Gore on the Threat to American Democracy--Today's Speech Transcript!!

[Gloria]

Courtesy Josh Marshall....

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/5/14301/6133

Remarks by Al Gore as prepared
Associated Press / The Media Center
October 5, 2005

I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.

How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"?

I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and supporting the attack.

At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time.

Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?

MUCH MUCH MORE!

[Cha]

1. Thanks Al Gore..It breaks my

heart that you're not our Prez but thank you so much for speaking out on this downward spiral of our Country and strengthening my spirit.

[tk2kewl]

12. Wow!

The present executive branch has made it a practice to try and control and intimidate news organizations: from PBS to CBS to Newsweek. They placed a former male escort in the White House press pool to pose as a reporter - and then called upon him to give the president a hand at crucial moments. They paid actors to make make phony video press releases and paid cash to some reporters who were willing to take it in return for positive stories. And every day they unleash squadrons of digital brownshirts to harass and hector any journalist who is critical of the President.

[Cha]

35. So does Al Gore read

DU and buzzflash? :)

[jackster]

2. I'm beginning to think Gore should run again....

and just imagine, if you possibly can, of a country where the POTUS writes and thinks like this!

Can you imagine any of the Bushes being able to reason along these lines or at least at the same intellectual level? Wouldn't it feel good to have a POTUS that understood democracy?

[AuntiBush]

67. Gore Will Always Be My President - Legally and Morally.

Sure is nice to dream, huh. We were robbed, twice at that.

[Uncle Joe]

79. Yes, Al Gore is brilliant, but can he read "My Pet Goat"? n/t

[applegrove]

3. Thanks for posting.

[IA_Seth]

4. Great Speech

What will it take to WAKE AMERICA UP?

We need a Martin Luther King Jr, or someone equally charismatic and influential, to spark the flames that will make everyone realize where we are headed.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. I agree

We need civil revolution again or something. *sigh* :( I wish Gore was my president too.

[ChowChowChow]

5. BRILLIANT BRILLIANT..B R I L L I A N T!

Now this is a SMART man....Ah it brings tears to my eyes thinking about 2000 and Florida and how he was cheated......

[Dudley_DUright]

14. I just recently reread "Earth in the Balance"

He also gets it on global warming and the environment. Rather poignant after the Katrina disaster. I want to move to the alternate universe where Al Gore is our president. :cry:

[deminks]

6. President Gore needs to start serving his first term now.

from the text:

The present executive branch has made it a practice to try and control and intimidate news organizations: from PBS to CBS to Newsweek. They placed a former male escort in the White House press pool to pose as a reporter - and then called upon him to give the president a hand at crucial moments. They paid actors to make make phony video press releases and paid cash to some reporters who were willing to take it in return for positive stories. And every day they unleash squadrons of digital brownshirts to harass and hector any journalist who is critical of the President.

[JNelson6563]

38. Good one!

"Digital brownshirts". I'll probably be using that one. Right here on old DU as a matter of fact.......

Julie

[Turn CO Blue]

49. That paragraph is the ONE! Preach it, Brother Al!

I was going to post that one myself. I am so thrilled with this!

[highplainsdem]

7. Thanks for posting this! Recommended.

[DemExpat]

8. Excellent speech.

Thanks for sharing this here.

:kick:

DemEx

[rox63]

10. WOW!

I am stunned and amazed by the degree to which he really "gets it". And I am all the more sad that he was denied the presidency by the evil bastards currently running our country.

[neweurope]

11. FINALLY! a prominent Democrat speaks out - get this to the foreign press

as fast as you can... people in Europe still think everything is just fine in the US because no Democrat has ever criticized the Bushistas. It is pretty long, though :)

Gore should give an Interview to German magazine DER SPIEGEL - and to some French news outlets. It would really be important.

-------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[tom_paine]

13. I would wholeheartedly support Gore in 2008, if only he would FIGHT

He set the pattern which Kerry followed...that passive campaigning that ignores what Imperial Amerika has become.

Now, it all may be futile considering no one, it seems, gives a shit about whther or not our voting systems are worth a plugged nickel, but I for one would follow any Democrat with the balls to FIGHT, to STABD UP and call FAUX "NEWS" what it is, to loudly call lies LIES, to NOT sit back and be Swift Boated!

