Is Gore making a run around the media?

[janx]

http://current.com/people/algore


These videos have been mentioned before--but they're clearly policy positions. CLEARLY. This is no proof of a Gore run; he might simply be educating people (young people in particular)--but still...

What's going on here?

[Uncle Joe]

1. Possibly, can't say for sure, one thing I can say for sure.

After nothing but slandering and trashing him for over two years, while they gave a Bush a free pass due to low expectations prior to the selection of 2000, there is no way in hell he can trust them anymore, with the looming catastrophe of global warming, the stakes are too high.

[janx]

3. Agreed.

If anyone knows the crap that passes for news these days, Gore does. I'm favorably impressed by these videos. They're personal. They remind me a little of SKYPE.

[ananda]

18. Global warming is Not a looming anything.

It is a fact on the ground.

[Uncle Joe]

20. My definition of loom from Webster's Dictionary.

"Loom; to appear, take shape or come in sight indistinctly as through a mist, especially in a large, portentous or threatening form."

I agree with you, it is indeed a fact on the ground, but depending on where you live and your information source, can have a determining effect on your view point. This is why I use looming, to me this a distinction with out a difference, however I will take your advisement in to consideration for future postings.

Peace to you.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

31. This is really hard to meme.

On the one hand, it certainly is our current greatest crisis, specifically meaning greater than Islamist terrorism in the USA. Climate change has killed more Americans than Islamic fundamentalism in America and has also caused more refugees than anything since the Civil War.

That being said, a much more disastrous scenario looms when America experiences vast expansion of desert, failure of agriculture, mass starvation, disease, fires and storms. Grocery stores will close and then the shit will hit the fan.

I wish we could convince people of this probability and get serious about drafting Gore to deal with the holocaust future we face.

[Uncle Joe]

32. I agree on both counts, when I say looming,

I'm implying that as bad as it already is, the worst by far has not hit the fan yet. Thanks for spelling that out better than I did. :thumbsup:

[Mabus]

2. It's called disintermediation

It means cutting out the middle man (in this case the media) and going directly to the people. And you are right, he's reaching the internet savvy, the young and a whole lot of boomers by doing this.

http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/03/why_disintermed.html

March 21, 2006
Why Disintermediation Matters

I'm glad to see my article stimulating debate, but I think some are missing the way disintermediation works. Critiques have largely centered around the self-evident: direct communication won't replace passive information consumption anytime soon or, probably, ever. Most folks simply don't want to write blogs, read 4,000 word speeches, or set aside 50 minutes to watch an address in full. And that's to be expected.

The point is, in elections, not all voters are equal. This gets into some Gladwell-esque Tipping Point theory, but political insiders, activists, and junkies exercise wildly outsized power on our electoral system. Previously, though, there was no way to reliably reach them. Hopeful insurgents had to camp out in a low-population state and stalk each and every resident till their efforts at personal outreach won them a low-turnout primary. It was all very linear, and a mastery of retail politics combined with the agility to turn an unexpected primary win into a slew of them were your only hopes.

No longer. Dean -- unlike Bill Bradley, or John McCain, or Gary Hart -- did not win any of the early primaries. He lost them. What was unique about his insurgency is that he went from darkest, quietest horse to frontrunner in a matter of months, without winning a single state. He did it through direct communication with the small core of party activists who can singlehandedly make a candidacy. And they made his, until poor ads, some major gaffes, and an overly-mational focus lost him Iowa. But in 2008, that core will enlarge, and the media will be watching them closely. Win them over, and you might well win the nomination.

In 2000, Gore lost that group. Many of them went to Nader and, before that, Bradley. They were the actives, the engaged, the dinner party politicos, and they worked far harder than the media to poison attitudes towards Al Gore. Gore was left with a press corps that didn't much like him, but more importantly, a base that reacted with similar tepidity. And so when the media went "Gored" him, he lacked defenders and advocates. He was assaulted on all sides, and he had no one to fall back on.

more at link.

[janx]

5. Very informative! Thank you!

This kind of communication is very effective. I hope it continues.

[annabanana]

12. "Cut out the MediaMan"! I like that..

(and it's easier to say than " Disintermediation ")

[Mabus]

33. It gets right to the point too.

I like it.

[AndyTiedye]

4. Going AROUND the Media Is The Only Way We Can Win

The Repiglickin' Media, A.K.A. the Mighty Slime Machine,
will be totally dedicated to electing the Republicans next year,
just as it has been in all other recent elections.

