"... I haven't ruled out for all time thinking about politics again. It's just that the way it works now, I don't think that the skills I have are the ones that are most likely to be rewarded within this system. It's like a washing machine that is permanently set on the spin cycle. It doesn't stop spinning. That creates real problems for a politics based on reason."What?! You think this is spinning? You're spinning. You're always spinning. You're like a washing machine. Al Gore is grateful to those who have a good opinion of him, but you... you don't seem ready for reason, you know, reason, that process that yields a good opinion of Al Gore. Why don't you help him transform the conversation of democracy. De-emphasize imagery! You washing machine.
Friends have urged him to run for president again, but he wants to see a "transformation of this conversation of democracy" that de-emphasizes imagery and spin-doctoring.
"I expect it will take a lot more time," Gore said. "I'm grateful for those who have a good opinion of me, to the point where they think I ought to run again, but I am not convinced myself that's the best way for me to serve."
June 3, 2007
"I don't think that the skills I have are the ones that are most likely to be rewarded within this system."
Al Gore -- he's just too good for us.
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Gore's biggest skill is being the progeny of a wealthy, well-connected politician and for that skill the system rewarded him greatly, well beyond what he could have earned on his own merit.
It doesn't stop spinning. That creates real problems for a politics based on reason.
For a dizzy minute there, I thought he was talking about himself, and I thought: "Ah, honesty at last." Silly me.
Like any great sales guy would say... "only one of us needs to know the truth"
Having said that, we're getting what we collectively deserve related to the existing choices. Who, with the right temperament, experience, and skill set would willfully put themselves in any race for Congress or the Presidency? Al is unelectable. At least he recognizes it.
I always thought of Al Gore as the dryer: Full of hot air, and anything he touches might shrink.
Truth is that sock that got lost in Gore's spin cycle.
I have a dream that one day this nation will appreciate and deserve a man like Al Gore, and chose him to sit upon its golden throne of True Reason.
: )
Unfortunately, Gore's public high point was his thoughtful, magnanimous concession speech after the 2000 contest. Despite having 7+ years to build something positive upon the national good will that speech engendered, he has sadly squandered his future political opportunities by choosing divisive and belittling issues as his main themes.
Gore may believe completely in his global care issues and his concern for humanity's ability to "reason". Good for him. But these are not the main points upon which to lay a Presidential foundation. 7 years is a lifetime in politics, and there will be 25,000,000 more Americans who have come of voting age by 2008 who don't really know the "old" Gore, the "perfect" politician to the Clinton generation. Add to that the sparsity of political work Gore has done on the ground for Democratic candidates (compared to say, Nixon, or Reagan)and it all adds up to:
"I know the name, but tell me again why would make a good President?"
"I don't think that the skills I have are the ones that are most likely to be rewarded within this system. It's like a washing machine that is permanently set on the spin cycle."
So that would be what, the skill for really clever analogies that would never occur to anyone else?
I do feel a bit sorry for him. There is a story that his parents planned on his being president and he grew up believing it to be his destiny. Then, he came within one lawsuit of his dream, or more accurately, the dreams of his parents (actually, a couple of lawsuits - my memory is that the attempted disenfranchisement of the military in FL by the DNC, et al. was dropped when Bush was declared the winner).
Now, if he could harness all that spin, maybe Gore could truly offset the energy use of his use of private jets, his mansions, and his three big screen monitors, instead of pretending to do so with his carbon offsetting.
It must be hell to feel so unappreciated, to know that your talent for reason is wasted on the unreasonable, to recognize that one of the talents you sorely lack is the ability to get people to do what they would not otherwise do on their own.
That is, he is bad at politics, and expresses it concisely by insulting potential voters.
I went to the same (elite, private) high school in Washington, DC as Al Gore, and two years after his graduation, members of the wrestling team (which he had captained) were still talking about what a sanctimonious twit he was.
Later, he sent his son to the same (elite, private) school. At the age of 13, Junior was expelled for smoking marijuana. Gore's reaction was to sever all connection with the school. Obviously, fault lay with the school, not Mr. Gore.
