I really should be studying, but saw this on Democratic Underground, and then I went to google Chris Matthews, on whose show Rather made the comments and saw the comments there. I haven't actually seen the Matthews segment, a disclaimer.
BUT, it is really exciting to me that it's being discussed, even on Matthews, cringe, and that Dan Rather weighed in. Sorry, could't resist
Although I didn't see the segment, I can only imagine what Matthews quipped in response to Rather's assertions. But the discussion itself is a telling sign. Indeed, one only has to look at the increasing fervor in discrediting Gore as a bellweather of the GOP's fear factor that he actually will run.
As Media Matters has extensively reported in its excellent article entitled, "Media Revive, Retool, and Create Anti-Gore Smears and Attacks" the (lying liar's) smears on Rockstar Al's reputation are escalating. And, no wonder. The man is on a serious roll, and is topping polls even though he's not a candidate.
Take this smear of two days ago by a "top (hurricane) forecaster", Dr. William Gray from Colorado State University:
As far as Mr. Gore goes, Gray called Al Gore "a gross alarmist" on Friday for making his Oscar-winning documentary about global warming. "He's one of these guys that preaches the end of the world type of things ... I think he's doing a great disservice and he doesn't know what he's talking about," Dr. Gray said in an interview with The Associated Press at the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans.
The Associated Press notes that Gray, who delivered the closing speech, has long rallied against the theory that heat-trapping gases generated by human activity have caused the globe to warm.
Article here .
What was interesting to me is that this man, Dr. Gray, has the balls to completely ignore practially the entire climate science community of over 2,000 scientists, whose work Gore bases his slideshow on. And, get this: Dr. Gray also said his own August 2006 hurricane predictions were a "total bust" and other months were also not accurate (as he claimed in his scholarly paper). Indeed, it seems Dr. Gray "doesn't know what he is talking about."
The irony of Dr. Gray, ie the GOP, labeling Al Gore as an "alarmist" when Bush/Cheney and their talking heads bleat the shrill "we are facing an imminent attack" on a daily basis for everything including holding up one's finger to the wind, is almost enough to make me...go on a diet.
But, this really isn't the point. The point is, even the possibility of Al Gore running has the Right Wing grappling, grasping, tripping, slipping, and Keystone-copping, and calling up anyone with a PhD to bolster weak assertions.
So, if Al really is on a diet, I have this to say to the GOP: be afraid. Be very afraid.