Gore in '08! Hell YES I would work my ass of for him...if he would STAND UP for me and the millions of Americans who see no representation of ourselves in the bunch of gutless mass of Vicky Democrats.

[FighttheFuture]

94. HE is fighting by giving these barn burning speeches...

The media purposefully ignores him. What can he really do? Keep on speaking truth to power. Hope the message gets out more on how the election was really stolen from him in 2000, but not make it sound like a "conspiracy". The sheeple hate to hear that!! Carter's comments, mostly ignored, were a good start.

Then, as 2007 comes into view, consider the field carefully, and throw his hat into the ring. If he goes against Hilliary, he will have a hard time of it and it will fracture the party (I do not see myself voting for her, or any DLC aligned Dem--let the country burn if that's the choice). I would hope that she keeps her DLC ass out of it and this time, Gore and Clinton step up publicly, together so the Big Dog can/will campaign on his behalf while Gore siezes the moment while reminding the country what they had under him and Clinton! The contrasts are almost automatic and VERY FAvorbale now, even to the "no-BJ's in the Whitehouse" one neuron dumbshits.

The real question is will Gore take his new found passion and populism and push it forward and will the media carry it fairly, or attempt to destroy him like they did Dean? Can Gore control the media Spin? He will need many other Dems help. Can the party put on one hat on this?

He is, I feel, the current best hope for the Democratic Party and Democracy at this time. Clark or Edwards are pretty good also, but if Gore were running, he would get my vote. As for Hillary, as long as your aligned with the DLC, fuck you!

[drummo]

106. Gore would never ever let Clinton campaing for him

That was over with the Monica flap

Gore is not like Clinton. He disdains his immorality, lack of discipline and self-centered recklessness which cost the Dems the White House in 2000 (come on, anyone thinks that Gore wouldn't be president without the whole Monica-impeachement saga?).

[FighttheFuture]

108. Perhaps, but this isn't 2000 anymore! The stakes are too high.

Clinton commands much respect in comparison to the ABSOLUTELY WORST PRESIDENT, WORST ADMINISTRATION and MOST CORRUPT POLITICAL PARTY IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY!

I suspect Gore is now smart enough to take every advantage he can get, including Clinton. He would be foolish not to. The stakes are simply too high now. I feel 2006/2008 is the last chance to re-right this country peacefully before collapse and probable military suppression or/and revolution.

[bpilgrim]

15. a GREAT American, thank you Mr. President for sharing

:toast:

recommended reading

peace

[VOX]

16. Important to note that Gore wrote this speech himself. Every thought/word.

Since so few in what was one referred to as "public service" no longer feel inclined to share their ideas, or simply have none of their own. :grr:

And yet the media kept referring to Gore as "wooden" and "boring."
Since when did it become a crime to be an intellectual? Oh, yeah, the right wing doesn't like intellectuals, since they can see through the bullshit and actually dare to raise **questions**.

Whenever I read or hear Al Gore these days I am simultaneously elated and depressed -- elated that someone of stature fully comprehends what's going on in the world, and is willing to speak out about it, and yet I feel rippingly depressed, because this man -- Albert Gore, Jr. -- should be serving his second term as our rightfully elected president.

[Lisa]

44. he's been thinking about these issues since the 1960s ...

He wrote his undergrad thesis on the impacts that television would have on US politics. I would very much like to read it, because I suspect that he was way ahead of his time with his insights.

I love how he draws together ideas from a variety of sources, and comes up with something new and perceptive. He's got incredible vision. He seems to be able to pick out issues early on which are going to have a major impact ... like global warming, the Internet, and biotechnology. It's the kind of skill that would be exceedingly useful in -- a President, say.

[90-percent]

17. digital brownshirts

Does that make us digital commie pinko fags?

digital peaceniks?

digital reality based community?

-85% Jimmy

edit: America needs a ZAPPA fan in the White House. Al, you have my vote. You have the vote of all of us slogging away in the reality based community.

[arikara]

18. It breaks my heart that the election was stolen from him

and you are stuck with that goon and all his little cronies.

Its long, but read the whole thing. He is brilliant and I hope he runs again. He deserves to be president.

The present executive branch has made it a practice to try and control and intimidate news organizations: from PBS to CBS to Newsweek. They placed a former male escort in the White House press pool to pose as a reporter - and then called upon him to give the president a hand at crucial moments. They paid actors to make make phony video press releases and paid cash to some reporters who were willing to take it in return for positive stories. And every day they unleash squadrons of digital brownshirts to harass and hector any journalist who is critical of the President.

