I have tried to avoid most of the news about Al Gore’s sexual assault scandal. But this is just pathetic:
The accuser said Gore maneuvered her into the bedroom. His iPod docking station was there, he told her, and he wanted her to listen to “Dear Mr. President,” a lachrymose attack on George W. Bush by the singer Pink.
“As soon as he had it playing, he turned to me and immediately flipped me flat on my back and threw his whole body face down over atop of me,” she said. “I was just shocked at his craziness.”[emp added]
Really? That’s his make out music? That’s what gets his engine revving, a song mocking the man who beat him? How much of his emotional life must revolve around Bush that he makes good old George part of his seduction shtick?
This isn’t the first time that Gore has shown evidence of serious emotional instability. He packed on significant amounts of weight and grew a disheveled beard in the two months following his loss in 2000. That’s not how someone with the emotional balance necessary to be President acts.
Now he’s (possibly) committed sexual assault and betrayed his wife of 30 years by committing adultery.
We seriously dodged a bullet when he lost in 2000. He would have imploded under the stresses of a post-9/11 presidency.
Many people must have known about this allegation and covered it up. Of course the allegation itself may be fraudulent. But compare the media treatment of it to their treatment of any hint, no matter how far-fetched, of similar behavior by a prominent Republican.
If the allegation is true:
-It raises the question whether Gore has a pattern of such behavior. (What else is being covered up?)
-It was foreshadowed by Gore’s bullying of scientists as a Senator in the 1980s.
-It’s a fatal indictment of Gore’s fitness for public office.
Glenn Reynolds’s point that the accusation against Gore came out only after Gore began criticizing Obama over the oil spill does not contradict any of the above suggestions.
Really? That’s his make out music?
It wasn’t for Big Al, but to put her in the mood. The chick was (I presume) a young lady, and those young chicks dig Pink, ya know?
Gore’s “He played on our fears!” Moveon.org speech in, I think, 2003 was no ordinary appearance. He was an absolute raving freak; had it been a Republican, he would have instantly been declared clinical.
And after that speech, I knew we’d eventually learn just how defective this guy is. There’s more to come.
Brian, my understanding was she was in her 50’s.
Praise the people for getting it right.
yeah- and bush sure is mature and did a great job as a post 911 president. Heck of a job bushie. bush screwed up so bad he got a black guy elected.
I have not paid attention to Mrs. Gore over the years, but, after almost 40 years of marriage, many millions of dollars earned, 4 children and many grandchildren, isn’t divorce over one slap-and-tickle in Portland an inappropriate response?
There has to be more! Thank god, the captive media will ferret out the truth!
Cal wins. I LOL’d after that one. Bush did suck, especially from 2005 on. What a disaster. Hard to imagine the new guy being worse, though – and he is.
Gorebot tried to use Pink to seduce a 54 year old greenie massage therapist he was paying $400/hr + and still failed. Wow.
Brian Dunbar, that would imply that Gore knew her before and got prepared. Nope, as the meting was completely random, it looks like the music selection was purely his own preference.
Cal,
You can criticize Bush’s choices but it clear he made them from a mature and stable mindset. Simply because someone disagrees with you about how to deal with a particular problem it does not make them emotionally unstable. You’re not so personally massively brilliant that only emotional cripples will disagree with you. Get over yourself
What we’re talking about here is individuals with enormous personal responsibilities who risk failing in those responsibilities just for the sake of personal pleasure.
Compare Bush to Clinton: Clinton put his entire Presidency in danger and thereby betrayed all the people who invested their hopes in aspiration in his Presidency, all for the sake of blow job. He knew conservatives where gunning for him and he knew that a sexual scandal could cripple the pursuit of the political policies of the people who supported him but he tossed all that out the window just for a couple of organisms.
Gore is no better. As the flagship spokesman for Global Warming, his integrity was vitally important to tens of millions of people who believe that Global Warming is a serious problem. Yet, there he is, out of control in hotel room just for some immediate, visceral gratification.
I think the problem is that the culture of the post-60s left makes a fetish out of narcissism and pleasure seeking. People are taught to think of themselves first foremost. The ideas of loyalty and duty, even to those with the same ideological goals, is scoffed at. The idea that individuals have to make personal sacrifices for the greater good is now cynically mocked.
I fear that we will see some kind of similar self-destruction with Obama. He appears to have the same levels of self-absorbtion and narcissism as did Clinton. Let us hope it doesn’t come at the wrong time.
Thanks for giving me a mental image of a much fatter, much less compelling doppelganger for Dennis Hopper in “Blue Velvet.” “Mommy mommy mommmy mommmmmy…”
So George Bush made Al Gore a rapist?
It’s true everything is Bush’s fault.
