore criticism was rampant. Fineman and Chris Matthews had a giggle over it on "Hardball" two days later. And these people get paid big bucks for this garbage! I think they are seriously deranged!

"Florida 'recounts' make Gore winner" was the headline of a newspaper on Monday, January 29, 2001.(7) Can you guess where? The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, or USA Today? No! It was the British newspaper The Guardian. There was never a headline like that anywhere in the U.S. It boggles the mind!

Did Al Gore ever speak the words, "I invented the Internet," anywhere? No! His actual quote was; "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system." How did that get twisted into the myth? You guessed it! The Republican Party and the mainstream media converted his quote into something they could pound him with. Actually Gore was instrumental in legislation leading to public access to the Internet. On June 24, 1986, Gore introduced the S-2594 Superconductor Network Study Act. In 1988, Gore introduced the National High Performance Computing and Communications Act that was signed by President George H. W. Bush into Public Law 102-194 in 1991. Gore's contribution is acknowledged as a Congressman, Senator, and Vice President by Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf, the two people who designed the basic architecture and core protocols that make the Internet work, with this statement: "No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time."(8)

The "Love Story" controversy was also played to the hilt by the mainstream media, but Gore was simply quoting from a Nashville newspaper article. The Boston Globe's Walter Robinson and Ann Scales attacked Gore's veracity: "He has also said that he and his wife, Tipper, were the models for the movie Love Story, only to be contradicted by the author, Erich Segal." Their source was Time magazine. Trouble is, Gore never made that claim and Segal never contradicted him. Chatting on the press plane about movies for a couple of hours, Gore had simply remarked to two Time magazine writers on a newspaper interview in which Segal had described Al and Tipper as his models for the movie. True. The Tennessean did so report, but it misquoted Segal, who had told the reporter he based only the male in the movie on Gore. So Segal's "contradiction" was a correction for a newspaper, not Gore. Segal noted: "Al attributed it to a newspaper. Time thought it was more piquant to leave that out." End of story? Not a bit. Heavyweight commentators seized on Love Story to lash Gore for "inflating his past," "bragging" and "prevaricating."

And what about the "Love Canal" story? Visiting Concord High School in New Hampshire, Gore urged the students not to be cynical about politics. He said he had been stimulated to hold hearings on toxic waste at Toone, Tennessee, and the Love Canal, New York, by a letter from a high school student. "It all happened because one high school student got involved." The Washington Post and The Washington Times turned that into Gore saying: "I was the one that started it all." It continues to be recycled as a "typical" Al Gore lie.

Did Al Gore spend his youthful summers in Tennessee working the family farm? You bet, but when he said so, he was called a liar because the celebrity press corps was saying that he was really brought up in the posh Fairfax Hotel in Washington, D.C. Gore said, "My father taught me how to clear land with a doubleheaded axe . . how to plough a steep hillside with a team of mules." In fact, as even critical biographers confirm, Gore's Dad did make him spend long tough summers doing backbreaking chores on the family farm.

These are just a few examples of the media's headstrong pursuit of a mythical Gore personality flaw behind supposed exaggerations. Did the media give equal coverage to Bush misstatements or exaggerations? Of course not!


In the second debate Bush argued that a stronger hate-crimes law was not needed in Texas because three men were facing the death penalty for the racially motivated murder of James Byrd. "It's going to be hard to punish them any worse after they're put to death," Bush said, with a smirk on his face. The problem was that Bush was wrong. One of the men received life imprisonment, not the death penalty. I knew that he was wrong the second I heard him say it. After the debate, I waited for the media to call him on it. They never did and this was a major criminal case that occurred while he was Texas governor.


On the environment, in the Oct. 11 debate, Bush made conflicting statements within minutes. Bush said, "We need to make sure that if we decontrol our plants that there's mandatory –- that the plants must conform to clean air standards, the grand-fathered plants. That's what we did in Texas. No excuses. I mean, you must conform." Minutes later he shifted to a voluntary program: "Well, I – I – I don't believe in command-and-control out of Washington, D.C. I believe Washington ought to set standards, but I don't – again, I think we out to be collaborative at the local levels. And I think we ought to work with people at the local levels." One would think that the press would have wanted a clarification, especially since Bush had installed voluntary programs in Texas in close collaboration with the industries being regulated. But the press basically ignored Bush's contradictions.