For these and other reasons, The US Press was recently found in a comprehensive international study to be only the 27th freest press in the world. And that too seems strange to me.

Among the other factors damaging our public discourse in the media, the imposition by management of entertainment values on the journalism profession has resulted in scandals, fabricated sources, fictional events and the tabloidization of mainstream news. As recently stated by Dan Rather - who was, of course, forced out of his anchor job after angering the White House - television news has been "dumbed down and tarted up."

[texpatriot2004]

19. Thank you Al Gore n/t

[Qibing Zero]

20. Well damn.

He just said everything I've been saying for the past few years. The roots of the corruption and our lack of participation in the government, which is us to begin with, all covered perfectly. Great stuff.

I've been insulted over and over again for saying these exact things. People just accept that they have no say in change, and that it should just keep continuing on as it has been, because hey - everything is okay in their personal lives.

[SillyGoose]

21. Damn - what an awesome speech! This man would have made one helluva

president. This should be required reading for everyone who cares about our country.


(nominated)

[BiggJawn]

22. And "Maxx Headroom" was prophetic, too.

Miserable masses, huddled around their Teeeeeee-Veeeeeeee sets, consuming and thinking according to the whims of their masters at Zik-Zak.


America is fucked as long as there's Eye Cocaine like "Survivor" and "Murkan Eye-DULL" and Maury and Oprah and Dr. Swill-uh-Phil...

[tlsmith1963]

62. I Loved That Show!

I just wish a lot of it hadn't come true. I never wanted to live "Twenty Minutes Into the Future".:-(

Tammy

[bee]

23. kick ass. Al rules. Rec'd. n/t

[tomg]

24. All we need to do is place Gore's passion,

his intellectual breadth and depth, and his vision against that of the hapless, malicious fool currently in the White House to realize just how much we really lost in 2000. The author of that article is someone I could really get behind in 2008.

[jazzjunkysue]

25. This is the dem problem: We make no sense to regular people.

After about 4 minutes of reading, I got to the point:


"And here is my point: it is the destruction of that marketplace of ideas that accounts for the "strangeness" that now continually haunts our efforts to reason together about the choices we must make as a nation."

:wtf:

SAY IT!! JUST SAY IT!!! The administration is corrupt and dangerous and must be stopped!

Katrina, Iraq, Terror, Bin Laden, Delay, Frist, Social Security, Medicare, on and on, it's all bad. Halliburton, no-bid contracts, cronies in charge. Say something I can remember and understand!

This is why we lose. This is the best we can so. Howard Dean was supposed to go out there and shout sedition from the rooftops. I haven't heard from him. Who are our spokespeople??

Do me a favor, Al. Stay home. This won't help us. We need a message that's understandable.

[NYCGirl]

29. It's a speech, not a bumper sticker. The people who went to see him

were aware it was a speech. Is there a problem with that?

[jazzjunkysue]

37. Yup. I don't know what he means or what he wants to do about it.

The dems have to stop talking in theoretical terms and start fighting back.

With all the crap hitting the fan right now, and B*'s numbers in a freefall, if we're not willing to label these liars and thieves liars and thieves, now, we never will.

Use the L word: Lies. Liars. Lied.

Use the F word: Failed. Failed foreign policy, failed domestic infrastructure, failed leadership, failed military, failed strategy, failed intelligence, failed preparation.

Use the C word: Cronies, cronies, cronies everywhere!

Use the other L wordL Leaks! Leaking the CIA operative's identity.

Use the R word: Retribution. Retribution for revealing lies and treasonous acts and failures.

Talk about Ohio coingate. Talk about rigging elections, and selling the voting machines to right wing crazies. Talk about open source code for verifying vote counts. Talk about voting results that don't make the slightest bit of sense.

[NYCGirl]

42. I got it in the first paragraph:

I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.


You do realize he's talking about the media to a group of media executives.

http://www.mediacenter.org/

What you're talking about is another speech for another time. (And he did cover much of it elsewhere.)

[bpilgrim]

43. hear him speak truth 2 power about torture -------- > MP3

http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/aar/af/gore

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[SlavesandBulldozers]

73. hey he said brownshirts. I mean i see where youre coming from

but he said brownshirts. That ought to be worth a lil somethin:)

[arendt]

40. You are mistaken. Its not just good guys vs bad...

its understanding exactly how we are being twisted
and figuring out how to fight it.

