I was talking to a reporter the other day about Republican Presidential candidates; Newt Gingrich's name came up, and I said that whenever anyone suggests Newt as a contender, I get out a cross and a clove of garlic. I love Newt, but the idea of bringing him back, dragging along all of the baggage that caused him to be driven from the House leadership with an approval rating about equal to Mark Foley's, is crazy.
That's how sensible Democrats must feel about Al Gore. Last night, my wife, three daughters and I attended a very fun Oscar party put on by AM 1280 the Patriot, the radio station our Northern Alliance show is on, featuring Michael Medved. It was basically Al Gore night: he was set up to look good with gags about announcing for the Presidency, Melissa Etheridge won an Oscar for an amazingly insipid song...
(Photo: Reuters)
By the way, while Etheridge was performing, text would scroll behind her containing various environmental injunctions. I'm pretty sure I saw one that said, "Reduce your carbon emissions to zero." I assume most people know--doesn't Miss Etheridge; does Al Gore?--that to reduce your carbon emissions to zero, you'd have to be dead.As dead as Al Gore's political career; hence the cross and garlic. The one way the Democrats' Presidential sweepstakes could be bleaker is if Gore jumps into the race, and gains traction behind his Green campaign. For one thing, it would allow us conservative to nail Gore as a living symbol of liberal hypocrisy. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research released this delightful report today:
Gore's mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh-more than 20 times the national average.
And that's just Gore's Nashville mansion! How much time does he spend in Nashville? Very little, I suspect. How much energy do his other mansions and estates consume? And how about those private airplanes, the ultimate CO2 machines? The fun that could be had at Gore's expense is just about infinite.
Here's another idea: if we're going to recycle failed Democratic candidates, Gore could name John Edwards as his Veep! Then we Republicans could talk about Edwards' newly-constructed 28,000 square foot mansion and sports complex in North Carolina--how much energy it consumes, and how much CO2 it emits. The mind boggles!
I'm afraid, though, that it isn't going to happen. I don't think Al Gore has any more serious interest in being President than Edwards does. I think they are both happy to accept the applause of the Hollywood crowd without having to do the heavy lifting of running for office. Let alone, actually serving as President.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Al Gore reminds me of the character in old sitting room comedies who would come bounding in full of exuberant energy, crying out, "Tennis, anyone?!?" The character was well-born, filthy rich and safely ignored by both the other characters and the audience as being too light weight and do-nothing to matter. It was the male version of an ingenue, and Peter Lawford used to do it superbly.
Gore's smirk on-stage at the Academy Awards last night was also very Lawford-ish. Stunned to find himself amid so many A-list people, and trembling in his anxiety to do and say the right thing so he'd be allowed to stay.
Give that man a tennis racquet, some white shorts, and a sweater to tie around his neck!
NahnCee at 9:19PM on Feb 26th 2007
2.
The canary is singing. Mister Sunbeam himself.
Al Gore's new film is an allegory about a man trying to scare the public into following him as the savior of the world.
Quick evacuate the coasts!
Wait didn't Al and Tipping point just move to San Francisco?
Greenhouse gases are wrecking havoc.
Quit making speeches Al, water vapor is the moist abundant greenhouse gas in the blogosphere.
Cars are evil.
Auto tried to kill his sun!
Tobacco is evil.
A Cuban made his sister antisocial.
Al Gore is betting his legacy that he is right. To bad, right or left, he'll be compost by the time the facts come out.
Didn't Allegory say that President Bush was a fear monger?
Slimnod at 12:37AM on Feb 27th 2007
3. Let's face it the Democrats have staked out all the winning positions for 2008!
1) The "Greatest Generation" was anomally never to be repeated. As a result we have no hope of winning the war on terror and need to just surrender as soon as possible.
2) You, the average American, are stupid and unable to manage even the most basic aspects of your life. You are in desperate need of the Democrats to take control of everything, with the possible exception of your bodily functions.
3) France, Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are all morally superior to the United States. We desperately need to bow to the wishes of those superior to us.