[Mabus]

9. We need to co-opt the media too

Remember that the media are a bunch of sheep who want the adoration of the public. They do bow to the popular will when the people speak out.

Could Gore escape the media in 2008, personally whispering sweet wonk-things into the ear of each American? Of course not. But nor would he have to. The press corps, contrary to popular opinion, doesn't really decide what to report. They have their own spins and biases, but they're largely herd animals who're happiest following societal or electoral trends. The trend in 2000 was a general dislike or apathy, both among activists and ordinary voters, towards Gore. The press may have ran with it, but they didn't invent it.

But if, in 2008, Gore could use disintermediated communication to speak directly with a large fraction of the base and activate them in support of his candidacy, the media would merrily report their excitement, happy to be onboard with the next big thing (and stoked by the Nixon 1968 narrative). And if the press decided to go for another round of character smears, they'd pit themselves against a ferocious league of sophisticated, potent defenders -- blogs, activists, netroots, Media Matters, 527's... -- that simply didn't exist in 2000.

http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/03/why_disintermed.html

fwiw, back when AIT came out there was a big debate on Salon.com over a movie critic's review of it. The author worked in some of the bullshit that the press had used (made up) against Gore back in 2000 and the people, the readers of Salon, called him on it. The press isn't getting away with as much as they used to but we still need to slap them around when they try to fall back on what worked before.

[AndyTiedye]

10. The Media Serves ONLY the Interests of their Parent Corporations

NBC will never do anything that does not further the interests of General Electric Corporation,
because they are a whole-owned subsidiary of GE.

That is why GE purchased NBC. Former CEO Jack Welch even said so.

Ratings, trends, and all that take a back seat to serving their parent corporations.

[Mabus]

16. Which is why community involvement is so important

First you talk to your friends and neighbors, then you write LTTE and find other ways to talk to those within your community. You change the opinions you can and then it builds from there.

Sometimes, like with the larger corporations, they need to find out that opinions are changing across America before they start getting the cajones to changes themselves. Right now, large corporations are finding out that people across America are learning, despite the best efforts, that global climate change is real and people's attitudes are changing. As a result, they change their tactics to placate the masses. One of the things that my friends and I talk about is the corporatization of the greening of America. When companies like Wal-Mart promote greening with their line (there was a commercial that advertised www.walmart.green which is now http://www.walmart.com/commonfuture) you can be sure they are doing it as part of keeping their customers and softening their image. Once the corporations jump on board they influence the shows they sponsor which is something the media conglomerates do look at.

[PATRICK]

17. The article is way too kind

to the media role and that means the very active suppression and redirecting of public attention is underestimated. They will not pander to progressive enthusiasm, even raw power. Their first instinct is largely see it as public enemy number one. The article is largely accurate though and th media is a complex beast, just not a neutrally movable as the writer hopes. He does an injustice to activists in downplaying the coordinated, very malicious and openly deceitful role the media played all throughout the selection of Bush, as it continues to do for the sake of Bush wars.

It was a complex issue to blame such types of activists for Nixon's triumph over Humphrey with a lot more heat from the Chicago convention anger and RFK's assassination. It might be a tad simplistic now to expect them to be a major deciding factor. Still, it is very important and it is about people power or bust.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

24. I call extreme bullshit on Ezra Klein!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=389&topic_id=2148276&mesg_id=2148338

The press corps, contrary to popular opinion, doesn't really decide what to report. They have their own spins and biases, but they're largely herd animals who're happiest following societal or electoral trends. The trend in 2000 was a general dislike or apathy, both among activists and ordinary voters, towards Gore. The press may have ran with it, but they didn't invent it.

While I have a lot of respect for Ezra Klein in some ways, he sometimes lacks clarity on key points, such as his ungrammatical and historically inaccurate last sentence in the box above. The press and the GOP began a full-scale assault on Gore in mid-March, 1999, by fabricating a quote on "Inventing the Internet" as well as a couple of other fabricated stories. This caused his poll numbers to go from very good (58-26) in January 1999 to relatively bad in June 1999 (48-43). This is a 10 point drop in favorables and a whopping 17 point gain in unfavorables, a huge swing in public opinion in six months. There was a direct cause and effect phenomenon. The press corps hated Gore, made shit up about him and his poll numbers fell.

