As promised, here’s my report on Al Gore’s appearance yesterday at the University of Oklahoma. The event was every bit as exciting as I expected, so let me tell you all about it. I know other Okie Kossacks in attendance have already diaried the details of his talk, but I want to share my personal impressions and experiences. I hope you’ll follow me below the fold.
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The event was originally scheduled to take place in a concert hall in the newly expanded Catlett Music Center. This is where former Mexican president Vicente Fox spoke at an academic convocation earlier in the week, but fortunately the organizers decided to move it to the Lloyd Noble Arena. Good call, because the concert hall wouldn’t have held even a tiny fraction of the people who showed up.
We arrived at the arena about 10 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open and were surprised to see literally hundreds and hundreds of people already in line, with more flooding in every moment. Someone in a polar bear suit was working the crowd, holding a sign that said "My home is melting." The local media were everywhere, and the air of excitement was tangible and energizing despite the cool temperatures and gusty winds.
While we were standing in line, we eavesdropped on an elderly couple behind us who had attended the earlier debate between two university professors. The gentleman said that the global warming skeptic, David Deming, was funny but a little too sarcastic. His wife chimed in with the information that the Antarctic ice is actually increasing in thickness, a claim that Professor Deming apparently uses to "debunk" the remainder of the scientific community. I’m guessing that’s the skeptic fallback position. The lady mentioned something stupid Laura Bush said recently, and my friend leaned over to me and said, "What is it with the Bush women and their Marie Antoinette comments?" I almost wet my pants laughing.
By the time the doors opened, the line had curved back upon itself and we found ourselves among the last to enter after having established position about halfway down the line. It was actually kind of funny, because we had just talked about how orderly and patient the thousands in line were, only to see the end of the line break for the door at the first sign of movement. But the arena holds almost 12,000 so we weren’t worried about getting in.
After we found our seats, I took a look around at my fellow attendees. Lots of college students, yes, but plenty of older people. Corporate types, old hippies, bikers, retired couples, a real cross-section. Turns out we were just a few seats away from the state attorney general and his wife, who apparently arrived too late to be seated with the other dignitaries.
By 3:40, the arena was about half full, with hundreds of people still milling around looking for seats. I estimate about 8,000 people were in attendance. Members of the Pride of Oklahoma marching band and a horn quintet entertained the crowd with a mixture of fight songs and imperial-sounding horn pieces. It was quite an interesting and almost surreal dynamic, especially since I had just been in the arena the night before for an amazing women’s basketball game.
And finally it was time for the event to begin. University of Oklahoma President and former U.S. Senator David Boren did the introductions. The Governor and First Lady got a standing ovation, and we learned that President Boren has ties with the Gore family that go back many years. I wasn’t aware of Gore’s Oklahoma roots, so that information came as a bit of a surprise.
My friend asked me whether I thought Senator Global Warming is a Hoax would be there, but I assured her that he was in Washington saying stupid shit today.
President Boren talked a bit about the university’s environmental efforts, touting our very successful student-initiated recycling program and the university’s commitment to wind power and alternative fuels for the university’s motor fleet. He also bemoaned the state of what passes for political discourse in this country, rightly stating that it could be more accurately termed an obsession with entertainment gossip. With that comment, I found myself letting out an involuntary roar of approval. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only who reacted that way, and my friends and I had great fun later talking about our reactions.
And then came THE introduction.
Boren started off by saying that, when Gore accepted the invitation several months ago to speak here, he knew he’d be introducing a family friend and the man who got more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history (let me tell you, the roof almost came off on that one), but he never imagined he’d be introducing an Academy Award winner. Key roof coming off again.
Gore took the podium at about 4:25, and he captivated the crowd immediately with his jokes about flying Air Force Two for 8 years, but now having to take his boots off at security checkpoints just like everyone else. He told a charming story about driving himself and Tipper to their farm, traveling sans motorcade for the first time after leaving office. They stopped at a Shoney’s for dinner, where the waitress fawned over Tipper, and then told another party who they were. Gore overheard a man say, "He sure has come down a long way, hasn’t he?"
The next day, Gore traveled to Lagos, where he told this story during his presentation, describing Shoney’s as a "low cost, family style restaurant." By the time he made it back to the States, the media was reporting that he had announced the opening of a low-cost family style restaurant that he planned to operate himself. Leno and Letterman had a field day, and he actually got a call from Bill Clinton congratulating him, tongue in cheek, on his new business venture. Gore does an excellent Clinton impression, by the way.
Gore describes himself as a recovering politician who’s worked his way up to about Step 9. He says he’s learned that you win some and you lose some, and then there’s that little known third thing. Again, roof raising ensued.
At this point, he launched into his presentation, which was quite close to what we see in An Inconvenient Truth. He has updated the talk, including more recent temperature data and study results and some new photographs. One, a picture of polar bears stranded on a peculiarly shaped and obviously melting ice flow, was particularly heartbreaking.
The presentation was fabulous. Al Gore is a freakin’ rock star. Intelligent, funny, compassionate – this man is the total package. The reception he received here in the heart of the one of the reddest states around was gratifying and makes me believe there may be some hope for my fellow Oklahomans.
Al Gore says we have everything we need to resolve this crisis, with the exception of the political will. Truer words were never spoken.
I am still on an Al Gore high. Watching him speak is one of the most rewarding and energizing experiences I have ever had in my nearly 50 years on this earth.
And more than ever, I want this man to be my president. Run, Al, run!!!!