Why Gore seems so much more 'powerful' to us now.

[Beam Me Up]

I've read several posters on different threads express surprise and even frustration that Gore did not exhibit more 'fire' during the 2000 campaign.

There are many reasons Gore seems more 'powerful' to us now, some have been mentioned here on this board. He certainly was not given fair and accurate representation by the media. But it is more than that and we all know it. We can feel something is different.

The circumstances of 2004 are very different than 2000.

For one thing, Gore is not 'running for president' and therefore does not have to concern himself directly with the electoral consequences of his words. On one hand, he doesn't want to pull too much attention toward himself; on the other hand he is in a position to say things that Kerry might not be able to.

Secondly, it documents for all history that there is within American society a genuine resistance to what ultimately must be viewed as a movement toward abject tyranny. He is pointing directly to the hypocrisy and moral depravity of this administration AS a threat to our National Security. The passion we hear in his voice is the conviction that this threat is not mere hyperbole or the usual political polemics; he said he was quite serious. And he is right. The people that he named have absolutely NO IDEA how to organize and run AN EFFECTIVE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY. This has been proven to be so over and over again. Every day they remain in office, they place every man, woman and child in this nation at risk.

This was not the situation in 2000. America was not in as grave a danger on so many fronts. We can no longer afford the idyls of moral paupers who would be princes among men. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people. Now more so than ever, we need to be listening to voices that are clear, sane and certain.

[fearnobush]

1. Totally Agree.

Like many of us, Gore is mad as hell. He has nothing to lose. The media already hate him, so a 2nd bid for president would have been killed by the media as it was in 2000. Now Kerry faces this bad press media dilemma. John Kerry has no choice but to remain out of their sights. For if he becomes bold too early, they the media, will kill him too. Just like Gore, just like Dean.

[lapfog_1]

2. As sitting VEEP

Gore had to be "statesman like" and "measured" in his comments and
rhetoric. As a private citizen not running for office, he can pretty
much say what he wants. (Clinton, as a "former president", cannot).

[Cheswick2.0]

8. Clinton can but won't

Because he doesn't get it like Gore does. They are and always have been two very different people.

[Gloria]

3. Gore seems to have developed a pretty good sense of timing...

at key points, he has delivered brilliant speeches that seem to express the concerns of the people in this country who haven't had a President for 3 years.

He reminds me of the guy in the Verizon commericals, who appears in different locations and asks "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"

And we, of course, do hear Al Gore...with gratitude.

[Beam Me Up]

4. Yes, I certainly do hear him - - and with much gratitude, indeed!

[JDPriestly]

5. Gore learned from his mistakes.

Gore finally realized that you can't beat the Republican bullies unless you stand up to them and tell the truth. The truth is the only effective weapon against the Republican lies. We Democrats have to tell it loud and clear and not be afraid of offending Republicans.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. i think it seemed unnatural

i think the "fire" was in what in he was saying, not in how he said it. Its my impression that Gore thinks he has to appear rabid in order to get his point across. I think the same fire could be delivered plainly and succinctly and calmly. Gore doesn't have to deliver like Dean for me to believe what he's saying is true. Im glad to see he has the fire, but somehow it just didnt come across as convincing coming from Al. I prefer the pointed, reserved Al personally.

[Kinkistyle]

11. Gore was right to be angry

Just like all of us. There is a time to be reserved and there is a time to be angry and now is the time to be angry.

[mkultra]

7. I think

Hed recently had his emotion chip installed.

[Beam Me Up]

9. I think he, like many of us, now have something to get EMOTIONAL about!

OP-ED COLUMNIST
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/opinion/28HERB.html?hp
A Speech That's No Joke
By BOB HERBERT

It has always been easy to make fun of Al Gore. But if there's any truth to the thunderous criticism he's turned loose on the Bush administration this week, it's time to dispense with the jokes and listen seriously to what the man is saying.

If Mr. Gore is right, the nation is faced with a crisis of leadership that is perilously close to an emergency.

[Bandit]

10. Gore is an important figure in history and in the present. His voice is

needed to help guide us on our journey. I think he needs to be writing a weekly column as well. He and Dean are major assets to the Democratic Party and America as a whole. It is hard to get a primal scream from an article. It is a way of getting the word out on a weekly basis. I am thinking of a Gore/Clinton ticket in 2012. America could do no better IMHO.

[Blue_Roses]

12. very much agree

n/t

[Alerter_]

13. whatever it is, I want more Gore!

I was never a big fan but I am now!

[Hammie]

14. Gore is saying the things that Kerry can't

Gore is attacking the administration to get the negative message out so that Kerry doesn't have to. Kerry can focus on a positive message of change.

Gore has nothing to lose since his political career is essentially over.

Pelosi seemed to be doing the same thing last week but I don't think it came off to well because it sort of got quashed by the media. She can pretty much go as negative as she wants with no penalty, there is no way she will loose her seat, with the possible exception of Arnold running against her.

[AlGore-08.com]

15. The times have changed, not Gore

This is the same guy who was running for President in 2000. He did not need 9/11 and the horrific failure of the Bush admin to wake him up.

Unfortunately, most of us did.

If we are fortunate enough to have him run for President again in the future, I hope everyone here who is now praising him remembers why they are doing so - - and fights just as hard to re-elect him as he is fighting to keep us a democracy.

[Beam Me Up]

16. Precisely my point.

The situation facing us today is dramatically different than 2000. For many of us, the past three and a half years have been a kind of awakening to the BEAST in whose belly we ride. Can we become RESPONSIBLE global citizens? --Or is it already too late?

[bvar22]

17. Simple:

Gore is no longer indebted to the DLC and their corporate masters. That obligation ended when he agreed not to contest the election and gaveled down the CBC protest. Gore has been his own man since then.