Al Gore's "Assault on Reason" is a campaign manifesto-- he sounds like a candidate!
Today I took a long lunch and went and saw Al Gore doing his book tour appearance at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. I expected Gore to do his usual and work the crowd up about global warming. But what I saw instead really surprised me--I saw a presidential candidate giving a very strong campaign manifesto. Gore, speaking to a packed audience, gave this strong, forceful, heartfelt speech about the need for american citizens to be called to action to rise above the lack of reasoned, intelligent debate that we have now in this society, and to reclaim our country and our ideas, and make this country live up to its grand potential.
Gore's new book is called "The Assault on Reason", and in it, he talks about the loss of judgement and intelligent conversation in this country, about how all too often now important decisions are made
without full consideration and proper debate. Gore mentioned in his speech that when the decision was made to go to war in Iraq, 70%,*seventy percent* of americans thought Iraq had attacked us on 9/11.
Because the average citizen was too busy watching American Idol to pay attention to what was going on in Congress, in more than thirty second sound clips. Gore cites statistics like this as proof that the
political discourse in this country is seriously eroding, and with it our democracy. What does it say about american society, he points out, when more people know more about whats been happening with Paris Hilton's court troubles over the last month than whats been going on around the world, in places like Iraq, the Sudan, Afghanistan? What does it say when you can't get people to care about global warming because it inconveniences them too much? Gore argues that people don't understand reasoned debate when they hear it because they pay so little
attention. This takes the power away from those with reasoned arguments, and gives it to those who can appeal to passion with the best thirty second soundbites and videoclips.
Gore gave a well crafted speech with thunderous applause lines, like "we must make this country great again" and how his new book represents a great call to action, for american citizens to rise up and
take their country back, before reason and informed political discourse are permanently beaten down in favor of political soundbites tailored to the lowest common denominator. In his book, and in his speech, Gore repeatedly refers to the internet as the greatest tool for raising the level of debate in this country. But only if more people will use it the right way, use the internet for substantive debate, and not to let it become yet and not second sound and video clips that appeal to passion instead of reason. Gore truly is the netroots candidate of candidates. He is the great champion of our cause.
This speech-- that he is giving around the country on his book tour-- and the new book, "Assault on Reason", are clearly IMO setting up Gore's entry into the presidential race. Before today, I was fully convinced that Gore was not running, I was more than willing to take him at his word. Not anymore. There had to be very few people in the huge gathering today at B&N who couldn't recognize what was going on
here. If the implications weren't clear enough, who was also at the event in the front row applauding, and jumped on stage after the speech to hug Gore and mug with him for the cameras? Harold Ford Jr., the
chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) This was no coincidence. Nor was I doubt the fact that Gore has lost weight and looks to be in great shape and in fine form. He didn't write this book to sit on the sidelines.
I think Gore is playing a very smart game of running while not really running. He gets the attention and the limelight, but isn't having to spend time sounding like a typical politician. Later this year, perhaps after winning the Nobel Peace Prize and selling plenty of books and doing more lectures, I think clearly (after today) that Gore is going to get in the race. He will be pitching himself as the candidate of reason, the candidate who wants to make this country great again by not playing the game the way the game doing the early primaries or raising a gazillion dollars. But there is no reason such a plan wouldn't work. Al Gore is a great american and a truly inspiring leader, and if he gives speeches such as he gave today hitting on these themes, he is going to be a real force in the campaign.
Anyway, it wasn't a bad way to kill a lunchbreak on a hot day. I am looking forward to reading his book 
Gore/Obama '08 anyone?
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Art and Culture Pundits | Progressive politics | Democrats
I agree
Submitted by liza on 26 May 2007 - 7:48pm.
I was talking about this with other political gurus and one of the big ones was saying that he could easily raise 50 million in two months by the way his popularity is soaring.
I have somewhere in this blog a post where I say he's probably going to announce in late summer. I was thinking end of August, beginning of September.
He can't risk waiting until December 10, when the Nobel prizes are awarded; although October, when they are announced, may still give him time to run the primary.
The question that remains is ... will he indeed run for a primary or try to skip it as an independent.
Now that would be totally hot.
Indy Al
Submitted by Gaije on 26 May 2007 - 9:14pm.
As a gesture, yeah, that would be totally hot. But the practical reality of it, would be handing the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue directly over to Giuliani, or Romney, or Gingrich, or whichever hideous candidate they end up going with. Let's say he ran as an independent, and it was Hilary for the Dems, Giuliani for the GOP, and Gore as an independent. Hilary & Gore would slit up the democratic & progressive vote, & Giuliani would waltz right in. I can't even imagine the kind of loser they'd have to come up with on their side for an independent Gore candidacy, as much as I love the idea, as a matter of principle, to have anything but disastrous consequences, when it comes down to the harsh political reality. It would be the Nader effect times about 1000. As much as I want him to run, I'd rather he not run at all, than as an independent. I don't think he'd have any trouble getting through the primaries. Actually, I think if he gets into it, the big question becomes whether or not it makes sense for anyone for Hillary to consider the V.P. spot on the ticket. I tend to think not, I think it's just too wierd, for one thing, and probably diminishes her chances of ever getting into the #1 slot. And I personally would love to see her take Reid's job away from him. It'd be an effective way for her to keep herself in the national spotlight, maintaining more autonomy than the V.P. generally gets. And I kind of think she's better suited to that job than to the presidency anyway, at least that's how she seems to me right now. The irony, of course, is that if neither Gore nor Obama were in the picture, I'd probably be crazy about her.
Gore/Edwards has some bad
Submitted by Gaije on 27 May 2007 - 9:57am.