Carbon Credits gALore apparently has been nipping a little too hard on the snake oil of his own creation. No wonder we all appear, in his dreamscape, to be spinning.
The answer, clearly, is to get rid of the spin cycle. Bring back that old manual wringer! A few passes through that would straighten out the subject marvelously. Might also flatten some ego.
He is just the most repulsive, sanctimonious individual. I worry that he may be president someday, based on the media's treatment of him as some sort of messianic greenie who will save us all if only we have the intellect to permit him. President to be by acclamation, maybe, no need to let any voting take place. And as for that gracious concession speech in 2000,it came way too late, after he had torn the country apart by trying to steal the election.
Good thing Mr. Reason wouldn't selectively pick through what facts he would want to present with some imagery in, say, a movie! Yes, nothing but C-SPAN lectures from the Dixie Diogenes here!
Al needs someone close to him that tells him to STFU. He knows he can't win and so he's making excuses in the form of blaming all us idiots.
He's like a political Norma Desmond, except he won't go into seclusion. All of America is William Holden.
All of America is William Holden.
Face down in the pool? Fished out by who, the UN?
"I'm ready for my closeup, Tipper!"
How could anyone not trust or be against the man who invented the Internet and was the main character in Love Story? I wonder...do we deserve Al Gore?
Not according to him, I think.
"Why don't you help him transform the conversation of democracy. De-emphasize imagery!"
I'll get on that for him, but first I have to get the image of him being too lazy to walk away from the buffet line out of my mind.
Which is what this is really all about, isn't it?
He'd rather be fat than president, and he masks his inability to lose the weight necessary to run as our collective failure to "reason." He knows the Dems don't really want the Hillary! to be the nominee and that he can beat her; he just doesn't think swing voters are ready for the Goodyear Blimp in the White House as national scold and lecturer. We can take hectoring (but not necessarily like) from from a man who seems to have his sh*t together, but not a fat man with raspberry filling staining his tie.
He's so f*cking transparent.
"President to be by acclamation, maybe, no need to let any voting take place"
Amazing candor! Gore admits that the office he aspires to hold isn't president, it's Plato's philosopher-king. If only the ignorant masses could see how much they would be improved under Gore's paternal but benign rule.
Usually AlBore makes me want to puke but he has a point re MSM. For example, the Sunday morning shows have been nonstop 2008 prez race almost since the 2004 vote count was completed.
The shows rarely talk issues (except Iraq) but chatter endlessly on Beltway scuttlebutt on who can and can not win. They have become pointless vacuums of dead air ably filled by the usual (pundit) suspects.
What Gore is saying in essence is that he seriously expects his life to be an uncontradicted vacuum. Anyone ever uttering anything that contradicts or rebuts whatever it is that he has to say on any subject is "like a washing machine that is permanently set on the spin cycle." And this is the mindset at work when Gore issues declarations like "the debate over global warming is over." No room for any more discussion. He owns the truth. Debate is over. Accept it.
Al Gore's world.
Joe: Gore cannot be the most repulsive, etc. while Jimmy Carter is still alive.
Al Gore lost a sock in the laundry a longtime ago.
Us darn Americans. Just too dumb to realize that we need the wisdom that only Al Gore can provide.
Remember back in the '80s when when Al & Tipper and the Parents Music Resource Center were warning us about hidden satanic messages on rock albums? And now Al is the bastion of cold, hard reason? My he's come a long way!
Remember when Al Gore was in Saudi Arabia trashing the US treatment of terrorist detainees?
No matter how low George W. Bush's approval goes, I don't think I will ever wish that we had Al Gore or John Kerry instead.
We haven't fogotten that Al Gore had overseas military ballots thrown out on hyper-technicalities.
Gore: I'm grateful for those who have a good opinion of me, to the point where they think I ought to run again, but I am not convinced myself that's the best way for me to serve." What?!"
Translation: STA Team 6 sat down with Gore and had a little chat. They explained to him quite clearly that he shouldn't bother - he'll never sit in the oval office, even if he wins.
Gore admits that the office he aspires to hold isn't president, it's Plato's philosopher-king.
Nail, head.
Gore is spinning? uhhhh...okay. Spinning what for whom? Last I checked he wasn't running for public office. (Diet or not.)