Shannon Love-
Not sure what you’re talking about- bushie never once sacrificed for the good of the country- it was all about income redistribution from the the poor to the rich- Mission Accomplished. Clinton was self destructive and I blame him for creating the conditions for bush to win and wreak havoc on our country. Clinton created the opportunistic infection that was bush. However in terms of shear results Clinton did a superb job as president. Look at the economic stats from Clinton’s presidency vs bush’s. Look at the president’s of the last 50 years- democrat stats vs republicans. Dems crush repubs on the economy. What harm did Clinton’s bj do to the country? Nothing. We all know the harm bush did. The culture of the 60’s is harnessed by the elites of this country to sell more stuff. You can’t have it both ways- a walmart economy and a spirit of self-sacrifice. Obama has created more jobs in his 1st year as pres than bush did his entire 8 years. Obama has a stable family life and chose the exact life of sacrifice for the greater good. He could have gone to Wall Street after college and made a killing and instead chose to help people. Look at all the repub heros- Newt, Rush, Palin,- what about their narcissism and self destruction. How many times have they been divorced? Whose having kids out of wedlock? Whose only in it for the money? How dare you talk about Barack’s character. Self absorbed? Narcissism? Why don’t you just say uppity and be honest?
If the truth is ever told, Bush will go down in our history as one of the greatest presidents.
Obama and a Democrat congress wholly own this down-turn. Owing to the failed policies of the community reinvestment act, flowing through to the Pelosi / Reid war on energy… and then to the rise of an aspiring president to-be who was running around saying he would bankrupt the coal industry, rewrite NAFTA, double the capital gains taxes out of ‘fairness’ and soak the rich for every new social programs he and his leftist cronies could dream up.
What was a strong market and a strong economy blew a gasket at the proposition of an Obama president with a complicit congress lead by hard left anti-capital zealots. Everyone said ‘Sell!’ and the economic collapse proceeded. Now that Obama is in office and is illustrating quite well that his promises were not empty leftist campaign rhetoric we’ve seen an even further collapse of the economy.
I blame the media, for without their help Obama would have been revealed to the people for who he really was and our great American system would not be suffering a cancerous case of Obamaitous.
The interesting thing about the Bush response to the Obama lead down-turn is that it was the exact correct thing to do. We were slipping into a deflation cycle which, as anyone who studies economics knows, is death to a capital economy. Solution? Print a whole ton of money… basically double the US money supply and deflate the dollar to match the deflation cycle of goods. With the money we bought interests in the banking system that needed the capital for liquidity. In one move we doubled the money supply without suffering any inflation or loss in relative value of the dollar to other major world currencies.
Bush didn’t leave Obama a bad economy he prevented a disaster that, as the banks recover, will give us an infinite % return on investment because it didn’t cost us anything in inflation to print the money we used to buy the interests and bail them out.
Obama’s response after taking office, however, was the exact wrong thing to do. With his massive stimulus-bill / democrat-Christmas-list (plus pushing for cap and trade and health-care ‘reform’) it sent a signal to other countries that the US was heading down an anti-business / punish-the-producer path that would be unsustainable.
In order to pay for the growing deficits the US has to issue new debt and the world only still sustains us to the degree that the dollar and our debt suck less that the other choices out there right now. Eventually this will prove unsustainable and drive up the interest on new debt and old debt alike so the deficits and total debt will punch from already being way too high — up into the stratosphere well beyond reason.
Now businesses remain in hibernation because they know they’ll be saddled with the tab for this binge.
Hopefully something can be done in time to correct this. Sending a signal during the mid-terms is probably our best hope. It straightened Clinton out and knocked him off of his populist white horse.
Jimmy Nashville-
The bush response to the Obama led downturn? Seriously dude- that’s awesome. bush was president BEFORE Obama. bush led the downturn and then Obama took over from bush. And bush took over from Clinton. When bush took over – Clinton left him with a $270 billion SURPLUS. What did bushie leave Obama with? Let’s see- a 1.3 trillion deficit. See how that works? You’re going to be waiting a long time for the “truth” to come out on bush being a great president. Maybe you can go to his library- I’m sure the karl rove “truth” will be there.
Ah, Cal. True blind love is so rare these days. It’s probably better not wasted on a politician, though…
I thought Whitney Houston’s “Didnt we Almost have it all” would have been a better song for Gore.
Cal,
What harm did Clinton’s bj do to the country? Nothing..
Well, that depends on how good you think that the leftwing policies that Clinton originally intended to implement would have been for the country.
Clinton failed in his first big push for leftwing “reform” of health care because people perceived he had lied about being a moderate. In 1994, the Repubicans took over the house for the first time in 40 years. From that point on, all the major enacted policies where right-of-center: Nafta, welfare reform etc. Clinton was forced to move aggressively to the center in order to cling to the Presidency. Even so, he never got close to winning the popular vote. Clinton’s last four years where nothing but him being a puppet of the Republicans.
Much of that weakness was related to his sex scandal. He was forced to move many policies to the right to avoid the public perception that he was some kind of leftwing social extremist that the majority of the country couldn’t relate to.
If you think the 90s were a great time then you must also believe that the moderate and often right-of-center policies of the era where good for the country. You must think that the ideas that were to the left of the policies actually implemented would have been worse because those are the policies that Clintons selfish pursuit of sexual gratification prevented from being implemented.