Bush also mistakenly said that China and India were exempt from the Kyoto Treaty. They were not exempt. They were not held to the same standards as the rest of the developed world, but they made a commitment to reducing emissions.


Bush said that the Clinton-Gore administration "took 40 million acres of land out of circulation without consulting local officials ….. I just cited an example of the administration just unilaterally acting without any input." Bush was wrong. In fact, the Forest Service conducted 600 public meetings nationwide and more that 100 million Americans urged the administration to strengthen the proposal.


Bush said that Texas water was cleaner as a result of actions taken as governor, but the Sierra Club said: "The discharge of industrial toxic pollution into surface waters in Texas increased from 23.2 million pounds in 1995 to 25.2 million pounds in 1998, the last year with data available." Oops! And the media let it slide!


Bush's claims to be a "uniter and not a divider" were pure fabrication when one considers the total trash job his campaign did on John McCain in the Republican primaries. Bush reiterated this promise after securing the Republican nomination, but immediately unleashed the hounds on Gore's character and credibility. The press noticed this change in tactics, but again gave Bush a free pass.


Bush contended that he was not a man who relied on polling to formulate his policies or decisions. Yet, he spent approximately the same amount on polling data as the Gore camp during the 2000 campaign.


Bush made an issue of the Clinton White House sleepovers for friends and contributors. He cleverly forgot to mention that while he was Texas governor there were 203 guests who stayed overnight at the Governor's Mansion in Austin. More than half of those guests were responsible for donating $2.2 million to his campaign. Of course the media took no notice of the hypocrisy.


The biggest whopper Bush told was that Gore's campaign had out spent his. In fact, the Bush campaign out-raised and outspent the Gore campaign by approximately $60 million.(9) The media totally overlooked this whopper! It was infuriating!

Now consider the lack of reporting of the misrepresentations made by Bush to the ones the media fabricated about Gore and you will notice a glaring bias by the mainstream media favoring Bush.

Next consider the backgrounds of the two candidates. George W. Bush received a spot in the Texas Air National guard ahead of 500 others through favoritism. Then he apparently failed to fulfill his commitment. He had at least one DUI and rumors of cocaine abuse. He was accused of insider trading and he was facing possible charges of lying under oath in the Funeralgate scandal. Bush sidestepped these issues or refused comment at all. By contrast, Gore admitted in 1988 to smoking marijuana. Notice the difference? And did the media spend very much time investigating Bush's background? No!

What does all this indicate? It supports the theory that the national mainstream media is complicit in helping George W. Bush obtain the White House. It absolutely proves the bias of the media and substantiates the fact that the media is a national disgrace. There was no fairness and accuracy in the reporting of election 2000. The media failed the American public.

And don't try to tell me that the media is "liberal!" That dog won't hunt! There is just too much evidence to the contrary!

The problem is that only through frequent use of the Internet, can one research the accuracy of reporting. All others, the vast majority of Americans, do not have the details at their fingertips. Most likely, they do not care. That is the sad part. The complacency of the American citizens who accept what the mainstream media dishes out is the reality we face. It is also a contributing factor to the Bush approval ratings.

How do we reverse complacency? I wish I knew! I keep contemplating that problem and searching for ideas. Right now, my best suggestion is to share everything you find supporting our positions with others. Print articles you agree with and spread them around. Write letters to the media and elected officials. We must hold them accountable! And most importantly, support progressive web sites. They are providing a valuable service!

I firmly believe that there is strength in numbers and we will eventually succeed. It will try our patience, but we must be persistent in order to overcome the problems inherent in the media's violation of the public trust.



(1) http://www.fair.org/press-releases/power-sources-release.html

(2) http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020107&s=miller

(3) http://www.thenation.com/special/bigten.html

(4) http://www.cjr.org/year/02/1/grossman.asp

(5) http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Book_Excerpts/MoreYouWatch_CP.html

(6) http://makethemaccountable.com/coverup/Part_04.htm

(7) http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,430276,00.html

(8) http://www.matrix.net/publications/mn/mn1010_al_gore_and_the_internet.html

(9) http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/index/AllCands.htm

Who Controls The Media?

http://www.nowfoundation.org/communications/tv/mediacontrol.html

Fear & Favor 2001: How Power Shapes The News

http://www.fair.org/reports/ff2001.html


Media Bias

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/brambles/499/Bush/Truth/truth.html

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Media/Redux/redux.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=14976&cf2=1

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/071601a.html

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2000/101500a.html

http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/30/media/index.html

http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/10/11/gore/

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/brambles/499/Bush/Columba2/columba2.html

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2000/020100a.html

http://www.fair.org/articles/softball.html

http://www.fair.org/extra/0101/gore-bush.html

http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/zmag/zarticle.cfm?Url=articles/june97herman.htm

[peacetalksforall]

13. I read some and am printing out the entire piece - looks like a

quality effort. Thanks.

