[pogo101]

You raise a good point about Gore already being liberal by 1988. I had drunk the Kool-Aid on that issue and would have guessed that his ACUs were in the 40s or 50s. Mea culpa.

I still believe, however, that (1) Gore has moved much further to the left since 1988, and (2) it’s a very, very distant marker by which to judge someone 24 years later, particularly when that someone has been a reliable GOP stalwart in the years since.

[DoughtyOne]

You raise a good point about Gore already being liberal by 1988. I had drunk the Kool-Aid on that issue and would have guessed that his ACUs were in the 40s or 50s. Mea culpa.  And I apprecaite that.  If Perry had done just what you did here, I would have understood that he gets it now, and it was 24 years ago.  It would be a lot easier to move on.

I still believe, however, that (1) Gore has moved much further to the left since 1988,... I'm not sure how either of us can look at a 9 ACU rating and state that he has moved much further to the left since 1988, but I am still inclined to agree with you.

...and (2) it’s a very, very distant marker by which to judge someone 24 years later, particularly when that someone has been a reliable GOP stalwart in the years since.  If a person hasn't shop-lifted since 1988, at 20-24 years later, it fairly easy to state it was an anomoly.  If at 20-24 years later, he has said that a little shop-lifting once in a while isn't all that bad, then you have a problem.  Stating that support for Al Gore in 1988 wasn't all that bad, because he was a Conservative back then (despite his 9 ACU rating in '88), is a massive problem if you want folks to think you're a Conservative yourself today.

It doesn't explain things away.  It defends what you did, and now it's this time frame, a big mistake if you want folks to think you've grown and now get it.