More generally, you clearly just hate people who perceive as different from you. You ascribe to Bush and company the most vile and evil motives simply because they don’t share your childish and naive notion that you can create a just society by the violence mediated redistribution of wealth. You are so staggeringly arrogant that you believe that on a virtually every possible subject imaginable no one else can disagree with you without being evil. In fact, you believe that the mere fact that someone disagrees with you means that they stupid, evil and psychologically flawed.
Get over yourself.
On the other hand, don’t. You are far more useful to me the way you are. The stable, mature, thoughtful people whom I seek as political allies do believe in personal self-restraint and responsibility to others. Your childish, narcissistic ranting is a marvelous selling point for me. Your willingness to support any political figure or celebrity regardless of behavior makes other believe that such figures are not trustworthy.
Please keep up the good work.
Bush wasn’t bad. He was mostly wise and honest. Where he got it wrong was in being too compassionate and spending too much of other people’s money. He certain;y looks like a genius compared to Obama.
The Democratic Congress and the CRA killed the economy and Obama is working feverishly to throw the last shovel full of dirt on top of it. If his goal were to destroy everything America stands for and everything all of the previous generations of Americans accomplished his policies would be no different. He is a silly and vindictive man whose ignorance knows no bounds.
As a nation we are bankrupt. We just threw several trillion dollars away that we didn’t have to start with. Our grandchildren will be paying the interest on all of it just because we could not wean our politicians from trying to buy votes by paying for everyone’s mortgage or health care etc… as if such policies could end in anything other than disaster.
The defining characteristic of the modern day left is the desire to control… everything and everyone. When Communism was proven a failure they moved on to global warming and when that is proven a farce they will move on to something else. Who knows, maybe they will go back to their old standby of anti-semitism.
We have about one election cycle remaining to turn things around or the Republic is lost.
Fatty Bolger – “Ah, Cal. True blind love is so rare these days. It’s probably better not wasted on a politician, though…” – you win the internets for today.
bush screwed up so bad he got a black guy elected.
There is a whole psychology course in this fellow’s comments.
Bush, as the holder of an MBA, delegated a lot of authority that other presidents might have kept in their own hands. He ran into two bad consequences of this standard business practice. The Big Army had disdained COIN since Vietnam while the Marines had been training for urban combat and COIN for a decade before 9/11. As Michael Yon has written, General Sanchez could turn wine to vinegar with one glance. They were trying to fight the insurgency like they fought Saddam.
The second disastrous consequence was Alan Greenspan who seems to have lost his financial acumen with age. He actually said that the way to solve the collapse of the internet bubble was to create a housing bubble. Every stock market analyst knows that trees don’t grow to the sky. Everything stops. How these people convinced themselves that housing could not fail is a mystery.
Eventually, Bush found Petraeus and TARP seems to have stabilized things enough to stop the bleeding. If Bush had allowed GM to declare bankruptcy, a lot of our present problems would be reduced. He didn’t want to make such decisions as a lame duck but what we got was worse, far worse.
For those who know a little history, the Clinton economy took off with the election of the Republican Congress in 1994. I am hoping for something like that this fall. If not, we are screwed.
Okay I saw this somewhere else but it bears repeating.
So, every time this guy get’s an election it deserves a happy ending.
Hey Shannon Love-
How come bush lovers always resort to insults when they can’t win a debate? Ever notice that? Yes- I am childish and naive because bush was the worst president in our history. On a post about Al Gore supposedly attacking a women- nothing proven- just allegations. This from the party of airport sex and diaper sex with prostitutes. You’re still defending bush and attacking Gore and I’m childish and everyone who disagrees with me is evil. Got it. BTW- who has redistributed more wealth than repubs? From poor to rich that is. Here’s a little secret- the people who control the repubs and you – don’t care about you, the country or anything but getting more money. They care about deluding you enough so that they can steal ie redistribute more money to themselves. That’s it.
“[T]he Clinton economy took off with the election of the Republican Congress in 1994. I am hoping for something like that this fall.”
In many ways, Clinton can credit the Republican Class of ’94 with his reelection. It was a combination of him being dragged by the CWA and trying to preempt the Republican agenda that benefited the economy and satisfied the electorate. I do not, however, see the same benefitting Pres. Obama. He is simply too cocksure and full of himself that while I believe a Republican Congress will do good he’ll be loudly protesting and fighting them every step of the way. In the end he will just end up looking ineffective and lost.
Cal, please.
The dems own every dollar spent since Jan 2007 when Nancy girl took over Congress. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd OWN the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (still in debt to the tune of $1 trillion), the credit default swaps and the bundled securitized toxic “investments” sold the world over–the true causes of the financial meltdown.
Yet for you it’s Bush’s fault.
Then you claim Clinton left a surplus when his own estimates had giant deficits for his entire term…until he lost Congress to the Republicans, who turned it around because, again, it’s CONGRESS that spends the money, not the President.
Talk about delusional….
Don’t forget the internet bubble as well as the Y2K driven spending in the 1990’s.
There were different possible strategies for handling Iraq. One would have been to treat it as a punitive expedition. The only reason that I ever saw to stick around in Afghanistan or Iraq was to eventually encircle Iran with unfriendly neighbors that were supported by the USA.