Our democracy has been ruined by very shrewd manipulators.
If all you want to do is pick sides and fight, you are
going to get to the same place as the GOP: permanent
polarization.

In case you missed it, we are fighting for literacy, for
the respectability of having a good education, for knowing
some history and knowing how to debate instead of character
assasinate, for being smart enough to compromise and wise
enough to keep an eye on the other side without trying to
suppress them.

Yes the administration is corrupt; but it is practically
impossible to say so in the corporate media; and that is
what Al is pointing out. If he just started screaming, the
media would run that scream on endless loop, just like they
did to Dean.

Do you understand exactly how screwed America already is?
Do you understand how practically impossible it will be to
exit the current situation into anything remotely resembling
a middle class democracy with free speech and a social safety
net instead of martial law, slave labor, and a Haiti-like
wealth distribution?

If you don't like what Al said, just leave it there. Why
bash him? What did he do wrong? Everyone wrote him off years
ago. Why are you so incensed?

arendt

[rateyes]

26. This man is a LEADER who gets it....

and cares about our country...It will be a crying shame if he doesn't put his hat in the ring in '08. This speech ought to be required reading for every citizen in the country--especially graduating high-school seniors.

[txaslftist]

27. Goddamn. Why can't Al keep up?

Why does it feel like Al Gore, Hillary CLinton, Harry Reid and all the others are JUST NOW picking up on what we've been saying for friggin'years on these message boards?

I mean, does a thought have to go through some kind of reverse osmosis hydrothermic processing machine before it can slowly, after months, percolate into their damn heads?

He and others should have been saying this in 2003. It's fucking 2005, Al. Get with the program.

[JaneQPublic]

28. He WAS saying it in 2003... and in 2002, for that matter. (n/t)

[bergamot]

47. too bad

he didn't act on these thoughts when he was in power.

It's nice that he's giving great speeches now, maybe it will encourage other Democrats to do the same. But I'll never trust Al Gore any farther than I can throw him.

[SammyWinstonJack]

51. He's been giving great speeches.

I trust him and wish he would run in '08. I wanted him to run in '04 so he could kick the Chimp's ass again. Damn shame he wasn't allowed to.

[drummo]

54. Sorry but Bill Clinton was in chanrge not Al Gore

The vice president has no authority to make policy unless something happens with the prez.

That's the fucking reality of the job.

But Gore did stand in the way of the Gringrich-led Reps who wanted complete deregulation of the media market. The 1996 Telecom Act was not perfect but if it hadn't been for Gore nad his allies it would have been far worse, and the Reps had the votes in the Congress to pass it even if Clinton had vetoed it.

[bergamot]

82. That's why I wrote "in power"

and not "in charge."

Al Gore was very powerful and influential compared to previous Vice Presidents, though far less powerful than Actual President Cheney. With the number of projects given to him by Pres. Clinton, he was right up there with the members of the Cabinet.

He says things more to my liking today, and I suspect many of his public opinions now are closer to those he deeply held all along. Still, his work on "streamlining" government led to drastic reduction in power of Federal workers' unions, and he was probably the least environment-friendly among Clinton's closest advisers. Those are some of the reasons I don't trust him.

[JaneQPublic]

84. "the least environment-friendly among Clinton's closest advisers"?

Ever run across this?

[Uncle Joe]

93. That was one fantastic book! If my house burns

"Earth In The Balance" and the family photos are my top priority.

[drummo]

105. And would you specify what kind of power you have

if you are not in charge?

If you are not in charge you do not set policy. Period.

All you can do is to give advise but that advise can be rejected by the guy who calls the shot -- in ths case Clinton.

You have no idea what a President Gore would have done in the 90s so your accusation is baseless.

[dogday]

30. why didn't he run in 04?

Will he not run again cuz he knows the voting system is frigged all to hell? That might be why. No use spending time and energy and money if you are going to lose by means of deception....

[NYCGirl]

33. McAuliffe and the party asked him not to.

As Al Gore says when asked if he's "left the Democratic Party," he says,
"No, the party left me."

[dogday]

34. Just goes to show you how messed up

things are doesn't it. I would love to see Gore/Edwards...

