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June 25, 2004
Yesterday Al Gore underwent another
Yesterday Al Gore underwent another meltdown. He gave a speech to some students at the Georgetown University Law Center in which he claimed that the Bush Administration lied about connections between al Qaeda and Iraq.
This is hardly the first time he has exhibited such behavior. Last month he gave another speech to moveon.org in which he completely lost control of himself. This "speech", too, was more a temper tantrum than anything else.
The inappropriateness of it all is breathtaking. There is a long tradition in this country of ex-presidents, and ex-presidential contenders, not discussing the actions of their successors. Clinton has not commented (much, anyway) on what George Bush has done. George H W Bush and Bob Dole did not critique Clinton once their respective campaigns were over. Even Jimmy Carter, who loathed Reagan, disappeared into the shadows once he lost the 1980 election. To the best of my knowledge Mondale, Dukakis and Dole never commented on the men they lost to either.
But not Al Gore. And it's not just that he makes a few comments in an interview somewhere. He gives a big speech to hundreds of cheering supporters, in which he shouts and gesticulates wildly, all the while making outrageous accusations that are completely unsupported by the facts. And to think that this man came very close to being our president.
It's hard to say which is worse; his wildly inaccurate accusations, his out-of-control behavior, or the inappropriateness of it all. It is certainly not how we expect our ex-senators and vice-presidents to conduct themselves.
Many others have taken Gore to task for his factual inaccuracies, so I won't do a complete Fisking here. Some commentary on Gore here and here.
Maybe I will analyze Gore's remarks and comment on them. But it's not really necessary. The fact that he is commenting at all on the man he lost to, and doing so in such a wildly irresponsible way, tells us all we need to know about him. And what it tells us is that he is unsuited for high office.
Posted by Tom at June 25, 2004 12:15 AM
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