If Al Gore had been President

[smoogatz]

Just watched the interview on "This Week," in which, among other things, Stephanopolopolopoulis asks Big Al how the country would be different if he'd "won" the election in 2000. Al keeps his answer to the specifics of global warming, but it's worth thinking about the full picture. So, if Bushco hadn't stolen the election of 2000 with the help of the Supreme Court, here's where we'd be (a bit of educated speculation here, of course):

1. The 9/11 plot would have been thwarted. NSA director Richard Clark, aware of hijacking plots underway, meets with directors of CIA, FBI and FAA. They exchange notes on known Qaeda operatives in U.S. Twenty-five 9/11 plotters rounded up, tried and imprisoned, including three members of Saudi royal family. Bin Laden and dozens of followers killed by US special ops team in Afghanistan as retaliation for USS Cole incident. Qaeda leaders/operatives worldwide aggressively hunted, killed or imprisoned by specially trained US and allied forces.

2. The budget would be balanced. No irresponsible trillions in tax cuts for the rich under Gore. No huge increases in government spending. Pay as you go, just like Clinton. Steady pay-down of national debt underway; no selling of America's soul to China.

3. The economy would be sound. No deficit-triggered inflation, no reason to increase interest rates, no 9/11 effect, plenty of ready cash for new investment, booming job market, rising wages, stock market recovered nicely post correction, housing market still booming due to continued low interest rates.

4. No war in Iraq. Saddam still contained; UN inspectors determine no WMD programs underway, sanctions gradually lifted. Price of oil declines to $10/barrel as Iraq's oil infrastructure gets up and running. Middle east stable and relatively peaceful. Israel/Palestine peace process moving steadily forward, ably guided by Gore administration and Secretary of State Bill Clinton (ha! Couldn't resist).

5. U.S. tax structure shifts from income taxation to carbon taxation. Giant SUVs all but disappear from American highways. Fuel efficiency is all the rage. Middle class America gets a huge tax break. President Gore launches ten-year campaign toward carbon fuel independence that dwarfs the space program. U.S. energy science and technology leads the world out of fossil fuel dependency. Effects of global warming level off.

6. Americans' civil liberties would be secure. 'Nuf said.

7. Worst Katrina destruction would have been averted; levee construction fully funded by Gore admin prior to storm. New Orleans doesn't flood, city reconstruction of wind/rain damage nearly complete, high-wage reconstruction jobs offered first to displaced NO residents, city vital and resurgent--laissez le bontemps roulet!



Feel free to add. The whole interview is worth a look, if you haven't seen it. Here's the link: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2037865

[johnaries]

1. Yep. K&R

[rosesaylavee]

2. The US economy wouldn't be tanking... as badly

China would still be a growing economic giant but we would probably have a PLAN to compete globally without our US workers taking a beating.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. And the Red Sox wouldn't have won the World Series, either.

That was clearly the fault of this administration. Even baseball is corrupted.

[smoogatz]

6. Actually, the Sox winning the Series is pretty much the only pooch

Bushco haven't screwed, IMO.

[dddem]

9. Hey!

That one hurt.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Did you forget the sarcasm smiley

or are you serious?

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. It was a little bit of playful ribbing.

It's just a sport, fer chrissake. Geez. :eyes:

[eleny]

4. We would have had an administrator we could be proud of...

And not some herky-jerky, bald head rubbing, inarticulate, smug butted, murdering huckster.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. And Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter would have been forced out

by 2001, because even their moron listeners would realize they're speaking pure bullshit.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. And instead of the world united against us, it would be united with us

[smoogatz]

10. Absolutely.

Gore's a polished statesman, unlike the buffoon currently farting up the Oval Office desk-chair.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

8. Even if 9/11 still happened,

We would have fought the people behind it, rather than engaging in a war that was based on lies and misinformation, which has blackened the name of our nation for years to come. A war that, by creating hordes of enemies that want us destroyed, has ensured that another terrorist attack on the USA, worse than 9/11, is inevitable.