[Vox_Reason]

97. Give me a Gore/Clark/Edwards combo of some kind

And let Dean run the campaign. Take no fugging prisoners. Tell the truth, unrelentingly. Put forth a positive vision for tomorrow.

I might quit my job to work for that ticket.

[melody]

31. The REAL President has spoken

What a counterpoint to the nitwit fake one who seized power.

[suffragette]

32. thorough, thoughtful and intelligent

Thank you, Mr. President.
And damn, damn, damn those who stole the election and our country.

[arendt]

36. The man quotes Jurgen Habermas - I love it, but America will hate it

The man is media-literate. He knows about Lippmann (probably
reads Chomsky but doesn't dare mention it), and his whole
presentation is homage to the late Neil Postman ("Amusing
Ourselves to Death").

And, he endorsed Howard Dean.

Draft Al, let him select Howard for VP. Forget Hillary.

arendt

[MelissaB]

46. Now that would be a hellava ticket.

This was a great read from beginning to end.

[tomg]

53. You got it. Just look at the

intellectual heritage behind that speech. Parts of are pure Walter Ong and McLuhan ( not the parody that passes for McLuhan). And he makes it all so intelligible. You can dumb it down or make it clear. He really makes what is a very complex issue clear. And it has passion.

Yup. Draft Al.

[drummo]

55. I doesn't agree with Chomsky

And he doesn't agree with Lippman, either. As he said that in the speech itself.

He is not an America-basher. For whatever stupid reason he still believes in the American people. I don't. I think most Americans
are lazy, ignorant, superficial, selfish and often just plain evil.
Which civilized country would have 45% of its population say that
even if 5000 Iraqi civilians die we still should invade Iraq?
That was a poll in 2002.
:puke:

[drummo]

60. I mean he doesn't agree with Chomsky

[shadowlight]

39. wow, this is a must read

this man sounds like a DUer

[lateo]

41. Here comes the hotstepper!

He's a lyrical gangsta.

Wow. Just wow. That was a kick-ass, fuel-injected rip on this administration, the media, and the Democratic non-leadership in Washington.

Gore in 2008!

[AlGore-08.com]

78. LOL - - he IS the Lyrical Gangsta!

Thanks for that.

[NYCGirl]

81. Word.

[drummo]

107. What a stupid cover!

The Nation is just another media outlet who can't help but make fun of Gore. They are ridiculous.

They don't get it. Current is very "designed" but it's not a hip channel. That's MTV.
Current deals with serious issues like the war, genocide, suicide in Japan, Katrina, disability, medical marijuhana, egg donors etc.

[Uncle Joe]

45. Outstanding!

President Gore,
We the people need you in 08, if you decide not to run, we may have to take matters in to our own hands and draft your ass and put it in the White House where it belongs.

[tinrobot]

48. Re-elect Gore in 2008

He's our very best chance. The man is brilliant and has a spine.

[Loge23]

52. Yes, Re-Elect the Real President!

What a difference between Clinton today in MS and the shrub's lame photo-ops. Al Gore is a genuine leader - let's get behind him big time!

[AntiFascist]

50. Yet another reason why Gore is on top of things.....

the rigged media works hand in hand with rigged elections.

[firefox]

56. Is this on current.tv?

You sure would think this would be viewable on Current TV. Is there a link at current.tv?

[drummo]

58. This is not viewable on Current

But if you have been there, and had created a video about this pseech and then had uploaded to the site and then if enough people had thought it was good enough to get on TV then it would be viewable on Current just like Battle for America or Grace at Camp Casey an many other viewer-created content.

Here's the link:

http://current.tv

You can go and vote for the videos you like.

Not coincidentally there's a lot of left-leaning stuff including coverage of the anti-war protest in Washington D.C. on September 24, 2005. You couldn't see that on the MSM.

http://current.tv/studio/media/844421

[converted_democrat]

57. I love this man......n/t

[ThomWV]

59. Another Great Speach By Our Once and Future President

It takes a while to read but it is well worth the time spent. Another home run by our once and future President.

[DaveT]

61. Al is thinking about McLuhan, and I like it.

Marshal McLuhan described how the invention of the printing press led to the modern world. He predicted how television and other electric forms of information and communication would lead to another world.

