The Goracle
Sun Sep 02, 2007 at 09:40:06 AM PDT
While researching his new book Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, Robert Parry says he was surprised to find how many times Gore was "tragically prescient."
Gore, whose admirers sometimes call him "the Goracle," comes across more as a Cassandra, warning the nation of looming disasters and finding himself either ignored or mocked by the dominant politicians and media pundits.
Time and again – from Campaign 2000 to the post-9/11 "war on terror" to the invasion of Iraq to Bush’s expansion of presidential powers – Gore pointed to grave dangers when nearly all other national political leaders and media bigwigs were either running with the herd or keeping silent.
Parry says it wasn't until he and his colleagues were putting the book together that Gore’s "extraordinary role" jumped out.
Though there were a few other political leaders who made prophetic comments, such as Sen. Robert Byrd in his pre-Iraq War speeches on the Senate floor, none was as consistently on target as Al Gore....
Hearing Gore’s nuanced advice about how to proceed after the 9/11 attacks, why invading Iraq made little sense or what are the proper limits of presidential power, you can’t help but wonder where the United States would be now if the popular will of the American voters had been respected in November-December 2000.
Parry says Gore might have prevented the 9/11 attacks and if not
President Gore surely would have focused American retaliation on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, not left the job half done and gone after Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11.
Gore didn’t buy into the neoconservative agenda of invading Muslim countries to impose regime change designed to bring those governments in line with Israel’s goals for the region. Though a supporter of Israel who picked Sen. Joe Lieberman as his vice presidential running mate, Gore kept the neocon agenda at arm’s length.
With regard to domestic policy,
Gore also didn’t share Dick Cheney’s agenda of establishing an imperial presidency that could ride roughshod over the rule of law, the constitutional checks and balances, and the inalienable rights of American citizens.
Like no other American politician, Gore perceived the challenges and the opportunities of the 21st century. He recognized the potential of the technological revolution and understood the threat of uncontrolled climate change.
Parry says Gore might have been a "near ideal leader" for the new millennium, but
deep-seated problems in the U.S. political process and the U.S. news media kept Campaign 2000 close enough so Bush could exploit irregularities in Florida’s balloting to snake away with its electoral votes and thus the White House.
Parry worries that the same "deep-seated problems" will cloud the 2008 election.
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