Al Gore is really a washer-dryer. You know, those combinations that are supposed to do everything, but never seem to work.
I admit Al Gore has expanded some things. His waistline, personal wealth, house size, and carbon footprint are all larger.
On the other hand, the Democrats' chance to beat George Bush came out shrunken and tattered with buttons missing.
Also, most of the ideas he pushes emerge a couple of sizes smaller, with one sleeve shorter than the other and covered with bleach spots.
Have you read his latest rumpled ruminations? I was standing in Barnes & Noble yesterday leafing through a copy. Someone call the Maytag repairman.
Given the past 250 years, how can anyone write about "reason" in such a clueless way? Maybe I missed something in skimming, but Gore seems to be installed in some sort of irony-free basement. They really should move him upstairs to a nice, sunny laundry room.
He ought to have the manual read to him as well: Reason is a trick to be used only on stubborn stains, and never all by itself. If you're going to run politics through the Light Wash Cycle, add a cup or two of Wisdom and don't use Reason bleach, which has a nasty habit of leaving everything threadbare and unwearable.
The only settings he seems to have are Dreary Platitude Pre-Wash, Obscure Nonsequitur Soak Only, Embarrassing Undergraduate Wash 'n Wear Prose, Light Wash Cliché, and Partisan Spin.
I think I'll stick with the Laundromat until they come out with a better model.
Professor Althouse:
Thank you for your revelatory posting on Al Gore and inspiring the release of such honest and heart-felt sentiment from your contributors.
Your observations and comments discourage unnecessary polarization and create an atmosphere that encourages personal responsibility, honest self-examination, and the respectful consideration of those who hold a variety of contrary views.
"Gore cannot be the most repulsive, etc. while Jimmy Carter is still alive."
Miriam - excellent point. There is no worse human being in the country than Carter.
Mindsteps, you might try making a reasoned defense of Al Gore's latest lame comment rather than criticise the hostess and commenters who don't think Gore would be a viable candidate.
I would be interested in why you think he might be a good addition to the Democratic list of candidates.
But I suspect you agree that he would not.
Mindsteps, you might try making a reasoned defense of Al Gore's latest lame comment
Yah Mindsteps. We're all so biased and your so objective. Tell us how you read Gore's statement. What is saying?
Mindsteps, translated: "I feel Al Gore's pain, and you're all *ssholes for mocking him."
If you can't sell the steak, sell the sizzle!
You guys are great. Sniff, Sniff.....I know it's hard to tell but I am actually tearing up a bit .....One of the things I love about you all is that you have such a hard time accepting a compliment.
What I found most illuminating about Professor Althouse's post and personal observation and elaborated in the comment section was how she caught that extremely rare occurence when arrogant condescending politicians distort in self-serving ways. I will always be grateful to Professor Althouse and company for pointing out, what has been so deeply implicit and hidden...this man's true nature.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that "reason" tells us that global warming is definitely happening and is definitely caused by human activity.
What reason cannot tell us is why we should CARE.
The price of climate disruption will fall overwhelmingly on the third world, with virtually all of the remainder falling on people in the developed world who aren't even born yet. There is no rational reason for me to care about either group of people. To explain why things like global warming, aid for the poor, AIDS research, national health care, et al, matter, you have to appeal to emotion.
Carter is the all-time maggot on the list of living Democrat schmucks and *ssholes of the self-righteous hypocrite variety.
But Gore and Kerry are neck and neck in the self-defeating, shoot-self-in-foot unwitting mockery of self and colleagues league.
The question burning in my brain is, who will the prescient Algor-hythm choose as his candidate in 2008, bestowing on the lucky recipient the same luck as he gave Howard Dean in '04 with his pixie dust?
As someone who behaves at times like a narcissistic maggot and schmuck, I am clearly not worthy of posting about anyone else's foibles or even posting to this site. However, I do value how Professor Althouse consistently brings out her readers best thinking on Al Gore and so many other politicians.
Al Gore's spinning essentially ended in 2000, when he failed to win his 'home' state of Tennessee.