I especially appreciate Gore's thoughts on how television's ability to show motion lets it retain a last advantage over the Internet. The interactive capacity of the internet provides a democratic hope that has not yet been realized -- Al, I think, is on to why. The solution to this dilemma is therefore a little closer.

Great speech!

[tlsmith1963]

63. Why Wasn't Gore Like This...

...when he ran for President? He seems so *tough* now. Maybe the DLC got to him during the campaign. I prefer him the way he is now, & I want him to run for President again!

Tammy

[drummo]

64. Because 2000 was not 2005 that's why

Don't pretend that the world is the same now it was back in 2000
Even the media was better than it is today

And that tells a lot since they were horrible already in 2000

But in 2000 there was no

9/11
record deficit
Iraq invasion
Abu Ghrain and Guantanamo
Halliburton
rampant cronyism and incompetence in the federal government
fundamentalist rule
Katrina

should I continue?

You don't think the same today you thought in 2000. So why should Gore?

[mnhtnbb]

65. Can you imagine our world if Gore had been inaugurated?

No Iraq War.

The world would still admire the USA

No tax give-away to the rich.

Adoption of the Kyoto Treaty?

A full-on Manhattan Project to develop alternative energy sources?

Funding of the levee system in New Orleans.

No dismantling of FEMA

No John Roberts as Chief Justice

No lap-dog Miers with her scuzzy Texas Lottery background

No attempt to dismantle Social Security

No Patriot Act

No "No Child Left Behind"

What else?

[tk2kewl]

66. Atta, et al in jail and WTC still standing

stock market up instead of down?

[Amonester]

71. How about: Public Health Insurance for each & every US citizen.

Yep. Universal coverage. (Tax the richest and take care of everybody!)

What else? How about a recurring surplus, fiscal year in, fiscal year out?

:yoiks:

[SlavesandBulldozers]

74. no I can't

that world is so far away it might as well be Pluto.

sigh

[FighttheFuture]

95. Maybe... maybe not. The Repugs would have done everything...

to destroy him, like they did ot Clinton. Also, the Gore of 2005 is not the one in 2000. I suspect this stolen election with all the horrible consequences has made him more passionate, angry and unafraid of speaking the truth. I think he needed this.

That is why I would vote for him again in a heartbeat.

[Vox_Reason]

98. How depressing.

SO many things would be so much better if Al Gore took his rightful office in 2000. SO many things, that have had such tragic consequences.

We need you, Al Gore! This is yet another great speech in the string of great speeches you have been making for several years, including this one:
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0527-01.htm

It is very depressing to read a speech like this, and know that Al probably wrote every word of it. Can you imagine * even being able to read this speech without sounding like his semi-literate self?

AMERICA WAS ROBBED.

[AuntiBush]

68. MSN Controlled Propaganda like FAUX / HANNITY/O'REILLY!

People of all walks of life know they've been betrayed and sense strangeness in the air. You'd be surprised how many Republican and Evangelicals that DO NOT support *&* any longer.

They know, and they're scared. In my travels recently, I see NO bumper stickers for * and longer, nor flags other then those left up from months, and months back.

Most know. Amazing. Many are Faux News Watchers, yet they know the truth. Find that amazing in recent months.

[Stand and Fight]

69. FANTASTIC! n/t

[Celeborn Skywalker]

70. Excellent Speech!

I would gladly work for an Al Gore presidency should he choose to run again.

[Amonester]

72. Kick for the night & evening crowd (Keep It Kicked & Rec'd) n/t

:dem:

[Beam Me Up]

75. Great talk. Great man. Great President.

:patriot:

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

76. 1 hour of commercial advertising / day = 1 year of your life

In his speech, Gore points out that americans now watch on average 4.5 hours or so of television per day.

With today's 15 minutes/hour of commercials, that's over an hour a day.

An hour a day of your life, spent in reception of repeated and repeated messages designed to get into your head.

And for what? 4 hours of "quality" television programming? I doubt that.

Another way to look at is how much SOMEONE is getting paid for your eyeballs to be glued to the tv for 4.5 hours/day? The commercial advertisers will pony up to $12 / 1000 viewers of their advertisment. That's a whopping $0.012 that the advertiser is paying the broadcaster for your eyes. 1.2 cents for 30 seconds of your life. So you can watch the tv show you enjoy. 30 seconds times 30 commercials / hour (15 minutes out of every 60 is commercials) leaves you getting paid an incredible $0.36 for your time. I should note, that's below minimum wage.

