No, it was not an anomaly or a mirage. Al Gore has,
indeed, thrown his "life, fortune and sacred honor"
(literally, on all three counts) into this battle for
the heart, mind and soul of America. Gore is doing the
Voice in the Wilderness, and Sen. John F. Kerry
(D-Mekong Delta) is offering REDEMPTION. But do not
indulge in weak thinking, i.e. "gee, if only Kerry
would talk like that," or "if only Gore had talked
like that in 2000," or "if only Gore had run this time and
talked like that." It doesn't work that way. The "US
mainstream news media" dominates the air waves and how
information is presented, and it does not like too
much truth-saying, and consequently, the Electoral
College must be played very carefully, not timidly,
but carefully...No, JFK is advancing relentlessly,
determinedly and swiftly in all states and all regions
with a campaign that Bill Clinton has termed "very
smart." But because Gore is not the candidate, he is
free to talk freely about what has happened here over
the last four years.
Associated Press:Former Vice President Al Gore stepped
up his slashing attack on President Bush on Friday
night, accusing the administration of ruining the
economy, destroying the nation's standing with its
allies and waging a war in Iraq based on lies and
deception...Those policies came out of the White House
and no matter the wrongdoing of individual troops,
they were ordered to wade into a moral cesspool and
given ambiguous, conflicting instructions and then
praised for doing things they shouldn't have been
doing," Gore said. "I believe the abuse of those
prisoners came directly from the abuse of the truth in
the run-up to the war."
"They decided to take advantage of 9-11 and exploit
the fears and exploit the anger and redirect it away
from the people who attacked us" and attack Iraq, he
said.
Bush has "looted" the economy and turned projected
multitrillion-dollar surpluses into deep deficits,
Gore said.
"In the last three and a half years, this
administration has tragically and recklessly
squandered our legacy, while the special interest
people were advising him behind closed doors," Gore
declared.
Restore the Timeline, Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D830LES00.html
Gore blisters Bush on war, 'moral cesspool' at Iraqi prison
06/05/2004
By DAVID AMMONS / Associated Press
Former Vice President Al Gore stepped up his slashing
attack on President Bush on Friday night, accusing the
administration of ruining the economy, destroying the
nation's standing with its allies and waging a war in
Iraq based on lies and deception.
Continuing the verbal pounding he began in New York
last week, the Democrats' 2000 presidential nominee
told the Washington state Democratic Convention that
the Bush White House bears some culpability for the
abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
"Those policies came out of the White House and no
matter the wrongdoing of individual troops, they were
ordered to wade into a moral cesspool and given
ambiguous, conflicting instructions and then praised
for doing things they shouldn't have been doing," Gore
said. "I believe the abuse of those prisoners came
directly from the abuse of the truth in the run-up to
the war."
If the United States re-elects Bush, then American
citizens share the blame, Gore added.
Gore's 50-minute speech frequently brought the
audience to its feet, whooping and shouting.
Gore said he initially supported Bush's decision to
invade Afghanistan, but now realizes that the
administration was already secretly agitating to find
some way to launch a war in Iraq.
"They decided to take advantage of 9-11 and exploit
the fears and exploit the anger and redirect it away
from the people who attacked us" and attack Iraq, he
said.
Bush has "looted" the economy and turned projected
multitrillion-dollar surpluses into deep deficits,
Gore said.
"In the last three and a half years, this
administration has tragically and recklessly
squandered our legacy, while the special interest
people were advising him behind closed doors," Gore
declared.
The Bush administration's "single objective is to help
the wealthy and powerful," he said, adding that the
president likes to act tough but "whenever he is in
the presence of a wealthy contributor, he is a moral
coward."
Gore, who carried Washington's 11 electoral votes
three times as presidential or vice presidential
candidate, was a top draw for Friday night's banquet
honoring Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash.
The $65-a-plate dinner sold out on Monday, with 1,150
tickets sold. Some donors were paying up to $250 a
person, so the event was expected to raise about
$150,000 for the state party.
Anger over the Bush presidency has energized the
Democratic faithful to unusual heights, state
Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt said earlier Friday
as about 1,600 delegates arrived for a two-day
convention.
That could be the catalyst for a Democratic sweep in
the fall, he told The Associated Press.
"We've seen a surge ever since the caucuses on Feb. 7,
with this tremendous outpouring of people who want to
make change in the White House," he said. "People
desperately want to see a new president."
Even the convention theme is a slap at the president:
"Winning Back Our Future."
Last week, Gore electrified the party — and became the
butt of Republican barbs — when he told a New York
City audience that President Bush has made the threat
of terrorism worse with his "arrogance, willfulness
and bungling."
He called then for the resignations of top
administration officials and an end to what he called
"twisted values and atrocious policies."
Yier Shi, spokesman for the Republican National
Committee, told the AP Friday that "Al Gore and the
Democrats' angry and pessimistic rhetoric will not
resonate with Washington state voters.
"Gore's 'blame America first' agenda is indicative of
what we've heard from John Kerry's campaign and his
surrogates. Al Gore seems to forget that he was vice
president when Osama Bin Laden declared war on the
United State five separate times and when terrorists
killed Americans."
The main convention on Saturday will include speeches
from the party's major candidates and adoption of a
liberal-leaning platform.
With the party's longtime leader, Gov. Gary Locke,
retiring after 22 years in public life, King County
Executive Ron Sims and Attorney General Christine
Gregoire are battling for the Democratic nomination in
September.
___
On the Net:
Democrats: http://www.wa-democrats.org
Republicans: http://www.wsrp.org
Posted by richard at June 5, 2004 01:25 PM