Pros and cons of Al Gore?

[Xenocrates]

So the consensus is?

If you guys were writing Gore's biography it would be very very short indeed!

Come on, you know the guy better than me, fill me in on some details!

 

[7ronin]

I never voted for Gore. I made the mistake of voting for that other guy, uh, whatzizname.

Say what you will about Al Gore, and he has his bad points as well as few good ones, had he become President I seriously doubt that we would be in the mess we are in today.

 

[tomsnowman123]

I never voted for Gore. I made the mistake of voting for that other guy, uh, whatzizname.

Say what you will about Al Gore, and he has his bad points as well as few good ones, had he become President I seriously doubt that we would be in the mess we are in today.

The Gore and Bush 2000 election was horrible. Talk about two major candidates that were bad.

 

[A'AbarachAmadan]

Say what you will about Al Gore, and he has his bad points as well as few good ones, had he become President I seriously doubt that we would be in the mess we are in today.

I honestly believe that had we elected Al Gore we would be FAR, FAR, FAR worse off than we are today if he had the influence to implement his beliefs. Where you may be right is that I think Congress would have stopped him from doing anything and would have become far more Republican when he started trying; though that is not a good thing as a Senate with 60+ Republicans would be scary in and of itself. After the debacle of Al Gore we may have seen a Republican President, supermajority in the Senate and majority in the House. That would be horrible (no matter which party it was).

 

[Phlegmak]

Pros: He isn't Bush.

Cons: He's boring.

 

[jameson]

I honestly believe that had we elected Al Gore we would be FAR, FAR, FAR worse off than we are today if he had the influence to implement his beliefs. Where you may be right is that I think Congress would have stopped him from doing anything and would have become far more Republican when he started trying; though that is not a good thing as a Senate with 60+ Republicans would be scary in and of itself. After the debacle of Al Gore we may have seen a Republican President, supermajority in the Senate and majority in the House. That would be horrible (no matter which party it was).

Consider: Republicans had a majority in Congress from 1994-2000 trying to do their best to stop Clinton from doing anything. During that time, the American economy grew at record speed, the deficit was almost wiped out, the US was liked and respected internationally, and wasn't in Iraq.After the debacle of the election, the US got a Republican President, majority in the Senate ready to invoke the nuclear option, and majority in the House (not to mention two conservative judges).

I fail to see how you didn't already get what you are dreading.

 

[cgannon64]

Pro: He's the most sensible public voice in America on the enviroment.

Con: No one likes to hear bad things about the enviroment.

 

[tomsnowman123]

Con: No one likes to hear bad things about the enviroment.

Insert "you can't handle the truth!"

It's sad but true, many people can't.

 

[A'AbarachAmadan]

Consider: Republicans had a majority in Congress from 1994-2000 trying to do their best to stop Clinton from doing anything. During that time, the American economy grew at record speed, the deficit was almost wiped out, the US was liked and respected internationally, and wasn't in Iraq.After the debacle of the election, the US got a Republican President, majority in the Senate ready to invoke the nuclear option, and majority in the House (not to mention two conservative judges).

I fail to see how you didn't already get what you are dreading.

I very much liked those times, but Gore isn't Clinton. Clinton was a brilliant President that was pro-NAFTA and used the military to stop such things such as the atrocities in Bosnia. Not only did Clinton and the Republican Congress almost wipe out the deficit, they actually did it. Of course, they didn't get far on the debt because they were over confident and got some bad advice from the 'experts' about not paying it down to fast . The problem we experienced going into 2000 was that the economic policies didn't adjust and we entered a recession before the election. Bush actually did some great things in the early years economically to bring us out of the recession that was exacerbated by 9/11. I don't think Gore had the leadership skills for the recession or a 9/11 response.

The Republicans only have a majority in the Senate, not the supermajority 60 required to stop a filibuster. I think Gore is so bad he would have given them that. They might be able to eliminate a filibuster for a judge under a rules change now, but not for normal bills. Can you imagine the legislation that could be passed with the Democrats having zero ability to stop it? (Same would be true in reverse.)

I'm confident Democrats will take back control of the House or Senate in 2006. My biggest concern is whether or not they will establish fiscal responsibility that the Republicans used to stand for.

 

[The Yankee]

Gore walked into being a stiff in a suit in 2000...he seems to have loosened up now, as he supposedly was before the run, if that really matters to anyone (I don't care if the guy will put me to sleep...if I wanted fun, I'd find a ride to a frat house or take the 2 train to Times Square). He talked about the Social Security "lockbox," which I don't know much about since I wasn't paying much attention then...I was not yet aware by 2000...almost, but not quite. Also, he does push for alternative fuels, which would be a boon to this country and eventually a necessity.

He was seen as a conservative Democrat from his days in the Senate and his previous presidential run in 1988. What his actual positions would be and how he would deal with a potentially split Congress will have to be seen for if/when he makes his run. The issues of 1999 and 2000 are in some ways vastly different from those of 2007 and 2008.

Right now, he's doing his work to promote environmental policies and alternative fuels, so more power to him there.

 

[amadeus]

Al Gore once burned up 65,600 gallons of fuel to attend a global warming conference, and he has the nerve to lecture us on the environment.

 

[bigfatron]

Al Gore once burned up 65,600 gallons of fuel to attend a global warming conference, and he has the nerve to lecture us on the environment.

How else do you expect him to get there, swim?!?

Jeez, some people......

 

[Bartleby]

con: Tipper.

 

[bhsup]

How else do you expect him to get there, swim?!?

Jeez, some people......

Well, he DID invent the internet after all. Surely he could have attended via video conference over the net.

In all seriousness though, I have to agree with you on this one. He was the Vice-President at the time and that was his mode of travel to other nations at the time.

 

[Brian_B]

It seems to me as if Al Gore has many strong features and would make an excelent President.

Since I have no idea about how to add a poll, I'll just ask for the pros and cons of Mr Gore.

Regardless of your party inclinations, what do you feel about this guy?

I honestly don't think he'd be particularly bad or good. I also think he lacks the charisma to actually win.

 

[Brian_B]

So the consensus is?

If you guys were writing Gore's biography it would be very very short indeed!

Come on, you know the guy better than me, fill me in on some details!

Gore is about as close as you come to the proverbial "empty suit" politician. There's really not too much to say on the guy. He's a big environmentalist but he's pretty moderate on everything else. Al Gore couldn't beat George Bush. That's all you need to say. The Republican Candidates in 2008 will be much stronger than George Bush.

 

[MobBoss]

How else do you expect him to get there, swim?!?

Jeez, some people......

Ever hear of Video Tele-Confrence? Or, he could have been like Michael Jackson and just sent a tape.

 

[Xenocrates]

Pros: Mobboss doesn't approve of him.
Cons: he doesn't behave as you'd expect a politician to. (Oh wait, that's another pro!)

I know less about him now than I did when I started this thread!

 

[Ayatollah So]

Al Gore couldn't beat George Bush. That's all you need to say.

After 8 years that were overall pretty darn good, it took real talent to lose that election. In other words: what you said, in spades.

 

[pboily]

Also, I hear he has some sort of link to Fred Phelps, of WBC fame...