Michael Kennedy,
You know, in this case, I’m really not so interested in the details of policy. One can argue over whether a policy was good or bad without any reference to the emotional stability of the people who adopt it.
If you take two people with the exact same intellect and degree of emotional stability/intelligence but then give them different educations and experiences, then they will develop separate perspectives on the same policy questions. Someone who spends their entire adult life in academia will have a much different perspective on almost everything compared to someone who spend their entire adult life in business. Each individual can be just as emotionally stable, just has honest, just as caring and careful of needs of others yet firmly believe in polar opposite policies.
What interest me is the contempt in which people like Clinton and Gore treat the people who support them and believe in the policies they themselves claim to support. People in elite political situation don’t have normal levels of responsibility. The President is responsible for not only the fate of America but by extension the entire human race. One catastrophic mistake by a US President in the Cold War might have meant our extinction. Gore claimed to be fighting a danger that long term could just as bad. They likewise know that any personal scandal could seriously harm the cause they claim to advance. They know that if those causes fail, all the people who trusted and supported them will suffer as well.
Yet, they can’t seem to put the interest of others ahead of their own shallow pleasure. Even more interesting, the people who depend on them don’t seem to care either. These supporters seem more angry that others have discovered a flaw in the their flag carrier than they are in the fact that the flag carrier let them down.
It’s almost like an abused spouse that attacks the policy instead of the abuser.
Behavior like this makes me more and more convinced that leftism is more of a social identity clustering than a political ideology. Individually, leftists are using politics to make themselves feel superior and to dominate others. The actual policies may be secondary or even irrelevant. They don’t actual care that a flag carriers selfish behavior torpedoed the policies they supported as long as they can view themselves as group as remaining superior.
As Cal demonstrated above, he seems to have no care that Clinton was unable to enact any left of center policies as long as Clinton and by extension all those who identify with him, were seen as socially dominate.
This is very strange and very dangerous behavior. I don’t think we’ve really seen anything like it before on this scale.
Koblog-
The CRA has been around since the 70’s. It just took a long time to do it’s damage I guess. Or the black guy did it. Deregulate Wall Street and then blame the CRA on the crash- that’s delusional.
Who started 2 wars and put them on a credit card? Who gave away trillions to the richest people in the country? Medicare part D anyone?
Face it- your side spent money like there was no tomorrow and all we have to show for it is bankruptcy and the top 1% owning more than they have since the Great Depression. What are the repub ideas? Nothing but deregulate and redistribute wealth to rich people. Look where that got us. The party of personal responsibility takes no responsibility for the results or the lack there of during their administration. You are not a serious party- how about that budget the repubs released on April Fools Day- with NO numbers! How about the state legislatures passing laws against implanting microchips in people and against animal/human hybrids. The only thing you people do is whine about Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore.
“You can criticize Bush’s choices but it clear he made them from a mature and stable mindset.”
Something Cal seems to lack.
Pst314-
I’m not sure which is more pathetic- that you think bush has a stable and mature mind or that instead of debating me with ideas and facts you have to result to insults. Did the repubs do a good job from 2000 to 2008 or not? Simple question. Show me the results of the great repub work when they were in power. Then you can call me names.
Here’s some pix of our former “mature” president:
http://www.zimbio.com/Late+Night+Jokes/articles/105/Late+Night+Jokes+George+Bush+Olympics
Pst314-
I’m not sure which is more pathetic- that you think bush has a stable and mature mind or that instead of debating me with ideas and facts you have to result to insults. Did the repubs do a good job from 2000 to 2008 or not? Simple question. Show me the results of the great repub work when they were in power. Then you can call me names.
In his book “Dereliction of Duty”, Lt. Col. Robert Patterson (who served in the Clinton White House as the officer who carried the nuclear football) described some of Al Gore’s bad behaviors.
people like cal don’t ever change, because they are already “there”. he is now in a terminal state where he will stew in bitterness and anger in-perpituity. engaging him in a dialog, like some have done here, reveals a lack of discipline. until you can ignore such tar babies, you have not properly learned of their true nature.
i on the other hand, skipped all of his postings after the first one. i did read some of the responses to him, in case someone came up with something humorous at his expense. sadly, no one was up to the task this time :)
what would be fun, if we could get some actual biography on cal, is to theorize on the root causes of his mental and emotional stunting. i would put good money on his having “daddy” problems that would give oedipus a run for his money.
“bush is the new nixon”
Cjm-
No-one’s up to the task of refuting what I have to say because you can’t. How about instead on insults you take it on to prove me wrong? Did bush do a good job for his 8 years or not? You all have a ton of excuses for why he didn’t and when that is pointed out- you resort to insults. If the truth is so clear- show me where I’m wrong.
Cal,
How come bush lovers always resort to insults when they can’t win a debate
Please reread your first post on this thread and explain to me why your post was not insulting and needlessly derogatory.
It’s simply that you’re not used to people talking back to you. Leftists are so in the habit of casually making the most insulting and derogatory comments about others that you don’t even understand how anyone could take offense. It’s like the old timer racist back in my childhood who couldn’t understand why everyone was upset by their use of the n-word.
Yes- I am childish and naive because bush was the worst president in our history.
