Gore vs. Bush

No, not the Supreme Court case that decided that a degenerate ape whose brother was the governor of the contested state was more fit to rule govern this country than an active vice president of one of the best modern presidents (in terms of policy, not politics) was.

I've never doubted in the last 5 long, painstaking years that the nine Supreme Court Justices, with all due respect, were wrong.

We have the 43rd President of the United States of America... yet another photo-op, though at least this one looks somewhat genuine:

(from BBC)

From an opinion piece from the Chattanoogan.com:

Domestic television showed Bush visiting the coast to comfort the people of Biloxi - even hugging some seemingly dazed survivors.

German TV, however, filed a much different report. ZDF news reporter Christine Adelhardt reported the president's visit to be a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open-air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was hastily set up for his photo-op and then torn down immediately after he and the herd of "news people" had left. And those women Bush hugged for the camera were not even Biloxi locals.... And as we watched the CNN video of loaders and dozers seemingly hard at work to repair the 17th Street levee where Bush was visiting, he told us and the world that progress was flowing - but according to Senator Mary Landrieu, the crew that was working so hard yesterday left and has never come back......

The real work to come goes far beyond repairing storm damage. We must repair our democracy. We must restore our national respectability. We must demand the impeachment of this president and root out his many minions before their collective destructiveness completely lays waste our beloved nation. Bush says the coast will be rebuilt bigger and better than before. I wonder if he is talking of million-dollar beach houses whose owners didn't get their feet wet, or those who are still, today trapped in their stifling attics, yearning to breathe free.

He might have convinced millions of people that he, a man who went AWOL from the National Guard, was more patriotic than a thrice-wounded, decorated Vietnam swift-boat veteran who later had the courage to stand up agains the war. But this is what Gergen would call a "naked moment." When the entire nation can see him for who he really is... As a conniving, fake, and untrustworthy miscreant. Actually, no. An evil, manipulative FELON.

From the New Yorker:

During the Presidential debates in 2000, George W. Bush informed his opponent, Al Gore, that natural catastrophes are “a time to test your mettle.” Bush had seen his father falter after a hurricane in South Florida. But now he has done far worse. Over five days last week, from the onset of the hurricane on the Gulf Coast on Monday morning to his belated visit to the region on Friday, Bush’s mettle was tested—and he failed in almost every respect.

Probably isn't the first time his words will come back to bite him in the ass.

But speaking of Mr. Gore, the legitimate 43rd President of the U.S. (though I don't know if he'll be up for the task now- undoing the devastating "environmental policy" of the Bush administration alone will take him the entire first term.

But there's no doubt that Al Gore is the better leader, and his defeat actually made him more attractive to the eyes of the public...

So, some of the victims of the hurricane were flown into Tennessee. A surprise volunteer was former Vice President Al Gore, who avoided publicity. Yes, a politician avoiding GOOD publicity. You know what that usually means? Well, BESIDES the fact that Tom Cruise needs to hire Gore's publicist. Al CARES.

Maryville, Tennessee's The Daily Times:

An American Airlines plane arrived at McGhee Tyson Airport at 3:10 p.m. Saturday with about 130 people from New Orleans.

Former Vice President Al Gore was on the plane, helping patients. He did not grant interviews to reporters Saturday.

``My understanding was that he made this happen, that he actually arranged for this aircraft,'' Webb said

Knowing the current state of the media (to a point where reporters aren't indifferent bystanders but compassionate humans with emotions) this story might get picked up by the MSM (that's "mainstream media" for you non-junkie folks). But for now, I heard this from a DKos diary, then googled it.

A second Daily Times article:

As [hurricane survivor] Rollins recounted the trials of the past week, she punctuated parts of her story with laughter.

She recalled meeting Vice President Al Gore on the plane Saturday but did not recognize him at first when he greeted her.

``I said, `you are who?'''

I always thought Gore was kind of the bony/lean type. Look at the DKos diary, which has a picture. I swear, that guy is too bulky to be VP Gore.

Speaking of Vice Presidents, where is Dick Cheney?

I have never regretted Gore's loss as much as I do right now... From Knoxville, Tennessee:

Passengers on the plane say they talked with former Vice President Al Gore, but he didn't make his presence known here in East Tennessee.

He stayed on the plane, saying he didn't want to add politics to the rescue mission, though there are reports he paid for it.

Now there's a true leader.

Roberts nomination upgraded

Hm. I guess I was wrong. I had heard rumors that he would offer it to Sandra Day O'Connor, who would take it for a year or so... But I guess Rehnquist's spot was more urgent to fill, since O'Connor will stay until her replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

That's all I have to say, really. Somebody else can look at it more thoroughly, but my limited brainpower has been depleted for the day. I just spent 8 hours with none other than Andrew and his caesar-salad-flavored croutons... Shameless self-promotion (not that I was above any of that in the first place) but go snatch a copy of the limited-edition Lynk tomorrow @ brunch!