Gore/Edwards has some bad mojo, if you ask me. The two of them are two similar, it's too easy for the right to attack them as a pair of sore losers, running again, and I don't think Edwards adds all that much to the ticket that Gore doesn't already have. Gore can be very hit or miss with the charisma and charm. Sometimes he's great, but if he's tired, overworked, or just having an off day, for whatever reason, he's pretty bad. Obama is always right on top of that whole thing. He might misstate the number of people killed in assorted natural dissasters from time to time, but, hey, anyone can make mistakes, and he's always mesmerizing to watch and listen to, even when he's making them. Edwards, to me, has always been kind of annoying. Somehow or other, his level of artifice seems to me to be more visible than the average politicians'. I know a lot of people are crazy about him, but I also know I'm not the only one who feels the way I do.
And Obama
Submitted by NanceConfer on 27 May 2007 - 5:27pm.
strikes me the same way. I've been trying to put my finger on what bugs me about him and it's just what you said. I can see the "acting" -- you know, like when a bad actor is on stage.
Likely not any more true or false than any other pol, but it's interesting that one guy hits you one way and the other hits me the same way.
Gore and anybody would be fine with me, at this point. I am excited to be on the list to get his Reason book from the local library.
Nance
Back to the Book...
Submitted by Gaije on 28 May 2007 - 1:35pm.
The book is good. Whether he's running or not, his celebrity will hopefully bring some long overdue MSM coverage to the indisputable, and well documented, misdeeds of Bush & co. he does such a good job of laying out relentlessly in its pages. Not much I didn't already know in there, some details of what's come up in the FOIA stuff about Cheney's energy commission that I'd missed that were interesting, but somehow so much of it has remained under the mainstream radar, hopefully this will be at least a first step in changing that. And then the other issues he's raising, about where the hell has our public political discourse gone, are equally ignored by the MSM, and probably even more in need of attention. After all, Bush will be gone in a couple years, but our national political culture has been on a slow, steady decline, that his departure won't necessarily do al that much to improve.
And I know what you mean about how almost impossible it is to pinpoint the way different pols, with either of whose policies and overall visions you could live, can strike you completely differently as personalities, for no real reason other than just kind of a feeling you have about them.
At this point, so long as we don't get a President Giuliani (my personal nightmare, having lived through some of his mayorship), Romney, Gingrich, or whatever other Hail Mary candidate they may throw at their primary voters at the last minute, I'm more or less ok with any of the democratic offerings. Even Edwards. As much as he annoys me, I can't honestly say that when I bother to pay attention to anything he's saying in that annoying voice (and I'm from the south, so it's not a southern accent thing, it's something more specific to him), he's saying anything with which I vehemently disagree.
Alternative viewpoints
Submitted by rwallnerny2007 on 29 May 2007 - 11:11am.
Outside of the B&N on the day, as the audience from the Gore event were filing out, were a group of people handing out literature on behalf of another declared candidate for the Democratic party nomination-- Lyndon Larouche. They were handing out a fifty page response to Gore from Larouche, who is making the claim that global warming is a big hoax. Larouche claims that Gore is deliberately deceiving the u.s. citizens on direct orders from Queen Elizabeth, whom he accuses of being the mastermind of criminal enterprises all around the world. He says Gore, as an agent of the Queen, is lying to the public to divert attention from her royal highness's nefarious activities. Larouche is urging the U.S. to form an alliance with India, China, and Russia to fight our true enemy, Great Britain. He views Gore as this Benedict Arnold who has turned his back on his country in favor of England and the Queen.
So much for today's alternative view. What amazes me is that the people handing out the Larouche literature looked like intelligent, sensible types. I don't know what they see in this guy. His booklet they handed out was full of grammatical errors and typos and rantings.
Stopping by to say hello
Submitted by NeuvoLiberal on 16 June 2007 - 9:39am.
as got an "Account inactivity" notification. Sorry, I don't get to participate much here. I may crosspost some of my future diaries here.
Have a nice weekend, everyone.
Al Gore...
I was at that reading/signing as well, and I've been all for a Gore/Obama ticket for over a year now. I read the book this week as well, and found it really interesting, I'm including the link to my longer piece on it here:
http://gaije.blogspot.com/2007/05/politics-of-substance-seriously-al.htm...
but it's kind of a two pronged argument:
1) Bush is a bad, bad man. Gore lays out all of the essentially indisputable facts about the Bush regime that the MSM has more or less been letting slide for the last 6 years, with footnotes and everything. Clearly, calmly, and concisely. Clearly, Al Gore has had enough.
2) Even though Bush is a bad, bad, man, it doesn't waork to place all the blame on his doorstep. Democracy is a collaborative form of government, and we're all equally responsible for the government we create together. So something's gone really, really wrong, for us this to be our government of choice just at the moment. His big idea on this - that there's no longer any genuine political public discourse, the flow of information is pretty much strictly a one way street, from candidates, gov't, etc..., to the citizenry, without our having much in the way of means to talk back to them, or apparent interest in talking amongst ourselves, is a huge part of the problem - I tend to agree with. His answer to that problem, however - a utopian vision of the possiblities of the internet and the low bar for entry, endless communication opportunities, citizen journalists, etc..., that it offers, I'm not so sure about.
I still am not sure if he's running in 2008 or not yet. I kind of think he's hoping either Hillary or Obama will step it up and run the kind of substantial campaign someone needs to, and let him off the hook. And I think he's using the timing of this book release to remind them that he really could jump in at the last possible minute, raise lots of money, get an organization in place, do all of that, very, very quickly, if they don't start acting right. I change my mind about that pretty much every day though, so, we'll see.