Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to http://draftgore.com/

thanks
Robert — (archived)

I'm not quite ready to jump on the bandwagon to draft Al, I guess mainly because my protective cynicism about politicians requires me to be more certain that Al 2.0 isn't a marketing ploy, albeit an unusually innovative and smart ploy that maybe ought to succeed because of that. I mean, a political campaign that isn't based on insulting my intelligence has intrinsic merit even if it's been massaged by focus groups and surveys. I admit that I'm inclined to want to believe, but I've been burnt by politicians before.

One of the key things about Al Gore that I respect is that he can learn from his mistakes, and I've never appreciated that more in a politician than after six years of listening to Bush deny that he's ever made even a single mistake in all his life. Conservatives may call it "flip-flopping", but hell, common sense tells you that Gore 12.0 has a lot more of the bugs ironed out than the release of George W. Bush permanently stuck at version 1.0.

And too, there's the way the the "wooden Al Gore", the "cigar store Indian", is revealed to be a soft-spoken intellectual. He's a bit of a nerd, but then, so am I. In a world that is, if not exactly run by nerds, shaped by nerds, he seems particularly well-suited to lead. Wouldn't it be great if America managed to overcome its traditional anti-intellectualism, and actually elected a smart President?

I'm surprised I haven't received the shriek-and-leap from the Right at my positive words about Big Al. That conditioning runs so deep that I know I'd never change the hatred of Gore, but I would be interested to hear about a true Conservative equivalent to Al Gore. Somebody willing to compete on a level playing field in a marketplace of ideas. Who are the Conservative intellectuals? Who would be a worthy opponent in a debate with Al Gore? Who can duel with ideas instead of sling mud?

O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Coulter, Malkin, et al...vicious demagogues all of them, each one an intellectual pygmy next to Al Gore. Who, then?

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