Al Gore is my man. What got me on his bandwagon wasn't his fight against global warming, either. There's a chapter in Take It Back, a great book by James Carville and Paul Begala, where the authors describe what an Al Gore presidency would have been like. The man is a bonafied expert on a variety of topics (for instance, as VP he wrote the definitive paper on airport security), and the once popular portrayal of Gore is a gross exaggeration (including his phantom claim that he "invented the internet). Carville and Begala aren't Gore guys, remember, they are Clinton guys-- there's a significant difference. I didn't bring Take it Back with me to England, so I can't quote from it, but it's worth reading- especially that chapter.
My affinity for Gore has grown because of his tireless efforts for the environment, and because he was the first public voice I know of to question the Iraq invasion. Throughout his career Gore has proven to be right far more often than not, and I think he would make the best president in 2009.
However, I have come to the sad realization that Gore is probably done with politics. I hoped his denials were a savvy ploy, an attempt to wait out the hype of other candidates before making a dramatic entrance some time in the fall (right after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for which he is nominated). But it really seems like that's just not going to happen.
Gore told Larry King the other night, "I'm involved in a different kind of campaign, not for myself not as a candidate, but to change people's minds about the most dangerous crisis we've ever faced, and the greatest set of opportunities we've ever confronted to solve this climate crisis."
On the Today Show, Meredith Vieira asked Gore why he wouldn't run knowing how much of an impact the president could have on the climate crisis. He responded that those in power must have the support of the people to make it work. And that's where he sees his role.
Then Al gave his most telling quote:
"I've kind of fallen out of love with politics. ...Whatever experience and talents I've gained over the years -- I think it may well be that the highest and best use of that is to try to bring enough awareness of the solutions to the climate crisis and enough of a sense of urgency that we come together across party lines on behalf of our children."
I'm just finishing up Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason. It's a must read. For those who think that the jury is still out on man's contribution to Global Warming, check out the "Quote of the Day" post below.
Happy Al Gore Day.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Live Earth and Al Gore Day at SAM Online
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2 comments:
I admire Gore's response on Larry King when asked by a caller to justify his use of a private plane and his enery-wasting mansion. He spoke so directly, actually answering the question- recognizing that he had to and has made changes-his house is carbon neutral, he flies commercial unless it's an emergency. He didn't ignore the issue or deny the fact that he had to make his own changes. He is working on the energy consumption problem every day, both for himself and for the world. What are all of us doing? One easy contribution- wash your clothes in cold water!
In a formal
invitation sent to former Vice-President Al Gore's Tennessee address and
released to the public, Lord Monckton has thrown down the gauntlet to
challenge Gore to what he terms "the Second Great Debate," an internationally
televised, head-to-head, nation-unto-nation confrontation on the question,
"That our effect on climate is not dangerous."
(http://ff.org/centers/csspp/docs/20070316_monckton.html)
Monckton, a former policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher during her years as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said, "A careful study of the
substantial corpus of peer-reviewed science reveals that Mr. Gore's film, An
Inconvenient Truth, is a foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and
errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide."
Monckton and Gore have once before clashed head to head on the science,
politics, and religion of global warming in the usually-decorous pages of the
London Sunday Telegraph last November.
Monckton calls on the former Vice President to "step up to the plate and
defend his advocacy of policies that could do grave harm to the welfare of the
world's poor. If Mr. Gore really believes global warming is the defining issue
of our time, the greatest threat human civilization has ever faced, then he
should welcome the opportunity to raise the profile of the issue before a
worldwide audience of billions by defining and defending his claims against a
serious, science-based challenge."
Gore is the last one who believes in honest, open denate and characterizes anyone who fails to believe in his views on climate change as heretics.
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