4) None of this really matters because we lowly working class Americans are rapidly destroying the planet but doing such unforgivable things as driving to work everyday.
All of these enlighten position have me just itching to get to the polls and vote more of these people into office. The sooner we do that the sooner we can have the kind of superior country the Cambodians had in the 1970's.
Doug
Doug R. at 4:21AM on Feb 27th 2007
4. Even in death we still emit carbon dioxide since all living organisms are composed of carbon atoms. The process of decomposition of all former life involves the production of "greenhouse gases" ,carbon dioxide, water vapor,methane and others. That is why the highest concentration of these gases being emitted in New York City is from Central Park.
Stephen D Harris at 10:20AM on Feb 27th 2007
5. Environmentalism, if it isn't already, will become the religion of the ideological left. It's God is Gaia and Algore, with the media's assistance, it's first living, saint and savior. I look at Algore as more of an antichrist, myself. Based on his apparent carbon footprint; however, it would also appear he's well beyond the stage of being called a hipocrite and instead must be identified as a fraud.
But, hey with christianity in rapid decline in Europe and the left trying so hard to replicate their successes in Europe here in the U.S., Algore just might get a way with it all.
doug kemp at 12:12PM on Feb 27th 2007
6. "Give that man a tennis racquet, some white shorts, and a sweater to tie around his neck!"
NahnCee...you hit the nail on the head with that line.
JMO at 9:44AM on Mar 2nd 2007
7. Wow...just...wow. This report is about hypocrisy, and you fail to mention that Gore offsets all of his power usage by purchasing green credits from a green energy supplier?
Also, the whole "I'm pretty sure I saw one that said 'Reduce your carbon emissions to zero'" is a clever way to misrepresent what was actually said without outright lying. Kind of like the whole thing where conservatives chided Gore for saying "I invented the Internet" (which he didn't say) instead of what he actually said "I funded the modern day Internet" (ARPAnet), which he actually did. You all flock to intellectual dishonesty like moths to a flame.
Gore would have been a much better president. Honestly, could we have a worse president than Bush? Let's list some accomplishments:
Katrina
FEMA - nominating your buddy the horse judge to run it - remember, this is one of the groups that is supposed to react to terrorism events - so much for being tough on terror
Afghanistan - whoops, forgot to actually send enough troops to the right place, and now we're completely losing the one war we need to win. Where's Osama?
Iraq - whoops, sent troops to the wrong place. Hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Osama's in Afghanistan and Pakistan. WMD's were in Iran and North Korea.
No, really, why do you guys support this bimbo?
Reality Check at 11:32PM on Mar 8th 2007
8. Sorry, I don't want to sound like the awful, anorexic Ann Coulter but I saw Algore the other day and with his pudgy face, double chin, expanding girth and angry, self righteous countenance I could not help but think that he has morphed into an old queen.
Scipio at 10:14PM on Mar 9th 2007
9. First, Al Gore himself said that he must overstate a case before the public will listen....to me that means he has no credibility.
Second, we have evidence that other planets are warming as well. Please explain to me how human activity is making that happem. Can't? Could it be that human activity is not a factor then?
Third, forty years ago, before anyone talked of global warming, I read a scientist who said that the earth had just been through 50 years of the most stable climate and weather in its history but to look for the planet to return to more unstable climate/weather since that was the norm for this planet.
Fourth, this planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees which is far less than the warming that took place at the end of both the Ice age and the Little Ice age when there were no SUVs, factories or light bulbs.
Fifth, the global warming crowd is like a religious movement...all on faith and resistant and derogatory to anyone who disagrees with them. There is NOT a universal agreement as to the cause but any scientist that disagrees has his job threatened. How can any real truth come out in that climate that is akin to the Inquisition where anyone with dissenting questions were murdered as heretics?
gypsy at 11:09AM on Mar 19th 2007
10. This British documentary, called The Great Global Warming Swindle, has been posted on YouTube, in 8 parts, 10 minutes each.
Go to this site and click on Part 1:
http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2007/03/more_about_the_.html
TDonze at 10:30AM on Mar 21st 2007