No time to really write a decent post about it, as I have my hands full with Shadow Art Fair related stuff right now, but I wanted to pass along this link to GQ’s interview with Al Gore. (via Metafilter) Here’s my favorite part. It’s Al’s response to a question about whether or not he would have taken the warnings of an impending Al Qaeda attack more seriously than Bush.
…It’s almost too easy to say, “I would have heeded the warnings.” In fact, I think I would have, I know I would have. We had several instances when the CIA’s alarm bells went off, and what we did when that happened was, we had emergency meetings and called everybody together and made sure that all systems were go and every agency was hitting on all cylinders, and we made them bring more information, and go into the second and third and fourth level of detail. And made suggestions on how we could respond in a more coordinated, more effective way. It is inconceivable to me that Bush would read a warning as stark and as clear [voice angry now] as the one he received on August 6th of 2001, and, according to some of the new histories, he turned to the briefer and said, “Well, you’ve covered your ass.” And never called a follow up meeting. Never made an inquiry. Never asked a single question. To this day, I don’t understand it. And, I think it’s fair to say that he personally does in fact bear a measure of blame for not doing his job at a time when we really needed him to do his job. And now the Woodward book has this episode that has been confirmed by the record that George Tenet, who was much abused by this administration, went over to the White House for the purpose of calling an emergency meeting and warning as clearly as possible about the extremely dangerous situation with Osama bin Laden, and was brushed off! And I don’t know why–honestly–I mean, I understand how horrible this Congressman Foley situation with the instant messaging is, okay? I understand that. But, why didn’t these kinds of things produce a similar outrage? And you know, I’m even reluctant to talk about it in these terms because it’s so easy for people to hear this or read this as sort of cheap political game-playing. I understand how it could sound that way. [Practically screaming now] But dammit, whatever happened to the concept of accountability for catastrophic failure? This administration has been by far the most incompetent, inept, and with more moral cowardice, and obsequiousness to their wealthy contributors, and obliviousness to the public interest of any administration in modern history, and probably in the entire history of the country!
I know that it pisses some of you off when I say this, but this is the man that I want to be our next president.
7 Comments
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Goldurn it, Maynard, we Red Staters don’t cotton to fancy-shmancy words like “obsequiousness.”
Doesn’t piss me off. Seen the “Gore/Obama 2008” buttons? I got me one.
I couldn’t agree more! I could see before when Gore said he didn’t want to run with the right controlling both houses – he would have spent 4 to 8 years getting stonewalled on, well, everything.
But now – it’s the perfect storm. If Gore were elected president he could push through policy that would dramatically effect our country’s environmental-attitude, while creating high-paying jobs in alternative energy fields and, putting the money where his mouth is, reverse our growing debt (proving that being green can be profitable for the economy in the short and long term).
Not to mention it would be nice to have a president who strongly believes in science.
All candidates running in 2008 will be running in a recession or facing one. Things do NOT look good economically for mid-2007 into 2008.
Washtenaw County should be OK, generally, but those here who are poor or on the edge now with debts and mortgage issues will be in deep trouble then, despite the county’s relative health.
I have to chuckle when politicians send letters to our homes with messages like, “I am proud to offer to this new state- sponsored health care plan” or “longterm care plan” or “college tuition plan” to “HELP YOU!”
Jennifer, dear, if I didn’t have the money for health care insurance, or long term care insurance or college tuition to get a degree BEFORE Lansing pulled some budget money together … how am I going to buy a half-assed program from the State NOW?
Those that have … gots. Those that don’t gots … have not.
To help those in need get through 2007-2008 … the best thing the State can do is STOp spending money and get a big pool of bucks together for soup kitchens, bread lines, and hospital emergency departments … here we come.
I voted for Gore in 2000 and I’d be more than willing to vote for him again in 2008. We have to stop voting for people based on their personal charisma and photogenic qualities and start voting for people based on their ability to think, reason and motivate others to do the same.
Al Gore as our next president is my wet dream.