(Long Island, NY) Former Vice President Al Gore is rumored to be considering another run for President. I don’t know what to make of this. Gore’s public image is more respectable now in the wake of the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Plenty of people have forgotten the little controversy where Gore claimed to have somehow invented the internet, and that part of the plot of the movie Love Story was inspired by his relationship with his wife, Tipper.
Or, at least, that’s what we were supposed to believe at one time. Was Gore somehow misquoted? Misconstrued? Misunderstood? On both counts? We’ll never know the real truth.
What we DO know is that if Gore decides to throw his hat into the ring, we’ll hear those stories again, along with plenty of new ones. I myself had reservations about Gore because of Tipper’s activities connected with the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) back in the 80s. Tipper and the PMRC wasted an incredible amount of taxpayer money and congressional time with the “porn wars” hearings about naughty lyrics in rock music. Tipper was making some kind of stand for decency and morality, but instead of directing her ire against corruption in politics, she wanted to stamp out rock and roll lyrics about sex.
Of course, that was decades ago, and I’m certain Al Gore knows better than to be party to that kind of nonsense. Right? RIGHT?
I think I’ve come to terms with my worries about Tipper “loose cannon” Gore. I reminded myself that she managed to behave herself for the most part when Gore was VP and not go on another porn-rock crusade. These days, my trepidation with the next election campaign has a lot to do with the way the previous election was run and its aftermath. Things that gave me the willies? How about how Howard Dean found himself on the outs with voters after a single moment of campaign zaniness; the famous Howard Dean “scream”.
Dean lost out in the primaries to John Kerry. Kerry got into that whole “swift boat” controversy and his anti-war activism following his service in Vietnam—a horrible muckraking scene no matter who was right on either side of the issue. What did that Viet Nam stuff have to do with the current problems of the country? Nada, folks.
Kerry lost the election to a former National Guardsman who seems to have dodged his commitment to duty. Joe Lieberman said “miracles do happen” after the announcement of his candidacy for Vice President. After his efforts dried up and blew away, he went immediately on the attack against…porn-rock! Hello, Tipper, dahhhling!
What is it with these guys?
The next election year fills me with dread. The whole bloody campaign definitely earned the nickname the late Frank Zappa gave it back in the 80s; “the Olympics of Banality”.
What will it mean if Gore runs again? What if Jeb Bush decides to run? What is wrong with the political process in America?
Well, for starters, the whole thing is run like a Christmas retail advertising campaign. Beyond that, the ultra-low voter turnout year after year means there is no real mandate from the people. Based on voter turnout numbers, we the people are a bunch of lazy, shiftless slugs. Even worse? Your vote doesn’t even COUNT for much, as we have this ridiculously outdated Electoral College nonsense going on. What REALLY ought to be happening during an election year, ANY election year, is one person, one vote.
There needs to be a direct tally of all the votes going directly for the individuals running for office. Our electoral college harkens back to the days of powdered wigs, slavery, and people who thought chewing tobacco was really cool.
Oh, wait, we still have most of that today.
Never mind, forget I spoke. I’m going back to sleep. George Bush is a wonderful president with a heart for the common man, you never get a bad hot dog at the speedway, and global warming is a big myth.
Pleasant dreams!