[Ready4Change]

11. I agree with the direction, but not to the extreme.

1. If 9/11 had been thwarted, it would have been less directly. More a result of continuing the Clinton policy of pursuing AQ, rather than ignoring it as did the Bush Administration prior to 9/11. Pursuit would have made the 9/11 planners more cautious, or caught them.

Had 9/11 not been averted, Gore would have continued pursuing AQ and OBL, rather than getting sidetracked by Iraq.

2. The budget would have been MORE balanced. In 2000 the economy was on a downturn. Bush economic policies turned that into a downward crash. I think Gore's economics would have made the downturn a short lived recession, with a stronger, deeper and more robust recovery. That, combined with reduced spending due to not attacking Iraq, would have done wonders for the budget.

3. After the mild recession, yes, the economy would be terrific.

4. No Iraq and a MORE stabile ME. I think oil would be far more than $10, but less than today, as there are other forces at work than the Iraq War and Bush/Oil cronyism.

5. Can't see carbon taxation happening. Only high gas prices will pry most Americans from their SUVs. I can see Gore launching the carbon fuel independance thing, and it would be a very, very good thing. It will be decades before GHG reductions will show a marked effect. (Which is all the more reason to start NOW.)

6. Agreed.

7. Levees still would have failed, but FEMA's response, unhampered by the DHS, would have been faster and far more effective, and NOLA would be in far, far better shape by now.


I'd maybe add:

8. The USA's reputation abroad would be far more positive, allowing us to influence nations in ways that are impossible for us now. The Bush Administration has reduced our international vocabulary to threats or actual violence, and that only goes so far.

9. Revamped elections processes here at home, being the result of meaningful investigations of the problems encountered in 2000, establish faith in the minds of the American people that, whether or not you agree with the outcome, at least the election results are accurate.

[ms liberty]

12. Add:

to #1: Immediate implementation of recommendations from the Hart-Rudman Report on Terrorism, which aided the successful round up of Al Quaeda operatives in the US.

[987654321]

13. I agree with everything except #7

New Orleans might still have flooded. However, FEMA would have done its job because Gore wouldn't tolerate someone like "heck of a job Brownie" to run it, more of the city would have been spared damage, people who died or suffered would have been saved, billions of dollars would have gone to local contractors instead of to the likes of Halliburton, reconstruction would have happened quicker because Gore would have cared enough to have a real plan, fraud and waste would have been at a minimum, the insurance companies would not have been allowed to screw over their policy holders, the local industry would have recovered because Gore would have ensured that the small businesses would be helped, and lastly, Mardi Gras would have been a real celebration as more people would have been able to go home quicker. I suspect that Gore would even have been there to celebrate the re-birth of New Orleans.

As far as the interview went, I respected the fact that Gore kept trying to get the conversation back to the cause of protecting the environment. To me that showed me even more than before that he passionately cares about it and that his movie and recent public interviews are about that and not about a possible run for President. Though I hope he runs, I respect him enough to believe that he isn't shallow and wouldn't use such an important topic as global warming to get himself into position to run for President. Though some of the talking heads in the media seem to allude to that, Gore has demonstrated over and over again his belief in protecting the earth from the destruction of man made global warming. I do believe that he wants that to be his legacy more than anything else at this point in his life. He would forgo any chance to be President if it meant he was able to save our planet.

[ArmchairMeme]

14. Very Pleasant - positive ideas

This could be quite contagious to think positive.

Just think perhaps the jobs situation would change for the better and therefore the traffic is cities would cease to be talked about on the news as it would be a non-issue. Different than the current hour long traffic jams by funneling vehicles into cities on highways people would find opportunity via telecomunicating and video conferencing. This would also mean a big cut in air traffic. Our health would improve substantially due to great air quality!

This is FUN!

[Pierzin]

16. ah, if only it were so!