No, your childish and naive because you asserted that Bush’s bad policies decisions were an indication of emotional instability. Implicitly, that means you believe that anyone who disagrees with you on policy must be emotionally unstable.
Explain to me why that is a sophisticated and mature assertion.
Bush may have been a bad President policywise but that is has no bearing on this discussion. I think it very revealing that you can’t see that. Bush never betrayed his family and the people who supported him just for carnal pleasure. He carried himself with self-restraint. He did nothing in his personal affairs to endanger his Presidency. He acted as if he owed the people who supported him to be the best flag carrier possible.
BTW- who has redistributed more wealth than repubs? From poor to rich that is.
So let me get this straight: The Republican party is an evil conspiracy to “redistribute” wealth from people who by definition have no wealth to people who by definition already have the wealth. How exactly does that work? How much of essentially zero wealth can you redistribute anyway? How can you steal something someone doesn’t have?
You know, the really offensive thing about people like you isn’t your hate driven politics, it the utter lack of effort you put into your rationalizations. I mean you don’t even really try to come up with a good rationalization. Have some pride. Make up something that sounds mildly plausible.
Here’s a little secret- the people who control the repubs and you – don’t care about you, the country or anything but getting more money.
Here’s a little secret, -the people who control the dems and you- don’t care about you, the country or anything but getting more power. They will “help” you only in ways that makes you dependent on them. Look at California, Michigan or any other rust belt state. Democrats entire business model is based around making as many people financially dependent democratic politicos as possible. If that dependence means that people have to live in wretched poverty and hopelessness, so be it.
More importantly, why do you want politicians to care about you? Why do think you need caring for? Aren’t you an adult who can stand on your own feet? Don’t you see it as your personal responsibility to care for others, not to force other people to care for you?
I happy as a clam that Republicans are slightly less likely to “care” about me than the Democrats. If nothing else, living in this cruel Republican hell hole of Texas is a lot better right now than living under California’s not so successful “compassion.” We have jobs, low crime, good schools and even better social harmony.
You believe that people that disagree with you are stupid and evil not because you actually know anything about them or how they think but rather because your own inflated ego tells you that you are so brilliant that no intelligent and good person can disagree with you.
Such narcism is the very essence of childish immaturity.
Spot on about Gore. I actually voted for him (coin flip job), but was alarmed on two counts after he lost: that realization that 1) he was at that point clearly unhinged, and 2) I’d voted for someone who might have been unhinged at the time, which reflected on my judgment. Imagine if Gore had been President on 9/11. Good God.
Among the aspects young Cal fails to grasp is your repeated assertion that you’re not addressing policies, but rather psychologies, and fitness for high office. Bush adopted policies that he thought were in the interests of the country – agree with them or no. He stoically endured staggering vituperation for doing so; he didn’t lash out, become bitter, or whine. He placed the country’s interests ahead of his personal ones. (The closest historical example is Lincoln, who (Cal please note) was considered a fool, an uneducated bumpkin, a dangerous simpleton, a gibbering incompetent (even by some of his Cabinet), and yes, a chimp – right up to the entrance to Ford’s theater.)
Clinton and Gore – and Ted Kennedy before them – did just the opposite. Their narcissism led them to view this Republic and its citizens as merely supporting cast in their real-life game of SimCity. It was all about them: their ambition, their aggrandizement, their quest for validation and/or gratification. Not a healthy psychology for anyone, least of all a President.
Shannon Love-
I was not trying to be offensive or derogatory. If I site some facts and that hurts- sorry grow up.
By the way- Texas has some of the worst schools and graduation rates in the country. just facts getting in the way of your narrative I guess.
Way to exaggerate about redistributing wealth- poor people don’t have zero wealth they have less wealth now that bush gave it to rich people with tax cuts we clearly cannot afford.
Who cares if bush never betrayed his family- he betrayed his oath of office
“He stoically endured staggering vituperation for doing so; he didn’t lash out, become bitter, or whine.” I disagree with much of what Bush did/didn’t do, but I respect him to the ends of the earth for not coming unhinged under a barrage of abuse and hate the likes of which I doubt we will ever see again until another Republican is elected president.
In the circumstances, I would have thought he’d have played something by Chakra Khan…
it would have been better for the country if bush had fought back. he was a bad president but a decent man.
the entire premise of this post strikes me as pointless. a man’s morals are incidental to the performance of his duties. results are what count, not intentions or purity of thought. it’s nice when you get someone like RR or thatcher, who embody both — but i’ll take a bastard that delivers anytime.
Brian Dunbar, that would imply that Gore knew her before and got prepared.
Tatyana, it might imply that Mr. Gore knew only this chick would be a liberal (easy guess given her job) and he stereotyped her personality, likes and dislikes accordingly.
A womanizer, an abuser, a rapist and not even very suave about it.
Re (Chris):Gorebot tried to use Pink to seduce a 54 year old greenie massage therapist he was paying $400/hr + and still failed. Wow.
Heh. There’s an expression about a guy who’s such a loser with the girls, “he couldn’t score in a cathouse with a fistful of fifties.” I don’t know whether I’m more astounded that there actually is such a guy, or that he’s Al Freakin’ Gore.
