Home > Messages from the Ether > What was said, Part 2

What was said, Part 2

A continuation of my earlier assessment of the DNC speeches. Looking at Gore's speech:

Al Gore

Too many jokes about vote-counting. He has to mention it somehow, but he drilled it into the ground, almost like he's a stiff public speaker or something. Almost.

Then he segues into prodding voters to assess their previous choice: Did you really get what you expected from the candidate you voted for? ... [T]hose who supported a third party candidate: Do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates? He asks them if they're satisfied with the results: Is our country more united or more divided? The deficit is worse, the economy is worse, civil liberties are being taken away, and the environment is being sacrificed to business.

He discusses Iraq:

Wouldn't we be better off with a new president who hasn't burned his bridges to our allies, and who could rebuild respect for America in the world?

Isn't cooperation with other nations crucial to solving our dilemma in Iraq? Isn't it also critical to defeating the terrorists?

We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is imminent.

But in order to protect our people, shouldn't we focus on the real source of this threat: the group that attacked us and is trying to attack us again -- al Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden?

Wouldn't we be safer with a President who didn't insist on confusing al Qaeda with Iraq? Doesn't that divert too much of our attention away from the principal danger?

I swear, people still cling to the connection as if it actually exists. There was great doubt when Powell made his presentation to the UN, greater doubt later when his assertions were fact-checked, and near certainty against the connection now. Each new fragment of a connection, discovered post-occupation, is heralded as potential proof to the now nearly two-year-old lies of Powell and the Bush administration. It's a shame that we're still wasting time trying to find the proof that we said we had years ago. Proof that was to have justified this war.

To finish my rant: here's a detailed dissection, from AP writer Charles J. Hanley, of the many other dubious assertions that were made by Powell.

Gore discusses Kerry (they were elected to the U.S. Senate on the same day 20 years ago) in the last third of the speech. Gore mentions Kerry's support of the environment, tracing terrorist financing, and reducing the deficit. Mostly just a rah-rah summary.

It was a nice speech. Just OK.