THE WAR AGAINST GORE….Today Bob Somerby finds yet another excuse to remind us all of how badly Al Gore was treated by the press during the 2000 campaign. And, as usual, he’s pissed that the rest of us aren’t as obsessed by this as he is:
To this day, our side has agreed to keep its traps shut about the trashing of the Clintons and Gore. As we’ve done so, we’ve given away a giant political advantage. Millions of people [] hear that the press corps just hates Big Republicans. And they rarely hear a peep from our side. We’ve agreed not to tell them the truth.
In large part, our side has kept its traps shut about the Clinton/Gore era for corrupt, careerist reasons….Kevin won’t tell you. Josh won’t tell you. Ezra spoke once, then shut the f*ck up. Your “nominal allies” are very quiet. Atrios rarely offers a peep.
First things first: Yes, Gore was indeed treated badly. He never said he invented the internet, he never said he discovered Love Canal, he wore pretty much the same clothes he’d always worn, he didn’t hire Naomi Wolf to teach him how to be an alpha male, and he wasn’t a serial liar. Etc. Bob is right about all that stuff.
But here’s what I don’t get: why does Bob think that liberals are giving away a “giant political advantage” by not harping on this constantly? Frankly, I’d be delighted to harp away if I actually thought this was one of the top 100 issues that might help the future of liberalism, but it’s not, is it? Media criticism in general helps our side, but what exactly would it gain us to relate everything back to Al Gore’s decade-old mistreatment with the Ahab-like intensity that Bob does? Wouldn’t it just cause everyone to tune us out as cranks and fogeys? Anyone care to weigh in on this, on either side?