I second Chris’s, “Wow.”
Somewhere, Bill Clinton is laughing himself incontinent over this. “Al did what? Bwahahahaha!”
Occam’s Beard,
I voted for Gore twice and I voted for Clinton in ’92 because he chose Gore as his running mate. I believed in the myth of the dispassionate technocrat and I believed Gore was actually a pragmatic centrist.
The trouble is, our election system gives you very few real clues about an individuals character. Once you realize that policy and charater don’t go hand in hand, the politician on the stump might has well be an actor payed to play the part.
That’s a good reason to go for people with previous executive experience. They have an operational track record.
[Admin note: Cal’s comments somehow were deleted as spam after they were posted here. I don’t know how this happened but it wasn’t intentional on Shannon’s or my part and I have restored the comments.]
Brian Dunbar – another unsubstantiated assumption. Why? The profession itself does not imply the connection.
How can you be sure about massage therapist’s politics? Even if you think she’s a ‘happy ending’ massage therapist. I’d say, her politics are rather unimportant and irrelevant to the transaction.
Besides, when I go to get a massage (legitimate one: I have a bad back), politics is the last thing on my mind and it somehow never surface in course of a session.
Occam B! You voted for Algore? So you’re a man, afterward…not a marble perfection!?
Shannon:
That’s a good reason to go for people with previous executive experience. They have an operational track record.
Two words to the contrary: Michael Bloomberg.
Screw the poor. Im tired of their dead asses.
Tatyana,
Brian Dunbar – another unsubstantiated assumption. Why? The profession itself does not imply the connection.
I was assuming an unsubstantiated assumption on Mr. Gore’s part, not mine.
Hi Jonathan-
Thank-you for restoring my comments. I appreciate the opportunity to challenge and be challenged. I’ve posted comments on conservative sites before and have been immediately banned. Glad this site is not like that. Can we back to our spirited debate now? Hi Shannon!
BD: OK, as a speculation it might fly.
Cal are you freakin serious? Obama hasn’t created jobs, those were temp Census workers. Obama killed jobs, millions.
The Republicans built up the economy, then the Dems took over congress (you know, the branch of government that makes the laws?) in 2008 and poof. Poor Bush was exhausted, and if he is to blame for anything with the economy, it’s for letting the Dems have their way. Fannie Mae should have be outlawed. Bush tried to kill it, not hard enough. Don’t you wish he had won that battle, and Barney Frank had lost?
And you dare bring up Katrina? How about this: Bush was smart enough to waive the Jonas act to allow foreign flagged ships to help out. Obama isn’t that smart. While Obama the Chimp squeaks from the White House, Oil Skimmer ships sit idle. Yes, he’s THAT stupid. Tell ya what- don’t bother. When the Jonas act is waived, you can reply and tell me “See, Obama FINALLY caught up to Bush”. Before then, not a chance.
Hey Anonymous-
Watch fox news much? bush has the record for the worst job creation of any president in history. With that kind of record we need even temp jobs to replace all that was lost under bush.
Conservatives sure love their conspiracy theories- the Jonas act? Barack excepted all the help we need from other countries. What can the other countries do anyway?
The CRA and Freddie and Fannie are not responsible for private wall street companies crashing the economy. How do support privatizing profits but socializing losses?
I didn’t bring up Katrina but since you did- since when do conservatives want help from other countries? Now we’re Bangladesh or Ethiopia and we need other countries to help us? I remember when the US rescued countries- we never needed to be rescued until bush. Finally- who put heck of job brownie into the job?
The oil spill and Katrina are only related in that they both happened because of conservatives really proving that government is the problem. Nice deregulation and corruption in MMS.
Think about it- under bush:
our economy crashed
our food isn’t safe
our energy- mining and oil is a mess
we’re trapped in 2 wars that cannot be won.
But hey we all got that $300 tax cut (except the .0001% that rec’d a much larger cut).
How exactly did repubs build up the economy? Name one new industry or technology that came out under your administration? What do we have to show for the bush years? Nancy came into power in 2007- bush was out in 2008. What did repubs do for the first 6-7 years bush was in power?
In OB’s defense, (not that he really needs one!) and to back up Shannon Love – I also voted for the Goracle in 2000. The two candidates that I had thought (being that it was 2000 and I only had old media reports to judge them by!) that the two best candidates on either slate would have been McCain and Bradley. Since neither of them made the final cut, and I thought that Gore and Bush were pretty much alike – six of one, half dozen of the other, being at that point about equal in gravitas, accomplishment, scions of political families and all (that last of which I have never approved!) – I flipped a coin and voted for Gore.
Eh … how the heck would I have known then how ridiculous he would have gotten by 2010! Say, is Garrison Keiller still making fun of him on Prairie Home Companion? I’ve been skipping listening to PHC for two years now, for fear of being poisoned by the thick choking cloud of liberal smug emanating from the show. Anyone else, braver than I, who can say?
Cal is building one of them Overton windows. Good work Cal!!
bush has the record for the worst job creation of any president in history.
Uh, ever heard of the 1930s?
The CRA and Freddie and Fannie are not responsible for private wall street companies crashing the economy.
They debased the asset that backed mortgage-based securities. Their share of the blame is significant.
Destructive policies often have a time-released efect. Like the Bush 41/Clinton tax hikes (each one $300 billion).
Now we’re Bangladesh or Ethiopia and we need other countries to help us?
Apples and Commie oranges. The Gulf faces an imminent threat that needs to have aimed at it all the oil-containing hardware possible in the shortest time. Some of that excellent hardware happens to be Dutch, and the A-Whale monster skimmer is Liberian. (And a lot of neglected hardware is American.) Bangladesh suffered famine induced by its past Communist regime, and Ethiopia the same from a combination of drought and Mengistu Haile Mariam.
We have the technology, but bureaucratic red tape is in the way. Hm…government was the obstacle in Bangladesh and Ethiopia too – but unless you wanna argue that Obaminabaminabamina (a little Ed Norton lingo there) is wrecking the Gulf on purpose, I wouldn’t compare him to Mengistu.
On another note…I voted for Dubya because I thought he was a fiscal conservative – but was really only halfway there. He cut tax rates, but on spending he was possessed by the ghost of Ted Kennedy while Ted was still alive – a human first. He was a drunk teenager on Spring Break at Cancun with the parents’ credit cards.
I voted for McCain because he was the duct tape candidate – a less-than-satisfactory patch to prevent the damage from getting worse until we can elect a real president with real solutions. America elected an IED instead of duct tape. Unnecessary trillion-dollar deficits and as far as the eyes can see. Tax schemes more byzantine that the Byzantines could imagine. Scary times.
I don’t think it pays to feed trolls. It’s kind of like wrestling with a pig.You both get muddy,but the pig enjoys it.Ridiculous assetions are not arguments and are best ignored.
Interesting, that the Dems have not nominated proper human beings as president since Dukakis- actually Dukakis seemed also like a robot,but he didn’t display the bad character of what followed. Most disturbing is that these people seem completely diconnected from reality-they believe their own BS or they are good liars. Kerry hiding what is likely a dis-honorable discharge,but trying to pass, Gore the fabulist, Edwards the con artist, Biden,nasty and stupid,and finally Obama, a man who hates his own country and has an answer for everything. On the the other hand there is the plus side-they did nominate two conventional politicians for VP-Bentsen ’88 and Lieberman 2000-they wouldn’t have solved anything,but wouldn’t have wrecked anything either.
Finally,Bill Clinton,poor character and all,was not looking to wreck the place and was possibly less destructive than Bush. He was willing to go along to get along.
Cal. Constant use of lower case “bush” seems to indicate a lack of seriousness and,possibly maturity,on your part. Why do you do that?
Alan K. Henderson-
We agree on one thing:
“He was a drunk teenager on Spring Break at Cancun with the parents’ credit cards.” (I disagree about the Kennedy part.)
When you say that Obama has created and is in favor of:
“Unnecessary trillion-dollar deficits and as far as the eyes can see. Tax schemes more byzantine that the Byzantines could imagine. Scary times.”
Obama has been in power for 18 months- how did he create these deficits so quickly? Bush played no part in our current situation?
Obama didn’t inherit any of the deficit? What am I missing on that one? Am I blaming Bush for the deficits and I shouldn’t be? Explain how conservatives have no responsibility for the spending and resulting deficits under their 8 years in power?
Also, hasn’t Obama lowered taxes for most people? ?
Ed-
OK- I’ll start using Bush over bush.
Shannon said:
“living in this cruel Republican hell hole of Texas is a lot better right now than living under California’s not so successful “compassion.” We have jobs, low crime, good schools and even better social harmony.”
Cal responded:
“By the way- Texas has some of the worst schools and graduation rates in the country. just facts getting in the way of your narrative I guess.”
Cal-I think you had better look at this report that was released last year:
http://www.mckinsey.com/App_Media/Images/Page_Images/Offices/SocialSector/PDF/achievement_gap_report.pdf
Page 14, paragraph two: “California and Texas, for example, are two large states with similar demographics. Yet as shown in Exhibit 7, Texas students are, on average, one to two years of learning ahead of California students of the same age, even though Texas has less income per capita and spends less per pupil than California.”
But as you said, don’t let facts get in the way of the narrative.
Hi Nonnie-
I will read that report- thanks for the link.
Did you see this in The Houston Chronicle from June 21st?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7063520.html
What do you think about the Texas School text books standards being changed?
Shorter Cal: “Don’t talk about Gore doing bad things! Talk about Bush instead! Waaahhhhh!”
Getting back to the original topic of the post a bit, some have missed the difference between being a bad president and an unstable one. Shannon makes a pretty good case for Gore being too subject to his personal failings.
So instead of comparing him to Bush, let’s try a different bad president: Carter. Now I think Carter was a train-wreck and I can’t think of a single policy on which I would agree with him. However, it seems to me that he was mature and stable and did his best to put the good of the republic first.
“However, it seems to me that he was mature and stable”
I suppose you’re right. Jaw-droppingly stupid, yes. Hypocritical and dishonest, yes. Full of benign feelings for America’s enemies, yes. But unstable, no.
