# Naw, Al Gore's son would never do anything like that... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 21, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288 "2003-12-21T07:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/1 "2003-12-21T07:15:16Z")
Like what? [Like getting busted for pot](http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/20/gore.son/index.html), that’s what. > [@](#): > > After he pulled the car over, Officer Robert Cassels noticed all of its windows and the sunroof were opened despite the freezing temperature, and he “smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside the car,” the statement said. > > A search of the car found “a partial marijuana cigarette” and “a cardboard cigarette box with a baggie containing suspected marijuana,” the police statement said. In addition, he had previously been busted for doing 94 (or 97, I’ve seen both) in a 55 and a DUI, for which he didn’t lose his license, according to [this](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3531636,00.html). So, how about those family values that Bush gets hammered so hard on? At least the Bush twins didn’t try to drive home. This cat put everyone at risk. I wonder if he told the cop that he invented the blunt? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/2 "2003-12-21T07:37:40Z")
Driving under the influence of marijuana puts no one at risk, unless you’re counting the goldfish and doritos. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/3 "2003-12-21T07:38:57Z")
Like I said in the Bush threads, there’s one in EVERY family. I don’t know how **I** was put at risk, here… ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/4 "2003-12-21T07:43:17Z")
Bush got hammered for hypocrisy. If Gore has ever made a big show of touting “family values,” then he deserves the same treatment. If, on the other hand, he never made that a campaign issue, you don’t have a point to make, I’m afraid. (Oh, and **Ryle Dup** , I know where you’re coming from, but in this case, the clown was driving with no headlights, which is very risky.) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/5 "2003-12-21T07:58:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > **Bush got hammered for hypocrisy. If Gore has ever made a big show of touting “family values,” then he deserves the same treatment. If, on the other hand, he never made that a campaign issue, you don’t have a point to make, I’m afraid.** How does [this](http://www.tennessean.com/sii/99/06/17/gore17.shtml) treat you? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/6 "2003-12-21T08:09:45Z")
OK, fine. Gore’s a hypocrite, too. Now what? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/7 "2003-12-21T08:12:41Z")
How does smoking pot conflict with family values? There’s nothing dangerous or immoral about it. It’s not even dangerous to drive on. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/8 "2003-12-21T08:13:46Z")
I don’t see the hypocrisy. What’s wrong with smoking pot? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/9 "2003-12-21T08:15:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*How does smoking pot conflict with family values? There’s nothing dangerous or immoral about it. It’s not even dangerous to drive on. \*\* Sorry, **DtC** , but as I posted above, he was driving around at night with no headlights. Not a very good idea. Granted, he was probably going about 12 mph, but still… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/10 "2003-12-21T08:18:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > \*\*OK, fine. Gore’s a hypocrite, too. > > Now what? \*\* Nothing. Nothing at all. Just a little reveling in the misfortunes of St. Al and his family. Something about pots and kettles comes to mind, not necessarily in your case, but in many others. **Dio** , how does drinking conflict with family values? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/11 "2003-12-21T08:28:54Z")
Ah, _Schadenfreude_. Thanks, I’ll pass. It does raise an interesting question, however. Is it possible to pursue a career in politics (at least on a national level), yet still have enough time and energy to devote to your family to keep them from occasionally running a little wild? We certainly have a long list of national figures whose children, siblings, cousins, etc., have proven to be a source of considerable embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/12 "2003-12-21T08:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I don’t see the hypocrisy. What’s wrong with smoking pot? \*\* Besides the fact that it’s illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/13 "2003-12-21T08:31:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ryle Dup \* > \*\*Driving under the influence of marijuana puts no one at risk, unless you’re counting the goldfish and doritos. \*\* Um, smoking pot has a number of effects that won’t help your driving such as reducing reaction time. Someone who gets high and gets behind the wheel is every bit as bad as someone who has a few drinks and goes for a drive. They’re putting peoples’ lives at risk, not just the lives of the munchies. If you want to toke up that’s fine with me, just please stay at home until it’s worn off. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/14 "2003-12-21T08:33:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > \*\*Nothing. Nothing at all. Just a little reveling in the misfortunes of St. Al and his family. Something about pots and kettles comes to mind, not necessarily in your case, but in many others. > > **Dio** , how does drinking conflict with family values? \*\* It doesn’t unless it becomes destructive in some way. Alcohol is a far more dangerous drug than marijuana. Alcoholism can be detrimental and corrosive to families in a way that weed cannot. Just ask GWB. Not all drugs are equal. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/15 "2003-12-21T08:34:11Z")
