# Where the hell was this Al Gore in '04? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281 "2004-05-27T02:25:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/41 "2004-05-27T16:04:04Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > If this Al Gore had been around in 2000, he would have lost in a blowout. Presidential candidates don’t go around banging their fists and screaming at the audience. Gore can get away with that now because he preaches to the converted. Let’s see him try that on the stump in Texas. You’re right, **Sam**. Presidential candidates who raise their voices and use strong words don’t get elected to office. That’s the reason Theodore Roosevelt had such a lackluster political career. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/42 "2004-05-27T18:34:30Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Uh what? The two biggest complaints about Bush are that he is stupid and that he tricked everyone into war by lying to them. Some people think Bush is stupid. Some people think Bush is a schemer. AFAIK, there is not one person who believes both views simultaneously. Me, I’m in the group that says Bush is “stupid,” at least in the sense that learning more about a topic takes more effort than he wants to expend. The role of Dastardly Schemer™ belongs to Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Karl Rove. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/43 "2004-05-27T19:00:49Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Me, I’m in the group that says Bush is “stupid,” at least in the sense that learning more about a topic takes more effort than he wants to expend. The role of Dastardly Schemer™ belongs to Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Karl Rove. I’m basically on the same page except I would say that Bush is more intellectually lazy than stupid. And, he does have very good political instincts (well, much of the time). As for Gore, he’s actually given a few of these speeches now over the past year or so. Some were sponsored by [moveon.org](http://moveon.org). And, I agree that Gore as someone free to speak his mind is much more appealing to me than Gore as a candidate. Whether or not he would be more appealing to swing voters though, I am not sure. (And, of course, there is always the trade-off between energizing your base and appealing to swing voters.) At any rate, one of these speeches by Gore contains more truth and wisdom than the sum total of all Bush’s speeches since he has been in office. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/44 "2004-05-27T19:30:18Z")
C’mon, you all know how a campaign works. The main attacks have to be from _supporters_, not the candidate. He has to look _statesmanlike_. A candidate who has a background as an attack dog has to be able to convince the press to run some b.s. about how he’s “grown and changed”. Lest we forget, Gore won with a more broadly-focused but still strenuously populist approach last time. Now that he’s “liberated”, he can do more of what it takes to help his party’s candidate win. One can only wonder if he regrets dropping out - the landscape is seriously different now and he might well be able to win again. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/45 "2004-05-27T20:07:54Z")
> [@Thaumaturge](#): > > why on earth would you put the puppet in charge? Oh, I don’t know. I’d vote for Angel on the Smile Time ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/46 "2004-05-27T20:46:19Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > C’mon, you all know how a campaign works. The main attacks have to be from _supporters_, not the candidate. He has to look _statesmanlike_. A candidate who has a background as an attack dog has to be able to convince the press to run some b.s. about how he’s “grown and changed”. I think this nails it. Gore is doing exactly what he should be doing right now, and what Kerry can’t really do: he’s telling it like it is. Is he speaking to the choir? Sure, in some ways: he’s trying to motivate apathetic Democrats to be less apathetic. However, I suspect he’s also speaking to some of the undecided. Some folks are uneasy about the war, but aren’t really sure just how uneasy to be about the Administration; hearing someone lay out the reasons for their unease in black and white might persuade them that they’ve not been hard enough on Bush so far. Kerry has to remain presidential: if he does otherwise, Bush will accuse him of being unpatriotic, of giving aid and comfort to terrorists, of wanting to coddle dictators, and so forth. Such charges would be offensive nonsense, ,of course, but then Kerry would have to waste his time defending himself instead of giving policy speeches. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/47 "2004-05-27T21:07:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Oh, I don’t know. I’d vote for Angel on the Smile Time ticket. Whoosh! Smile Time? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/48 "2004-05-27T21:53:48Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Kerry has to remain presidential: if he does otherwise, Bush will accuse him of being unpatriotic, of giving aid and comfort to terrorists, of wanting to coddle dictators, and so forth. Such charges would be offensive nonsense, ,of course, but then Kerry would have to waste his time defending himself instead of giving policy speeches. Yeah. Kerry should just stick to the facts, like how he cast the deciding vote that created 20 million jobs… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/49 "2004-05-27T22:33:38Z")