[Tennessee Gal]

15. Here is the link.......................

http://www.buzzflash.com/southern/2002/06/14_southern.html

[bananas]

16. gore_in_context

There was a good website which debunked all the lies,
it was called "gore_in_context" and was at geocities.com and tripod.com

[wli]

21. ... which is why HR 2726 is there: to censor the internet

Truly terrifying that the last conduit of useful information is about to get lobotomized.

[deadparrot]

12. Here's another awesome Gore story:

http://janvbear.blogspot.com/2005/06/thank-god-for-al-gore.html

[FreedomAngel82]

31. How beautiful

That made me cry. Simply beautiful. I wonder what would've happened if that was George Bush running in the gym and saw that.

[Cha]

14. I said as much on an earlier thread

today.."I firmly believe that had Al Gore been in the White House the attacks of 9/ll would not have happened and we would definitely not be at war in Iraq."

15. Silly me..I believe that New York's
World Trade Center would still be standing.

Gore would not have ignored the August 6 memo or The Hart Rudman Report..Gore is a micro-manager and Worlds smarter than a chimpanzee.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1971876

[Gloria]

17. And here's my bittersweet Buzzflash piece on Gore from 9/25/02

http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/925Rally.htm
or
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/09/27_Gore.html

HIGH NOON AT THE HOLIDAY INN WITH AL GORE

September 25, 2002

Radiotelevision de Rio Bravo from Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua; the Las Cruces High School mariachi band; cheerleaders; union leaders; a college student begging for a ticket…it could only be a Democratic get-out-the vote rally featuring Al Gore, hot on the heels of his momentous San Francisco speech on Monday, September 24 and a rally in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Tuesday



Although I arrived very early for the 11:30 rally, the place was packed. I had brought about 25 slips of paper that I had designed and printed up which included the Buzzflash logo, the link to my little site, and the Democratic Underground URL. I started out handing a few out to union leaders, a college student, a woman with a camera representing “Lens Press” who was trying to get to the press area, and a few local politicians. As people filed in the Onate High School band joined the mariachis and started playing ditties like “Born to be Wild,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Wooly Bully” as only big bands can play them. I think I heard “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” three times before noon. Around 11:40 the obligatory “your car will be towed” announcement was made. By 11:45, older women with bad knees were clapping and cheering to “I Get Around” as still more people filed in. I estimate the crowd was at least 500.



By noon, the Gore-Richardson party had arrived after appearing at a breakfast in Albuquerque and the introductions began. Everyone stood for the national anthem. No one can say that New Mexican Democrats aren’t patriotic…they sang with fervor and brought tears to my eyes. The Star Spangled Banner usually doesn’t emotionally affect me, but these people sang their hearts out and one could tell that many were crying out both love and SADNESS over what has happened to the country.



A representative from Senator Jeff Bingaman’s office read a letter. He was supposed to be in town for the rally, but his letter said he was still in Washington working to get a good energy bill completed.



At 12:10 there was an announcement that people had to move so Gore and Bill Richardson would be able to pass. The announcer said the Secret Service had made the request, but I don’t believe any Secret Service people were there. I saw only uniformed county sheriffs around the stage.



A large part of the introductions involved the naming of all the unions that were represented: teachers, electrical, plumbing and steamfitters, communications workers, sheet metal workers, steel workers, government workers, the state field reps from the AFL-CIO, and leaders from the Tortugas Indian Pueblo. Listening to the list unfold, I envisioned the working people of the country, the people who make the country run. It was a moving recitation.



The local candidate for the open Congressional seat being vacated by Joe Skeen spoke briefly and was a pleasant surprise. He nailed his opponent Pearce, for whom Bush raised a load of money recently, repeatedly pointing out issue after issue that Pearce supposedly “supports” but which never has voted to fund.