36 cents is what the broadcaster gets so they can buy the program from the producer, and have all the machines, buildings, and people to do it.

Imagine if you could pay your own way and throw the bums a dime instead?

Imagine if you could take that hour and work it at your job, making somewhere above minimum wage, but for argument's sake, let's say $10/hour. You would make an extra $70 / week AND STILL have enough money to pay the "tv fee" of $2.52 / week ...

You might even say to heck with an hour a day of extra work, and just bite the bullet and sacrifice $2.52 from something else you buy during the week, like a single danish and a coffee.

What would you do with an extra hour per day in your life? Spend it on family? Friends? Career? Charity?

Over your lifetime, an hour a day is after all only a year or so, dedicated to the commercials.

Think about it.

Go Gore!

[lutefisk]

77. Is it still legal for him to say these things?

The contrast between the Gore and Bush speeches...leaves me speechless. Time is running out and Mr. Gore is fighting for us. I hope he runs in 2008.

[Emillereid]

80. I'm thinking our strongest ticket in '08 is Gore/Clark!

I'd give anything if the Dems would close ranks around this ticket soon -- and not have a lengthy, bruising, divisive primary season. It should be Gore's for the asking since he was cheated of his presidency in 2000 -- and we know from 2000 that he's a winner! Let's all get behind Gore now.

[bbgrunt]

91. I'll second that emotion!!

[FighttheFuture]

96. I'll third this!!! Edwards would be my next choice after Clark!!

[Kurovski]

83. With that, I'm now officially in the "Gore in '08" camp.

But he may do best at this time as someone heading up a media reform movement. He has had an understanding of media and how it affects and shapes, assists or hinders democracy since at least his college days.

We do seem to live in an alternate universe. In mine, Gore is president.

"Crazy" is just the first the word to describe America today.

[MindLikeAParachute]

85. Were that Bush just a fraction that literate

Is it too much to ask that our President be smarter than the average bear?

[StellaBlue]

86. woo-hoo!!!!

Is there a backflip smiley?

[StellaBlue]

87. link doesn't work for me

Just a brown, empty page comes up.

Any other sources??? I can't find any online... even through CSPAN.

[NYCGirl]

88. Here's a post with both a text and audio link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2139161&mesg_id=2139161

[StellaBlue]

89. nevermind

it's on his website.

duh

[donkeyotay]

90. Compare and contrast, a real president vs a fake one

"And here is my point: it is the destruction of that marketplace of ideas that accounts for the "strangeness" that now continually haunts our efforts to reason together about the choices we must make as a nation." -Words from a man actually educated to be president.

"Flowers grow into big trees" Or some such nonsense from the Major address from the unelected fraud today.

People are definitely numbed by all this strangeness. It's also hard to maintain sanity in an insane world.

[Crewleader]

92. Ready when you are Al Gore

to fight all the way to the white house, where you belong...;-)
You have my support along with all those that love you at DU and our friends at Al Gore 08! :-)
And let's remember all the American people that voted for YOU and now those that wished they did! ;-)

To All My Al Gore Supporters...we're ready! :hi:

[LittleClarkie]

99. Rush was having a kitty fit about Gore's speech today

I only heard a few minutes, but he was about to lay into our Al before I switched it off.

[DebJ]

101. darn I'd love to have heard the details. Would have been like

watching the Big Stupid Bully Kid pick on the geek

[DebJ]

100. How do you spell relief? "i-n-t-e-l-l-i-g-e-n-c e". Thanks so much

for the post. I just love love love Al Gore. Intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate. Sigh. Cry.

[kid a]

102. GORE 08!!!

[GoreDean2008]

103. GORE: THE PRESIDENT

Re-electing Al Gore President of the United States in 2008 is the beginning of the restoration of our democracy and legitimacy of presidential succession. Calling George W. Bush president is an insult to our democratic tradition. George W. Bush demands patriotism but he is not patriotic. Al Gore is the true statesman of our country. Gore for President in 2008!

[CrackpotAmerica]

104. I have come to love Mr. Gore's Speeches

I always get the feeling that I am listening to a lecture by my favorite proffessor. Further, I always learn from what he says.

He is truly a great intellectual mind, and in the same ilk as a Voltaire or Emmerson something that is largely absent in todays Government.

Thanks Mr. Gore!

:nominated: