Al Gore in Australia

[anakie]

Al Gore supporters here is a link to a couple of interviews he did on a couple of programmes last night. Interviews done by intelligent reporters asking intelligent questions. His answers were eloquent and his demeanour calm and matter of fact.

eg

"KERRY O'BRIEN: ..in Iraq. You made a series of speeches about it before President Bush made the decision to go in. But whether you were right to argue that or not it can't be reversed now, so, should America extricate itself reasonably quickly or stay on indefinitely?

AL GORE: Well, if that's the choice then we should clearly, in my view, extricate ourselves as quickly as possible, but it's not that simple because even though I felt that it was a serious strategic mistake to go into Iraq - and, incidentally, I supported the first Gulf War - circumstances were entirely different. But even though this one was a mistake, we still - now that we're there - bear the moral responsibility for taking care not to make the situation even worse in the manner of our leaving. Insofar as we do, now, clearly seem to be right in the middle of a civil war it's questionable what good comes from staying, other than to avoid a catastrophic worsening of the potential for all-out civil war by an ill handled withdrawal. But withdraw we must, because it gets worse with each passing day. So taking care to withdraw and doing it while mindful of our obligations there, that's one thing; but getting out of there as quickly as possible, I think, is imperative."


http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1738433.htm

also later today should be a link to an interview held later last night on a different programme. It should be well worth reading as the interviewer Andrew Denton will ask some good questions. Whilst at this site it is also worthwhile checking out his interview with Major Michael Mori; the marine lawyer who is representing David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay.

for Al Gore check out

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/


and Michael Mori

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1709428.htm

peace

[AtomicKitten]

1. thanks for t he post

It answered many questions regarding Al Gore's view on how to extricate ourselves from Iraq.

:)

[saltpoint]

2. Australians, I hope, paid attention to these interviews in large numbers.

If they did, they couldn't help but draw a strong distinction between Gore's brainy eloquence and our current "president's" butchered syntax.

President Gore deserved better than he got, and I like it that he commands so much respect now from journalists. I think it's clear they know (some of them) that he was given a bum rap in '00 and should be accorded more respect than he has been shown in the past.

[AtomicKitten]

3. from an article

I wrote for the GreenPress (featured on Bartcop Oct 2002):

Excerpt:

The concept of a liberal media bias is a myth. Most of the mainstream media is
owned by giant corporations closely associated with the Republican Party.
Now the GOP engages in political assassination by virtue of ridicule and control
of the press. Lazy reporting, pack journalism, and GOP spin dominated the press
during the 2000 presidential campaign and election. The mass media technique
of "distort, distract, and trash" continues to enable the right-wing agenda.

CNN's Reliable Sources August 10, 2002 was a genuine eye-opener. Guest
Josh Marshall, webmaster of Talking Points, stated, "...
I think deep down most reporters just have contempt for Al Gore. I
don't even think it's dislike. It's more like disdain and contempt."
None of the talking heads disagreed. Guest Dana Milbank, White House
reporter for the Washington Post offered, "You know what it is? I think
that Gore is sanctimonious and that's sort of the worst thing in the eyes
of the press. And he has been disliked all along and it was because he
gives a sense that he is better than us ... as reporters."

The coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign was much more aggressive
and adversarial than ever seen before. It was at times blatantly
dishonest. The media practiced trivial "gotcha" journalism carried to the
absurd extreme. Gore was mocked. Press releases were FAX'd directly
from the GOP, and the press just didn't care if any of it was accurate.
Gore was misquoted, and reporters passed it on. Some corrections were
run but in an off-handed way and after the fact.

The media focused on every insignificant misstatement or nuance by Gore
in 2000, while never delving in depth into the background of Bush or
the factual evidence of many of his shortcomings as governor of Texas.
Instead of focusing on the issues, the media focused on Al Gore's
alleged "serial exaggerations" and an armchair psychoanalysis of his
wardrobe. Despite the fact that Gore is the quintessential straight-arrow, the
media convinced more Americans that Bush had more integrity even in the
face of Bush's drunk-driving arrest, his insider-trading at Harken, and
being AWOL from the Texas National Guard from 1971-1973. The criticism
of Gore was so harsh, according to the Weekly Standard, "If Gore walked
on water, people would deride him for not being able to swim."

And now that Al Gore has re-entered the political fray, he continues to
be dogged by the same media that stepped on his presidential campaign
in 2000.

The Media Heathers did a great disservice to this country. We now are all
paying for their failure to responsibly and ethically do their jobs. The
abusive reporting of Al Gore's campaign began with an incident known as
"Floodgate" and continued on until the most recent incident known as
"Ticketgate." Simply put, the GOP employs a destroy and dash maneuver,
reporting false information, spinning it, and when the truth comes to
light the press has moved on to its next lie.


"The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it."
Adolph Hitler

[saltpoint]

4. Atomic Kitten, thank you for that. It is a GREAT passage. And the topic

is one that isn't far from my mind. Gore and Kerry, both cheated by Bush/Cheney, and both wildly superior candidates and public servants.

I had begun to see things in the press about this, but frankly, none of them did such a good job as the piece you've included there.

Much appreciated. Thank you for the extra steps -- and the great instincts on this subject.

:hi:
:dem:

[AtomicKitten]

5. you are ever so welcome

[Josh]

6. I watched him on "Enough Rope" -

Denton is a great interviewer and Gore was very good.

He summed up the need for action on the climate crisis really well with this analogy: If your child has a fever, and it keeps going up. You go to the doctor. You do something about it. Well, the Earth has a fever. And it's just going up and up.

[anakie]

7. kick

n/t