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

thanks for the link smoogatz!!!! Great clip.

It's hard to say how the universe would be altered. Perhaps 9/11 would have been thwarted, would another band have taken their place? Certainly, just about any other administration with its head not stuck up its ass like the current one, where leadership actually meant competant leadership, certainly then perhaps that tragedy would have been averted and we would be in a different world. Can we say 9-11 was preventable? How did 19 guys with boxcutters penetrate the defenses of the most militaristic nation on the Planet????? -sorry thats another day-.

Would that Gore were president, the continued prosperity under Clinton would have continued. So much would be different. Instead we have these Christian fascists who are corrupt up to their eyebrows in a sea of blood. :puke: :puke: :puke:

[ThoughtCriminal]

18. Non-stop impeachment attempts by GOP

Until they lost majority in 2002 or 2004.

Primarily over the August 2001 arrests of 15 Saudi citizens and other Arabs involved in an alleged hijacking plot to seize planes and crash them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and Capitol. Calling the plot absurd, Congressional Republicans claim that the charges were a complete fabrication and the Gore administration conspired with the DOJ to create a story that would boost public support for the President.

[smoogatz]

20. You've got a point there.

But w/ Gore in and no 9/11, you have to assume that the Senate stays Dem in '02/'04.

[ThoughtCriminal]

24. Not sure what the Senate mix would be up to 2002

If Gore had been President, Jeffords might not have made the switch since Bush's arrogance was a big reason that happened.

I also think the GOP would have carried a much larger grudge than the Democrats did over the 2000 election if had not gone their way. The whining and outrage would have made the GOP/Clinton feuds seem trivial. They would never let it go, they would be extreme and even encourage violence to the point that the Secret Service would have had a tough job.

[BrklynLiberal]

19. Excellent projections. If only...........

I even agree with the Hurricane Katrina concept because President Gore would not have cut back the funds to improve the Levees and he would not have kept us out of the Kyoto Accord, therefore Global Warming might have been curtailed to some extent.
The ocean temps might not have been rising to the extent they were and the hurricanes might not have been so severe, ergo, no flooding in New Orleans.

[BrklynLiberal]

21. The Supreme Court Nominees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They would have been qualified, independent recognized legal scholars who would do the bench justice and we could count on to be smart, just, and uphold the Constitution

[smoogatz]

22. Good Lord--you're right.

How could I forget? But who would they be? Would SDO'C have stuck around until she croaked, just to rob Gore of the opportunity to replace her?

[BrklynLiberal]

23. Mario Cuomo?

Not sure about S DO'C. Her husband wuld still be ill, and I would think her devotion to him would still outweigh her politics.

[AnnieBW]

25. We Would Be Leading the World

In research into alternative fuel sources and ecologically-sound manufacturing.

[many a good man]

26. Yeah, but Missile Defense would be YEARS$ behind!

:sarcasm:

No seriesly! Gore would have ordered luggage and cockpit security only to have it blocked by a Republican Congress. After 911 Dems would sweep House and Senate!

[Lisa]

27. on 3 and 5 -- US rakes in billions in new green industry ...

This report was commissioned by the Clinton/Gore administration. It was supposed to be released in early 2001, but the Bush White House buried it.

"A report released Sunday by the International Project for Sustainable Energy Paths (IPSEP) finds that "no regrets" policies — mainly those that encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy — could greatly benefit the United States and other countries while achieving the emissions reduction goals of the Kyoto accord. "No regrets" policies are those that are considered beneficial independent of their climate change benefits. The report estimates that such policies could save the United States $60 billion per year in energy costs by the year 2010 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 emissions levels."

http://www.eere.energy.gov/news/archives/2000/nov15_00.html

[bigwillq]

28. How do you think the 2002 midterm elections

would've turned out? :shrug:

[smoogatz]

29. Well, if there's no 9/11--

I think the Repukes keep the House and the Dems keep the Senate.