Post by JamesAquila on May 30, 2004 2:42:12 GMT -5
Last night the pundits on CNN's Capitol Gang resorted to insults of Gore rather than disscuss the substance of his speech. Even alleged liberal pundits Al Hunt and Margaret Carlson joined in the Gore bashing calling him shrill and that he was channeling Howard Dean. I urge everyone to email or call CNN to complain.
SHIELDS: Al Hunt, is Al Gore coming over as a stronger candidate than John Kerry?
HUNT: Oh, no, Mark. No. No. Kerry -- Kerry has a problem on the left, and it's Ralph Nader, and it remains to see how that -- how that plays out. But Al Gore, who -- who was full-bodied as well as full-throated in that speech -- he was shrill, talking to a bunch of lefties -- on the substance, he's getting criticized by a lot of people because he called for -- for sacking all the national security team that got us into this quagmire. I would point out the very same week that General Anthony Zinni, former Marine general, a former Bush Mideast envoy, CINC commander, did the same thing in his book and -- and -- and on "60 Minutes."
I actually think that John Kerry, after two really bad months, has had a couple good weeks. The initial commercials were good. He's a little bit better on the stump, still a little ponderous, but a little bit better. He made the right decision on the convention, and apparently, he's engaged in a serious consideration for a running mate.
O'BEIRNE: Weeks when either Al Gore or Teddy Kennedy are in the news are not good weeks for John Kerry. You now understand -- I understand now why Al Gore's so concerned with global warming. He is in meltdown. That was an unhinged, disgraceful performance. He blamed all of America for what went on in Abu Ghraib, despite all of the evidence. He smeared all of us, warned Americans that we have to resist the temptation, the innate temptation to abuse others. The charge against people like Doug Feith, he calls him -- doesn't even know who he's calling to have resign -- one of the charges against them is they're responsible for the impending loss of intimacy with one's soul!
It was altogether disgraceful in front of that disgraceful left- wing group Moveon.org, his favored audience, Al Gore. Let me remind you, Moveon.org was opposed to Afghanistan, to toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan. So if it was up to Al Gore's favored audience, the Taliban would be running Afghanistan and Usama bin Laden's camps would still be in full operation. And Al Gore's containment policy he's touting brought us 3,000 dead Americans.
SHIELDS: Just so we understand -- I don't think Al and Kate agree on this...
(CROSSTALK)
SHIELDS: Could you give us a sense of...
NOVAK: No, as much as I hate to disagree with my friend, Al, the -- I don't think it was a good two weeks for John Kerry. And the Democrats I talk to don't think it was a good two weeks. They think Bush is going down fast, but they don't think Kerry is going up. And the -- I even find Democrats who say, Well, Gore's a little over the hill, but at least he's got some life to him. That guy Kerry is so ponderous and boring and uninteresting. And to say he made the right decision on accepting the nomination -- I mean, he -- he was the guy who set up the phony choice of whether he was going to accept the nomination! And when several of the anchors said that, We won't go to the convention, they said, Hey, this is -- this is a mistake.
So I think -- I think it was not a good week for John Kerry.
SHIELDS: Not only the anchors, but Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston, who's the host of the convention, on the hook for the whole event, was openly and publicly and repeatedly miffed about the prospect of this being a sham convention.
CARLSON: Yes. It was...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: It was a ridiculous trial balloon to put out there. Now, the law should be changed so that the money starts at the same time, but that's a separate discussion than whether he's going to provisionally accept the nomination.
Kerry is right not to move left and placate the Naderites in his party. That looked like Gore channeling Howard Dean in Iowa. It's not a good performance, and you can't do it about the war in Iraq. It's too serious. And Kerry's -- listen, it's not that -- that Kerry is moving towards Bush's position, as Democrats are accusing him, Bush has moved towards Kerry's on the war. And you know, multi-lateralist, Let's train Iraqi troops, Let's secure the place, Let's get a U.N. umbrella -- so where's Kerry to go and be responsible? He has to stay where he is because it's the right position and let Bush just keep digging his own hole deeper.
SHIELDS: Let me just -- let me just toss out another possibility, that Al Gore does serve a purpose for John Kerry, in the sense that he's not Ralph Nader and that there is a body within the Democratic Party who is still agitated and exercised. He is supporting John Kerry.