> [@Thaumaturge](#): > > Whoosh! > > Smile Time? :dubious: An esoteric reference to the recent “muppet” episode of _Angel_. ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/50 "2004-05-27T22:41:48Z")
Thanks, I almost never watch TV so I would have gone to my grave wondering , WTH? ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/51 "2004-05-27T23:17:26Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Yeah. Kerry should just stick to the facts, like how he cast the deciding vote that created 20 million jobs… While that statement is certainly not a high-point of the Kerry campaign and I don’t endorse it, at least it bears some tangential relationship with reality in the sense that the measure passed by 1 vote and that 20 million jobs were created over the next several years. This puts him ahead of Bush’s claims on the [subject of jobs](http://www.jobwatch.org/) and just about everything else! I would prefer to have a President who will never stretch the truth. But, I would settle for one who does it only occasionally rather than in virtually everything he utters. ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/52 "2004-05-28T01:51:15Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I think this nails it. Gore is doing exactly what he should be doing right now, and what Kerry can’t really do: he’s telling it like it is. Saw mention of Kerry following in Al Gore’s steps today (they called it an effective 1-2 punch :)). Some excerpts from [Kerry speech on security - May 27, 2004](http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0527.html) below seem to indicate that Kerry is taking off the gloves. Of course, I doubt he could ever muster the “fire and brimstone” that Gore did yesterday, which in my book, is a shame. > [@](#): > > But that is precisely what this Administration has done. They looked to force before exhausting diplomacy. They bullied when they should have persuaded. > > They have gone it alone when they should have assembled a team. They have hoped for the best when they should have prepared for the worst. In short, they have undermined the legacy of generations of American leadership. And that is what we must restore. > > Today, there is still a powerful yearning around the world for an America that listens and leads again. An America that is respected, and not just feared. > [@](#): > > This Administration has disregarded the advice, wisdom, and experience of our professional military officers. And often ended the careers of those who dared to give their honest assessments. That is not the way to make the most solemn decisions of war and peace. As president, I will listen to and respect the views of our experienced military leaders – and never let ideology trump the truth. > [@](#): > > Over the last year, we’ve heard from the President that our policy should simply be to stay the course. But one thing I learned in the Navy is that when the course you’re on is headed for the shoals, you have to change course. > > If President Bush doesn’t secure new support from our allies, we will, once again, feel the consequences of a foreign policy that has divided the world instead of uniting it. Our troops will be in greater peril, the mission in Iraq will be harder to accomplish, and our country will be less secure. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/53 "2004-05-28T03:17:16Z")
What Kerry has to do is coast a little bit more; relax and wait until July 1 or 2, or a time when the Iraq transisition blowsback in Bush’s face. Then really run for president, this time from a sense of urgency. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/54 "2004-05-28T18:09:38Z")
…and this speech proves it! His ranting did more to convince me than any of his nonsense to date! Go ahead…if this clown is all that Kerry can scare up as an endorsement, then Bush has nothing to worry about! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/55 "2004-05-28T20:58:57Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > …and this speech proves it! His ranting did more to convince me than any of his nonsense to date! > Go ahead…if this clown is all that Kerry can scare up as an endorsement, then Bush has nothing to worry about! :smack: Well, it’s pretty easy to just point and call names. Care to explain why you think he’s insane, when the general feeling is that the speech was somewhere between good and fantastic and painfully true? Are you saying that all those people are also insane? What exactly was insane about it? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281/56 "2004-05-28T21:14:05Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > …and this speech proves it! His ranting did more to convince me than any of his nonsense to date! > Go ahead…if this clown is all that Kerry can scare up as an endorsement, then Bush has nothing to worry about! :smack: Borrowing a page from another poster on the boards: You’re right, of course. Bush has nothing to worry about this election cycle; nor do Republicans. Y’all are going to win this election in a cakewalk; y’all are doing everything exactly right. Keep on keepin’ on, and we’ll be back here the day after the election to admire what a great job you did. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-hell-was-this-al-gore-in-04/247281.md?page=2)