Bill Richardson then came on and did a brief turn before introducing Diane Denish, running to be the first female Lt. Governor. Diane minced no words, calling Al “The man who should have been President” and referring to how he “proudly stood a few days ago…to raise issues that are important to all Americans.”



At 12:40, Al finally took the stage, took off his jacket, and shouted “Viva Las Cruces!”



Many of his warm-up jokes are now familiar to most readers: how he used to be V.P., the Shoney’s story, etc. But, I laughed as hard as anybody else did because hearing them done live, with little twists and in the company of fellow Democrats, is much different than seeing him deliver them on TV. Especially poignant was how he told the story of the rally here in Las Cruces only a few days before the election (which drew over 10,000 people), how good he had felt, “filled with green chile and red chile…then the election and the 36 days.”



Breaking for a moment, he said he was now switching from napkins to a towel to wipe off the perspiration, quipping, “I knew I shouldn’t have had that chile before I came out here!”



Al thanked America for letting him serve, listing all his offices and his service in the Army in Viet Nam, a nice touch considering that Las Cruces is just over the mountains from the White Sands Missile Range and is the home of many military retirees.



After the jokes, Al said it was time to get serious and he started to talk about the election. He said there is a “need for men and women in office who care about YOU!” He spoke about the economy and asked, “Are you better off than you were two years ago? And are you ready to do something about it?” He spoke about the recession, and focused on the latest poverty report and how New Mexico has been hit harder than anyplace else.



“People have to decide to vote in their own self-interest,” he exclaimed. “They’ve been beguiled by fancy slogans used by the other side.” He added that meanwhile, Republicans have been “making connections for those who already are well-off.”



Then he told a story that I HADN’T heard before. He told the story about how a man was riding down the road and saw a sign saying “Republican kittens for sale.” The sign was up for a couple of weeks. Then one day he saw the “Republican” crossed out and replaced by the word “Democratic.” Curious, the man stopped and inquired why the sign had been changed to “Democratic kittens.” The owner replied, “They were Republican, but they’ve got their eyes open now!” Much laughter and applause for that one!



Al returned to New Mexico concerns and pointed out that there are only six seats needed to changed the House and two of the seats are in New Mexico! Then he said, “God Bless Jim Jeffords.”



He mentioned the demise of the surplus, the need for a prescription drug benefit for seniors, and the need to help working people.



Returning to Bill Richardson’s bid for the governorship, Al spoke in Spanish (and translated afterward), saying “My mother felt it was a good idea for both of us to shave our beards!” He emphasized that Richardson had the experience to create better ties for better trade between New Mexico and Mexico.



Then Al started to close, asking us to recall how we felt the moment the Supreme Court stopped the vote in Florida. People shouted angrily and one voice stood out, proclaiming that “Bush was selected, not elected.” Al urged people to start getting people to early polling stations (early voting starts tomorrow 9/26 here in New Mexico). “Every time you feel weary, draw on that feeling…. If someone tries to say your votes doesn’t count, send them to talk to me.”



On that note, the crowd started to surge forward. I followed and much to my surprise, I was able to get close enough to have Al sign my ticket. People were asking if he was going to run again, one woman praised his San Francisco speech. Just then I managed to get my hand up and shove a wad of my Buzzflash/DemocraticUnderground slips into Al’s hand. He started signing, then realizing they weren’t the same as what he had been signing asked, “Are these for me?” Yes, I said, and then told him “we need you.” In those brief moments close to him, I noticed that he looks much thinner than he does on TV and that he is very fair with hair that is lighter brown than one would expect.

As I moved away from the podium I bumped into a reporter from the infamous Las Cruces Sun-News who wanted to know what I thought about rallies. I said it energized people. I handed him my very last Buzzflash/DemocraticUnderground slip. I said that, “This isn’t about Al Gore, you know…it’s about people who want to be told the truth about what’s going on!” I decried the state of the corporate-controlled press and questioned what was going on at the Sun-News. He smiled and said that with regard to attempting to do any real reporting, “do that a few times and you learn not to do it again.”

Al was still signing autographs as I slipped out the back, with a sheriff hovering by his side. I saw all the news trucks, with the confession of the reporter still ringing in my ears. I hung around a few minutes and at 1:30 saw a small motorcade pass by, go up the ramp to I-10, and head out to the airport.