Humm…”No controlling legal authority” ring a bell anyone?
Cal, go find a psych textbook and look up the word “projection”. Actually, I’ve developed a working hypothesis recently that leftism is basically the behavior of Cluster B personality disorders, cast in the form of politics. From narcissistic personality disorder, we have the relentless focus on themselves, refusal to accept responsibility for their actions, and casual demonization of all others. From borderline personality disorder, we have the microsecond-long attention span, inability to think rationally, and perpetual anger. From histrionic personality disorder, we have the acting-out and the need to constantly be the center of attention. All of these characteristics fit the political faction known as “leftism” pretty well, from what I’ve observed.
Hi Cousin Dave-
Lot’s of psychobabble all to cover up a lack of results produced from your ideology. Answer the question- where are the results from Bush’s presidency? You had 6 years of total control- the Senate, House, and the Presidency. 8 years of occupying the presidency. What do we have to show for it?
Cal,
The article you linked said nothing about the state of the Texas Education system in comparison to California which was the topic at hand. Also, if you had read the study that I linked, you would see that the problems mentioned in the Houston Chronicle article were problems nationally, not just in Texas. Is that article really the best you could do Googling?
You asked what I thought about the textbook changes. The only standards I have read are the social studies changes. Judging from those changes, in five years, Texas students will be 3-4 years ahead if CA students, not just 1-2.
RPD,
Now I think Carter was a train-wreck and I can’t think of a single policy on which I would agree with him. However, it seems to me that he was mature and stable and did his best to put the good of the republic first.
Yes, I agree. Carter was a poor President but he respected the people who supported him and who put their trust and invested their political hopes in him. It wasn’t all about him.
“where are the results from Bush’s presidency? You had 6 years of total control- the Senate, House, and the Presidency. 8 years of occupying the presidency. What do we have to show for it?”
The regime that orchestrated the most devastating terrorist attack on our soil was toppled, and the international organization which planned and funded the attacks is scattered and disorganized.
Tens of millions of people who had suffered under an oppressive Leftist dictatorship now live in a liberal democracy that we engineered. Tens of millions of people are now able to cast votes that matter. This is something which the Left insisted back then, and still insists to this day, is impossible.
I know you will dismiss this out of hand, Cal. After all, Liberals of today do love to coddle and snuggle up to dictators. Bringing a murderous tyrant to justice is often seen by them as a tragedy instead of a boon.
Dear James R. Rummel-
So what you’re saying is Bush did a lot for Iraq? I thought he was the president of the US?
You say: “The regime that orchestrated the most devastating terrorist attack on our soil was toppled”
What regime? Iraq? For the last time conservatives! Iraq had NOTHING to do with 911. It’s so tiresome that you still try to push that lie. Bush did the equivalent of attacking China after Japan attacked us at Pear Harbor. Just ‘caus they’re all middleastern doesn’t mean they’re all the same.
Then you say: “and the international organization which planned and funded the attacks is scattered and disorganized.”
Yeah so scattered to Pakistan where they are so disorganized that they are increasing their attacks on Pakistan and through their allies in Afganistan- the scattered and disorganized bunch have our troops bogged down there.
Then you say “Tens of millions of people who had suffered under an oppressive Leftist dictatorship now live in a liberal democracy that we engineered. Tens of millions of people are now able to cast votes that matter”
What a load of BS-Votes that matter? Iraq has still not formed a government months after their last election. How can you say that? Go over to Iraq right now- I’m sure they’re overjoyed about being so free. One more thing that bothers me about conservatives- remember when you all didn’t want to be “nation building”? Remember that central pillar of conservative foreign policy? Whatever happened to that?
“This is something which the Left insisted back then, and still insists to this day, is impossible.”
Do we still have troops there? Yup. So American are supposed to die to free Iraq? How many Americans would have gone along with the invasion if that had been the reasoning presented? Nice coming up with reasons on the fly to justify the war.
The left didn’t say it couldn’t be done. We said that it was a giant undertaking that might not go well and instead might turn out to be the biggest foreign policy mistake in America’s history. Boy- I guess we didn’t know what we were talking about back then.
The whole “Bush kept us safe except for 911” excuse for his presidency is a sham. You know it and so does the rest of the country. You put 2 wars on the chinese credit card, passed a huge tax cut for rich people during 2 wars (1st time in our history we have ever done that), our troops are bogged down in 2 wars with no end in sight. We’ll need billions and billions to repair the army- equipment, ammo, etc. Highest suicide rate ever observed in the armed forces and on and on in terms of the damage Bush caused our country.
But hey James- you keep telling yourself that we freed a bunch of people over there and so it’s all worth it.
One last thing “coddle and snuggle up to dictators”? Who kept Saddam in power in the 80’s? Republicans! Do facts matter at all James or do you just see the world the way fox news tells you to see it?
Holy crap…I have never seen anyone so hypocritical in their diatribes against blind followers who can’t stay on topic during debates as Cal. He cries for facts yet presents none, but instead mere generalizations and a few of those that are indeed false.
Sigh.