A despicable speech from a contemptible man

Distasteful as it may be, some notice should be paid to the speech that the formerly important Al Gore delivered Monday at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

This speech, an attack on the Bush policy on Iraq, was Gore's big effort to distinguish himself from the Democratic pack in advance of another possible presidential run. It served: It distinguished Gore, now and forever, as someone who cannot be considered a responsible aspirant to power. Politics are allowed in politics, but there are limits, and there is a pale, and Gore has now shown himself to be ignorant of those limits, and he has now placed himself beyond that pale.

Gore's speech was one no minimally decent politician could have delivered. It was entirely dishonest, cheap, low. It was utterly hollow. It was bereft of policy, of solutions, of constructive ideas, very nearly of facts — bereft of anything other than taunts and jibes and embarrassingly obvious lies. It was breathtakingly hypocritical, a naked political assault delivered in smarmy tones of moral condescension from a man pretending to be superior to mere politics. It was wretched. It was vile. It was contemptible. But I understate.

Gore uttered his first big lie in the second paragraph of the main body of the speech when he informed the audience that his main concern was with "those who attacked us on Sept. 11, and who have thus far gotten away with it."

Who have thus far gotten away with it. The government of Gore's country has led a coalition of nations in war against al-Qaida, "those who attacked us on Sept. 11"; has destroyed al-Qaida's central organization and much of its physical assets; has destroyed the Taliban, which had made Afghanistan a state home for al-Qaida; has bombed the forces of al-Qaida from one end of Afghanistan to the other; has killed at least hundreds of terrorists and their allies; has imprisoned hundreds more, and is hunting down the rest around the world. All this while Gore, apparently, slept.

Well, perhaps Gore was just talking loosely. No. He made clear in the next sentence this was a considered indictment: "The vast majority of those who sponsored, planned and implemented the cold-blooded murder of more than 3,000 Americans are still at large, still neither located nor apprehended, much less punished and neutralized."

If there is a more reprehensible piece of bloody shirt-waving in American political history than this attempt by a man on the sidelines to position himself as the hero of 3,000 unavenged dead, I am not aware of it.

And, again, this sentence is a lie. In truth, the men who "implemented" the "cold-blooded murder of more than 3,000 Americans" are not at large. They are dead; they died in the act of murder, on Sept. 11. Gore can look this up. In truth, the "vast majority" of the men who "sponsored" and "planned" the crime are dead also, or in prison, or on the run. The inmates at Guantánamo Bay, and the hunted survivors of Tora Bora, and the terrorist cell members arrested nearly every week, and the thousands of incarcerated or fugitive Taliban, might disagree as to whether they have been located, apprehended, punished or neutralized.

Although Gore knows that Bush has been publicly attempting to move the nation toward war with Iraq since at least January, he pretended to believe the president was only now — "in this high political season" — pushing for war in order to gain electoral ground for his party and to divert attention from his administration's failure against al-Qaida by attacking "some other enemy whose location might be easier to identify." I see — Bush is risking his presidency on a war with Iraq because it is the easy thing to do.

Although Gore knows that the Democratic leadership insisted (and both practical politics and constitutional imperatives demanded) that Bush seek the congressional support he is now requesting, he pretended this too was something the president was doing simply for political gain.

Although Gore knows that Bush is also seeking, as Democrats also demanded, United Nations approval, he pretended this represented a failure of leadership as well because "thus far, we have not been successful in getting it." True enough — because the Security Council hasn't voted. Thus far. Cute.

Probably the purest example of the Gore style — equal parts mendacity, viciousness and smarm — occurred when Gore expressed his concern (his deep, heartfelt concern) over "the doubts many have expressed about the role that politics might be playing in the calculations of some in the administration." And then added: "I have not raised those doubts, but many have."

“HEY, WATCH WHO YOU’RE CALLIN’ A WHORE!”

For those who were paying attention back in 1993, an event occurred which should have alerted us that this Gore fellow is either not terribly bright or has major short-term memory problems. While his college transcripts (and flunking out of divinity school) make that case far better than I could here, that event demonstrated – at least to me – something far more troubling in this guy’s intellectual chemistry.

In January of 1993, Clinton and Gore – apparently to cement their bone fides as “men of da peeple,” organized a bus tour prior to their triumphant entry into Washington for their inauguration on January 20th. Their final stop before heading up to DC was at Monticello, Jefferson’s home atop that beautiful mountain in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. Jefferson’s final resting place is also there just down the slope from that grand house.

During the visit – which was covered live by C-SPAN and watched with interest as it unfolded by this humble writer – Gore was conducted on a tour of the home by the one of the Park Service guides. At one point, Gore was shown a group of portraits identified by the guide as Washington, Franklin and Madison. (For what it’s worth, your humble writer – possibly because I went through the government school system BEFORE the PC crowd and the NEA took it over -- recognized these Founding Fathers BEFORE the guide spoke.)

These portraits hang on a relatively short wall flanked on either side by a doorway. Gore spent a few moments contemplating the images of three of the leading Founding Fathers of the nation he and his new pal, Bill Clinton, would soon lead. Gore and the guide then strolled through the door to their right and – though off camera – could be heard making comments as they apparently viewed the portraits on the other side of this same wall.

About a minute or so later, Gore and the guide came back into view through the LEFT door and back to the SAME wall upon which hung the portraits of Washington, Franklin and Madison. Gore looked at them and, motioning to them, asked the guide “AND WHO ARE THESE FELLOWS?” Who are THESE fellows??

I still recall my incredulity at the depth of the abysmal IGNORANCE of his question. No, strike that. Given that just a few minutes earlier Gore had seen these same portraits, the STUPIDITY of the question! There is no other term for it.

As I have reflected on that incredibly revealing incident during the years since, another frightening thought flooded in on me: This was a guy who, at the time of that Monticello visit in January of 1993, had served in public office at the national level for some 16 years and DID NOT RECOGNIZE THREE OF THE MEN WHO WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING THE VERY SYSTEM IN WHICH HE SERVED!

Anyone want to take a shot at how many times this guy had actually READ the Constitution he had by then sworn an oath to God to “…preserve, protect and defend it from all enemies, both foreign and domestic” MULTIPLE times? Who protects the Constitution from HIM? If you care enough to have read this far, you recognize THAT as a rhetorical question.

I thought I could hear a soft whirring sound in the background as Gore and Clinton used Monticello as a prop to further what was to become the most Constitution defying, scandal plagued administration in our history. I now believe it was Mr. Jefferson reaching speeds of 3,600 RPM in his grave down the hill.

A bit later in this same visit to Monticello, Bill and Al appeared on little stools on the porch. All that was missing were the little dunce caps. Assembled before them were a few hundred dutifully smiling and appreciative DC school kids trucked in as “props.”

During the clearly scripted Q & A by the kids, one of them asked Bill and Al why they wanted to go to Washington. I don’t recall exactly what Bill said (but I’m sure we all could come pretty close). I do, however, remember PRECISLY a portion of what Al said: “To make the world MORE BETTER…” for kids like them. “ MORE BETTER?”

And this guy was a journalist?

The Gore “Disinformation Squad” tells us that Dubya is not too bright?

Give me break!

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