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Nov. 25, 2005 I. IS GORE CONTEMPLATING A COMEBACK? After losing in what became the closest and controversial election in United States history, Al Gore was encouraged to run again in 2004. He declined, stating he preferred life as a private citizen. Despite that, there were several “Draft Al” campaigns that went nowhere. We know what happened after that: John Kerry went on to lose to George W. Bush in a campaign that saw him garner the second highest total of popular votes ever. In 2000 Gore chose Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. (“Dull and Duller”) as his running mate. He had won the nomination by defeating Bill Bradley, who left the race early. But during the presidential campaign many Demo faithful believe Gore made a mistake by trying to distance himself from the scandal-tainted Bill Clinton, whom he served under as Vice-president. Gore became the first VP to seek the nation’s highest office and lose his home state (Tennessee). Gore “lost” a close race to Texas Governor George W. Bush. The race was officially decided by the controversial vote totals in Florida—coincidentally, the state where Bush’s brother Jeb served as Governor. Media outlets first declared Gore the winner, then Bush. The race was too close to call and after several court challenges, a recount was initiated. The case eventually wound up in the Supreme Court (Bush V. Gore) and Gore officially conceded after the Court voted 7 to 2 to declare the ongoing Florida recount procedure unconstitutional on the grounds that it was not being carried out statewide. The court also split 5 to 4 to ban further recounts using other procedures. Following the election, a recount conducted by several news organizations revealed that Bush would have won using the partial recount method, but Gore would have won had a statedwide3 recount been undertaken. Demo hopefuls wanted Gore to run again in 2004, but in December 2002 Gore announced that he would not run in 2004, calling on his party to present "fresh faces and new ideas." He argued that if he were to run the election would be more about the rematch itself rather than the issues affecting the country. Afterward Gore became something of a political footnote, perhaps destined to be—in his own words—“The man who used to be the next president of the United States." However, recent polls conducted by the Rasmussen Reports—a firm that collects, publishes and distributes polling information—revealed the following Democratic preferences for 2008: Hillary Clinton 43% Albert A. Gore 14% John Edwards 13% John Kerry 10% For the record, the data shows that in a race without Clinton and Gore, the choices were: John Kerry 38% John Edwards 28% Joseph Biden 6% Gen. Wesley Clark 6% Bill Richardson 5% (These polls were taken November 8 among 326 likely Democratic voters. Also included in the survey were Senators Evan Bayh and Russ Feingold and Governors Tom Vilsack and Mark Warner. None of whom managed to attract 5% of the vote). Though Clinton leads Gore by 3-1, Gore’s second place standing seems to have energized his supporters. Moreover, his stock will climb if Hillary Clinton falters. Furthermore, this past October Gore said, "I do not completely rule out some future interest (in running), but I do not expect to have that." And lately the 57-year old Gore has been sounding more and more like a candidate. II. GORE’S HISTORY Albert Arnold Gore Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993-2001. He was born on March 31, 1948 in Washingto, D.C. and is the son of former Democratic Senator Albert A. Gore, Sr. and Pauline LaFon Gore. In 1965, Gore enrolled at Harvard College, where he majored in government. He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. A year later he married Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson (Tipper Gore). Gore served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971 as a military journalist. He then served as a reporter for the Nashville Tennessean. From 1971-76 he attended Vanderbilt Divinity School and Law School but did not earn a degree, opting to seek a Congressional seat in Tennessee's 4th District. He bested Stanley Rogers in the Democratic primary, then ran unopposed in the general election. He was re-elected three times, in 1978, 1980, and 1982. In 1984 he ran for the Senate seat vacated by Republican Majority Leader Howard Baker. He was re-elected in 1988—the year he also launched his first bid for President, losing to Michael Dukakis. He served in the Senate until 1992. While in Congress, Gore served on the Armed Services, Commerce, Science and Transportation committees among others. He was then chosen for the vice-presidential slot, serving under William Jefferson Clinton. As Vice President of Gore established the National Performance Review, which focused on government waste and fraud. He insisted the government could be made smaller. President Clinton later enacted Gore’s suggestions and downsized the bureaucracy... In 1993 Gore engaged Ross Perot in a live television debate broadcast by CNN. The issues focused on the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA). Most pundits believe he won the debate, which many of his colleagues said helped get the bill passed in the House of Representatives, Under Clinton-Gore the economy rolled forward. Their administration was given credit for achieving the highest rate of homeownership in American history, the lowest level of unemployment in more than three decades and decreased the national debt by $630 billion, which led to the largest American budget surplus. Gore was criticized in 1999, however unfairly, for a comment made during an interview on CNN. Critics claim that Gore was taking credit for “inventing” the internet when he said, “I took the initiative in creating the Internet." He later explained that he was referring to having sponsored the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. Two men involved with the actual creation of the Internet, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf supported Gore’s remark. Gore currently serves as President of Current, an upstart cable channel. III. IS HE ALREADY RUNNING? Al Gore has been critical of the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that he too, insisted that Saddam Hussein had WMDs and posed a threat to the U.S. As late as September 2003, Gore said in a speech at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club, “We know that [Saddam] has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country. Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” Five months later during the primary campaign, Gore accused Bush of betraying the country, adding “He played on our fears. He took America on an ill-conceived foreign adventure dangerous to our troops, an adventure preordained and planned before 9/11 ever took place." Just tonths later he called for the resignations of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone. In that same speech he also chastised the administration for turning a blind eye to the abuse taking place at Abu Ghraib Prison, calling it “the natural consequence of the Bush Administration policy." Later Gore said, “We would not have invaded a country that didn't attack us. We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media. We would not be routinely torturing people." Gore’s pet concern is the environment and the issue of global warming. He wrote, “It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly and wisely. ‘Global warming’ is the name it was given a long time ago. But it should be understood for what it is: a planetary emergency that now threatens human civilization on multiple fronts. Stronger hurricanes and typhoons represent only one of many new dangers as we begin what someone has called ‘a nature hike through the Book of Revelation’." He has condemned Bush’s environmental policies calling it, “a massive and well-organized campaign of disinformation lavishly funded by polluters who are determined to prevent any action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, out of a fear that their profits might be affected if they had to stop dumping so much pollution into the atmosphere." Gore is a strong supporter of abortion rights, but earlier in his career was a staunch pro-life advocate. During that the National Right to Life Committee gave him a rating of 84%. This changed in 1988 when he ran for President. And like Clinton, Gore isn’t without a shady political past. He has been accused of illegal fundraising at a Buddhist temple and of violating the Hatch Act by using his government office and telephone to raise campaign funds. After Hurricane Katrina, Gore criticized the government’s response and chartered two planes that evacuated 270 people out of New Orleans. Some might contend that Gore somehow feels “cheated” and that his words are merely sour grapes. Others see it as the beginning of another bid for the Presidency, twenty years after his first failed attempt. Sources: Biography of Al Gore, Wikipedia Lisa Trei, “Gore encourages business students to 'be the change',” Stanford University, November 16, 2005 Jessie Seyfer, “Gore's 'Generation' Seeks True Values,” San Jose Mercury News, November 12, 2005 Al Gore, “The climate crisis and the need for leadership,” November 3, 2005 (Source unavailable) ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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