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Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...

Get Out A Cross and a Clove of Garlic

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.

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Mo's Bio

Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.



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News Bloggers

Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.

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