Gore: "Renegade Rightwing Extremists"

The following excerpts are from an interview* that Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian [UK] had with Al Gore, who had just given a speech at the Guardian's "Hay Festival".

"I am Al Gore and I used to be the next president of the United States of America," he says, opening the routine. When that gets a warm laugh, he scowls: "I don't happen to find that very funny."
[…]
"The scientists are virtually screaming from the rooftops now," he says, his voice rising. "The debate is over! There's no longer any debate in the scientific community about [whether carbon-dioxide emissions are warming the Earth]. But the political systems around the world have held this at arm's length because it's an inconvenient truth, because they don't want to accept that it's a moral imperative."
[…]
Later I [i.e., Freedland] ask Gore if he's moved to the left these past six years. After all, he denounced plans for the coming war in Iraq in September 2002, long before his Democrat colleagues, and he now unashamedly attacks corporate special interests. A flash of anger: "No! If you have a renegade band of rightwing extremists who get hold of power, the whole thing goes to the right. But I haven't moved. I'm where I've always been."

For my part, I am beginning to believe that Gore can accomplish far more from his current position than he could as President.
———-
*Jonathan Freedland, "Born Again", The Guardian Unlimited, 31 May 2006.

Posted on May 31, 2006 at 13.29 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Splenetics

3 Responses

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  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Thursday, 1 June 2006 at 02.01
    Permalink

    I wonder if you mean Gore, specifically, or presidents generally.

    If it's the latter, I don't agree. A really capable, skilled and determined president can be an awesome force for change. Look at Truman's integration of the military services, signing on to the U.N. Charter and the creation of NATO. Look at Eisenhower's achievement with the National Defense Highway Act that created the whole national system of interstates. Look at Johnson's Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those presidents put it on the line to get those things done, and those things all made a huge difference.

    I doubt Gore could get all he might want to deal with global warming, even with a Democratic majority in at least one house of Congress. Even so, I think he could get farther toward his goals as president than as a private citizen.

  2. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Thursday, 1 June 2006 at 02.04
    Permalink

    I meant to mention for Truman, also, the Marshall Plan. That in itself was a monumental achievement.

  3. Written by jns
    on Wednesday, 7 June 2006 at 21.50
    Permalink

    I expect I was thinking about Gore specifically. To the extent that he has decided to focus almost exclusively on anthropogenic climate change, having to deal with other issue as president could be just a distraction — particularly since he seems to be finding ways to be very influential on the subject even without the bully pulpit.

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