For a moment I felt sad…for what might have been and for what is happening now. Al Gore had been inspiring, warm, and heartbreaking, all at the same time.



“Godspeed, Al Gore,” I whispered as I left the Holiday Inn behind. “Godspeed.”



Copyright 2002, Gloria R. Lalumia

[FreedomAngel82]

32. Great article

I loved that joke about the kitten!

[election_2004]

18. And who is the mainstream media supporting now....???

Why none other than Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom they've been talking up ever since January 2001.

Gee, I wonder why...???

[Tennessee Gal]

19. Perhaps they think she can't win

So much for the librul media..............

[election_2004]

20. That's not the only reason

Actually, I think the mainstream media knows that Hillary COULD win.

They simply want to parasitically feed off of the sensational headlines that would regularly ooze from a presidential administration run by Hillary Clinton. She would provide constant public feuding with Republicans, guaranteeing them 4-8 years of tabloid-like journalistic irresponsibility.

Plus she would cause Democrats running for U.S. Senate and U.S. House seats to lose races in red and purple states, ensuring a larger Republican majority in Congress while creating deadlock in the government.

[MO_Dem]

22. This brings me to tears

I would have loved to see Gore be president in '92 and Clinton vice-president. I would have LOVED for Gore to have won in 2000. The whole world would be in a far, far better situation if he were president now. I never believed any of the horrible, wicked press about him. (And don't EVEN get me started on the press mantra in 2000 that the economy is so good, it doesn't matter who wins--GRRRR!)

I know crying does no good, but I can't help it sometimes.

[FreedomAngel82]

33. Wonder how it would be different all the time

if we had president Gore.

[mbee]

23. Great Presidents aren't wanted in America only corporate hacks

that lie, cheat steal an start wars to ruin lives. Last night Tim Russert had on two Gore bashers already. It's very hard to take that the people in charge actually want the average person to have hardships. Evil is on the loose!

[FreedomAngel82]

34. Exactly

Look what they did to Clinton.

[Lisa]

24. The American people chose him to be their leader

I'm not American, but when I encounter critics who insist that Americans are foolish, greedy, and dangerous -- I always remind them that most US voters DID NOT want Bush to be President in 2000.

Recently I screened a video from 1992, about the problems that could result from the loss or privatization of heritage crop and livestock varieties. It featured an interview with Gore, who was one of the few policymakers who was raising the alarm. After the Gore segment, I stopped the video and reminded the class, "This is the guy who probably won the presidency in 2000, if the votes had all been counted." Most of the class were just starting high school at the time, and not really into politics, especially US politics. They were amazed, that a non-scientist could have seen the ramifications of the issue, so early on.

Thanks for all the Gore stories, Tennessee Gal!

[kentuck]

25. And Bush and his supporters conveniently forgot that fact....

and figuratively speaking, spat in our faces.

[Lisa]

26. "humble" fell by the wayside pretty quickly, didn't it!

But of course, Bush's gang doesn't know the meaning of the word. (Seriously -- they'd probably have to look it up in Webster's, if you asked them.)

[FreedomAngel82]

35. Yep

Gore is my president and same thing with John Kerry. Bush is nothing but a war criminal lying thief! I'd even say this in public and at my church!

[Libby2]

27. Bush isn't fit to shine Al's shoes n/t

n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

28. I just love Gore myself!

I was a total Gore fan and wish I was old enough to vote for him in 2000. But I wasn't. :( I too live in Tennessee. I wish he would run again and he could be rightfully president as he should be. Damn George Bush! And I've seen him on tv at events (like the MoveOn speech he gave earlier this year about Iraq and Social Security) he was very down to earth and sounding great! He really has changed a lot with his public speaking. I think he's probably done it more then before. He would do so well in the debates and kick ass against whomever the rightwing nominates in 2008.

[autorank]

30. Well, we don't get a human president in the new milenium.

We get droids. What a joke Bush is. This conforms to my perception of what Gore would be like. Ugh, Bush and the crew just make me sick.

[JPZenger]

36. Press Liked George W., Didn't Like Gore

For whatever reason, the national press corps really did not like Al Gore. Meanwhile, George W. was very successful at charming the reporters who covered him. Because of this, the national media were much more likely to portray George W. as a consensus-building compassionate moderate, and Gore as a wooden automoton.

George W.'s charming of the press corp was captured in depth on a documentary that is available on DVD from Netflix.