I had voted for him, twice, for Senator, but those votes were for a...different man. What came out of Washington was not the Senator we sent there in 1985. Al Gore had become liberal, and turned his back on who had brung him.
Haven't seen much of that 'fence mending' he promised, either...and, he seems to be grazing a bit much on locoweed. Or something.
I liked the earlier comments about Gore wanting to be philosopher/king. Haven't dusted off my Plato for decades, but as I remember the true philosopher, the high point of reason, by definition and because of reason doesn't want to be king. On the other hand Gore most emphatically did, (and does!?). Having failed at unreasonablility Gore is now trying to use "reason" as a cover, an excuse. He's doing so unreasonably of course, but this can't be helped, he's a politician, and reason alludes him. Vortex Gore.
I keep thinking about that old joke about a husband and wife. The husband whispered the phrase "washing machine, washing machine" into his wife's ear whenever he wanted to make love...
~~~
If Al Gore were a washing machine, he'd be a bubble off of plumb and shimmy across the floor to a loud thwaka-thwaka-thwaka-hmmmm every time he entered the spin cycle.
"al gore's fat" "al gore's rich" "al gore's a bad politician" wah wah wah
what a sad collection of partisan, dumbass watbs.
Ruth Ann:
So tell us how many times you fell for that before your husband finally got you the new washer? :)
Love the updated pix. Flattering.
I once met a fella who used to be an Army guy (enlisted) in the Clinton White House. White gloved protocol army guy.
He wanted a photo of himself with Al Gore who just happened be standing around actually doing nothing.
Gore completely refused him and was annoyed that he would ask.
This guy said AG was a total dickhead.
Hey! I heard he just invented Slurpees and discovered Penicillin!
What WILL that guy think of next?
AJ: As I said, it's a joke... although I might cop to the shimmying across the floor on occasion. Thwaka-hmmmmmmm.
Mindsteps: However, I do value how Professor Althouse consistently brings out her readers best thinking on Al Gore and so many other politicians.
Hey Mindsteps, I'm not asking for your opinion on Althouse. You disagree with her intrepretation of Al Gore, fine. Explain what you see that she doesn't - what is Al Gore really saying here?
You've already wasted 2 "whiffs" on a softball question. What is your analysis of Al Gore's statement?
Fen wrote:
Hey Mindsteps, I'm not asking for your opinion on Althouse. You disagree with her intrepretation of Al Gore, fine. Explain what you see that she doesn't - what is Al Gore really saying here?
I don't really care what Al Gore is saying. It is a waste of our time for me to explain Al Gore. I don't disagree with Althouse and I have absolutely nothing, that I deem, of any value to add. However, At best, I do not see how Professor Althouse's post and the comments advanced the ball an iota....
I am not British, but a recent British poll found their citizens trusting politicians less then used car salesman. I fit right in with those Britishers. So what else did this post add to my fund of knowledge?
And to some degree, quite honestly I am losing interest in this blog. Ok, I get Professor Althouse's basic point, liberals, dems, or whatever are lying obsequious hypocrites, who are more mean spirited then conservatives or republicans, and Ms. Althouse regularly makes this observation even though she endorses several 'liberal' ideas.
And then many conservative seeming commentators see it as an opportunity to pile on, with the occasional attempts by non-conservatives to defend these democratic pols and we are off. Over and over and over again.
OK, I get it. But even my most favorite song or video, when placed in heavy rotation starts to get old and I lose interest. And we are not even talking about a fave song. However, this theme seems to come up so repetitively on this blog that it almost seems to have an obsessive quality to it. I keep checking in less and less, yet still hoping to find something fresh.
Fair enough, Mindsteps. Thanks for the response.
Maybe Jimmy Carter can find poor ole' Al a position somewhere amongst the righteous fold.
"al gore's fat" "al gore's rich" "al gore's a bad politician" wah wah wah
Well, he's definitely fat and rich.
And he managed to lose the 2000 election (and get less than half the popular vote) despite being the VP of an enormously popular President, in peacetime, during a strong economy with low unemployment -- which, incidentally, makes him the first Presidential candidate in history to lose an election under those conditions. So, yeah, he's obviously a lousy politician too.
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