O'BEIRNE: I suppose in contrast, Al Gore makes John Kerry look sane. I suppose that's helpful. Look, it's not just the Naderites. Over half of all Democrats want us to pull out of Iraq immediately, which would be a huge disaster. The Republicans ought to be running that Al Gore speech with a warning under it: Warning, this man came too close to becoming president of the United States, be careful in November, be very careful!
SHIELDS: Al Hunt, is Al Gore coming over as a stronger candidate than John Kerry?
HUNT: Oh, no, Mark. No. No. Kerry -- Kerry has a problem on the left, and it's Ralph Nader, and it remains to see how that -- how that plays out. But Al Gore, who -- who was full-bodied as well as full-throated in that speech -- he was shrill, talking to a bunch of lefties -- on the substance, he's getting criticized by a lot of people because he called for -- for sacking all the national security team that got us into this quagmire. I would point out the very same week that General Anthony Zinni, former Marine general, a former Bush Mideast envoy, CINC commander, did the same thing in his book and -- and -- and on "60 Minutes."
I actually think that John Kerry, after two really bad months, has had a couple good weeks. The initial commercials were good. He's a little bit better on the stump, still a little ponderous, but a little bit better. He made the right decision on the convention, and apparently, he's engaged in a serious consideration for a running mate.
O'BEIRNE: Weeks when either Al Gore or Teddy Kennedy are in the news are not good weeks for John Kerry. You now understand -- I understand now why Al Gore's so concerned with global warming. He is in meltdown. That was an unhinged, disgraceful performance. He blamed all of America for what went on in Abu Ghraib, despite all of the evidence. He smeared all of us, warned Americans that we have to resist the temptation, the innate temptation to abuse others. The charge against people like Doug Feith, he calls him -- doesn't even know who he's calling to have resign -- one of the charges against them is they're responsible for the impending loss of intimacy with one's soul!
It was altogether disgraceful in front of that disgraceful left- wing group Moveon.org, his favored audience, Al Gore. Let me remind you, Moveon.org was opposed to Afghanistan, to toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan. So if it was up to Al Gore's favored audience, the Taliban would be running Afghanistan and Usama bin Laden's camps would still be in full operation. And Al Gore's containment policy he's touting brought us 3,000 dead Americans.
SHIELDS: Just so we understand -- I don't think Al and Kate agree on this...
(CROSSTALK)
SHIELDS: Could you give us a sense of...
NOVAK: No, as much as I hate to disagree with my friend, Al, the -- I don't think it was a good two weeks for John Kerry. And the Democrats I talk to don't think it was a good two weeks. They think Bush is going down fast, but they don't think Kerry is going up. And the -- I even find Democrats who say, Well, Gore's a little over the hill, but at least he's got some life to him. That guy Kerry is so ponderous and boring and uninteresting. And to say he made the right decision on accepting the nomination -- I mean, he -- he was the guy who set up the phony choice of whether he was going to accept the nomination! And when several of the anchors said that, We won't go to the convention, they said, Hey, this is -- this is a mistake.
So I think -- I think it was not a good week for John Kerry.
SHIELDS: Not only the anchors, but Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston, who's the host of the convention, on the hook for the whole event, was openly and publicly and repeatedly miffed about the prospect of this being a sham convention.
CARLSON: Yes. It was...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: It was a ridiculous trial balloon to put out there. Now, the law should be changed so that the money starts at the same time, but that's a separate discussion than whether he's going to provisionally accept the nomination.
Kerry is right not to move left and placate the Naderites in his party. That looked like Gore channeling Howard Dean in Iowa. It's not a good performance, and you can't do it about the war in Iraq. It's too serious. And Kerry's -- listen, it's not that -- that Kerry is moving towards Bush's position, as Democrats are accusing him, Bush has moved towards Kerry's on the war. And you know, multi-lateralist, Let's train Iraqi troops, Let's secure the place, Let's get a U.N. umbrella -- so where's Kerry to go and be responsible? He has to stay where he is because it's the right position and let Bush just keep digging his own hole deeper.
SHIELDS: Let me just -- let me just toss out another possibility, that Al Gore does serve a purpose for John Kerry, in the sense that he's not Ralph Nader and that there is a body within the Democratic Party who is still agitated and exercised. He is supporting John Kerry.
O'BEIRNE: I suppose in contrast, Al Gore makes John Kerry look sane. I suppose that's helpful. Look, it's not just the Naderites. Over half of all Democrats want us to pull out of Iraq immediately, which would be a huge disaster. The Republicans ought to be running that Al Gore speech with a warning under it: Warning, this man came too close to becoming president of the United States, be careful in November, be very careful!