Hmm, why don’t I give a shit about this story? Well, unlike Bush, Gore doesn’t incessantly refer to his own pseudo-compassionate religious/family values to the point of trying to push them onto others via legislation, and he certainly doesn’t claim to have heard God’s voice directly. This makes Bush a raving hypocritical religious loon, not Gore. Unlike Bush, Gore doesn’t have a serious substance abuse problem that he has apparently passed down to his children without properly ensuring that they get the help they need. This makes Bush an irresponsible, reckless parent who’s in pathetic denial about his children’s and probably his own serious substance abuse problems, not Gore. Most to the point: unlike Bush, Gore isn’t the fucking President of the United States, more’s the pity, so what his son does legally or illegally is of damn little consequence, since Gore’s family isn’t “the First Family” of our country. This makes Bush and his family of spoiled privileged party-goers and miscreants a relevant source of newspaper fodder, not Gore. Now, if you want to compare First Families … well, it’s funny how Bush and his followers continue to slam the Clintons for their moral decrepitude and bad family values, but just look at the difference in the children they produced. Personally I’ll take Chelsea, a young woman who’s studious, responsible, socially-conscious, intellectually curious and articulate, over Bush’s wastoid party queens any day of the goddamned week. In short: so Al Gore’s son smokes some pot. Who the fuck cares. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/16 "2003-12-21T08:35:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Valgard \* > \*\*Um, smoking pot has a number of effects that won’t help your driving such as reducing reaction time. Someone who gets high and gets behind the wheel is every bit as bad as someone who has a few drinks and goes for a drive. They’re putting peoples’ lives at risk, not just the lives of the munchies. > > If you want to toke up that’s fine with me, just please stay at home until it’s worn off. \*\* Um…nope…the studies don’t show any of that. Weed smoking does not have any appreciable effect on driving ability. As a matter of fact, people who are stoned tend to be a little more cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/17 "2003-12-21T08:35:53Z")
Oh, and by the way, **Dio** , I’m wondering why you think pot is not in “conflict with family values” only because I remembered [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=226248&highlight=bush+family+values) thread, in which you tried to make everything stick to Bush because of stuff his family did, whereas now you’re trying to exonerate an obvious reckless driver’s actions. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/18 "2003-12-21T08:36:30Z")
Oh well, he will have to learn a lesson for his youthful mistakes; sadly, he is not following the footsteps of his father, but the ones of Bush. (driving under the influence is bad, and I don’t care what controlled substance you use, you are not supposed to do that) Looks like we do have future presidential material here. 😉 To me the real scandal is seeing politicians having relatives trapped by the war on drugs (hello Jenna Bush!) and doing nothing to end this nonsense, reasonable people already realize that this war is stupid, and still politicians of both parties never find a time to tell the American people that we have at least to begin talk about ending this waste. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/19 "2003-12-21T08:48:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GIGObuster \* > \*\* > To me the real scandal is seeing politicians having relatives trapped by the war on drugs (hello Jenna Bush!) and doing nothing to end this nonsense, reasonable people already realize that this war is stupid, and still politicians of both parties never find a time to tell the American people that we have at least to begin talk about ending this waste. \*\* Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288/20 "2003-12-21T08:52:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > \*\*Oh, and by the way, **Dio** , I’m wondering why you think pot is not in “conflict with family values” only because I remembered [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=226248&highlight=bush+family+values) thread, in which you tried to make everything stick to Bush because of stuff his family did, whereas now you’re trying to exonerate an obvious reckless driver’s actions. \*\* I didn’t say anything about pot in that thread, nor did I say anything about family values nor did I try to blame Bush for anything his family did. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naw-al-gores-son-would-never-do-anything-like-that/220288.md?page=2)