Bob Somerby documents the assault in detail at the link below. First, here is a relevant quote:

It's hard to account for such writing. On 20/20, during Sawyer's quiz, ABC had literally shown photos of young Gore posing at fairs with his bulls! You might think that would have told even Sawyer that she was on shaky ground in disputing the chores; but how to explain the benighted Milbank, who seems to think the press has veto power over what life experiences a candidate can discuss. (Milbank described the same episode on C-SPAN last week, again suggesting, against all evidence, that Gore was lying when he mentioned 4-H.)

Does it matter if scribes behave in this way? Only if America's public discourse matters. In the time since Jim Nicholson devised his spin, Gore's approval ratings have dropped substantially; according to CNN/Time, his "favorable/unfavorables" were 58/26 in late January, and stood at 48/43 on June 10. If it matters who serves as president of the United States, then negative spin by the press corps does matter. In March, Jim Nicholson devised a bit of spin so absurd it's amazing that he dared bring it forward. But it fit right in with other silly spin-his nonsense about internal combustion, for example-and maybe Nicholson has been an insider so long that he knows what to expect from our sad, sorry press corps.

http://dailyhowler.com/h070299_1.shtml

Klein's general point is well taken. Journalists generally DO act like herd animals and FOLLOW trends. The trend they were following was very unusual in 1999. They decided to attack Gore unreasonably and relentlessly. That they did so is a matter of public record. And Gore's poll number declines LAGGED those attacks, not LEAD them. That is also a matter of public record.

[Uncle Joe]

26. I'm kicking this for your post, too many outright lies by too many people,

even when the truth was known to them.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

28. Uncle Joe,

it breaks my heart. I'm thinking about writing a book (working title: American Matrix) about the deluded, death/track way of life in America.

[Uncle Joe]

29. This sounds like a good idea Admiral, as a suggestion you can get Swamp Rat

to do the illustration.:)

[JMDEM]

6. I'm becoming convinced that the only way he will run is...

A deadlocked convention. Maybe. I don't even think he's planning on anything right now.

And my list of candidates is now:

1. Gore.
2,567. Edwards
2,568. One of the others...

Tell me I'm wrong and I won't argue. Prove me wrong and I'll give you a cyber-hug.

[janx]

8. I have no answers, sorry

...only hopes. :shrug:

[Eric J in MN]

7. Gore supports single-payer in that video.

Dennis Kucinich is the only person running for president who supports single-payer, as far as I know:
http://current.com/items/84987281_health_care_is_a_right

[undeterred]

11. What a cool dog.

Sorry, what was the question?

[janx]

14. He is cool. He has his own MySpace page, in fact!

:rofl:

[lildreamer316]

13. Kick.

[lame54]

15. HELP US AL GORE!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Nnph3zkHNw

[FogerRox]

19. AL Gore is joining Stargate, so he wont run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxIYa6Tjkqg


Kidding, AL should run, I hope he will, please... JUST RUN.

[understandinglife]

23. ROFL ... good one ...

:hi:

Mr Gore is mentoring all of us on the strategy and tactics of 21st Century people-powered, internet enabled American politics ... and he is proving how successful his strategy is - daily!


Peace.

[understandinglife]

21. Around it, over it, under it and straight through it ... and Mr Gore IS Succeeding ...

... at a teeny, tiny fraction of what Billary and the others are spending on dark-ages media and the manglers of truth that are slowly recognizing they are about as relevant as buggy whip makers ...

Welcome to 21st century, people-powered American politics ... You Are It ...


Peace.

[FogerRox]

34. There is little difference between an issue oriented campaign and a political campaign.

Whether he runs or not the Climate Crisis Campaign is very successful. If he does run he will have re-invented campaigning, and shown the power of grassroots vs corporate paid campaigns, I would bet Gore digs Deans' 50 state plan.

[understandinglife]

40. "I would bet Gore digs Deans' 50 state plan ..." I'd call that a sure thing ...

... wonder how often they chat ...

:hi:

[YvonneCa]

22. Seems like...

...he is doing JUST that. :)

[janx]

25. I dismissed the videos earlier, but now that I've seen

them, I really have to wonder what he's up to. Maybe it's part of his role as Professor Gore--but those videos really sound like statements of policy to me, and I don't see any other candidates being so direct.

[YvonneCa]

27. He sent out an email about...

current.com. His videos are posted in the viewpoints section. Here's the email:


Dear XXXXX,

Current, the media company I co-founded six years ago with my partner Joel Hyatt, just last week launched a new web site that integrates television and the Web in an unprecedented way. It provides, as never before, a platform for citizens to make the media their own.

One of the features I'm most excited about on Current.com is called Viewpoints. Viewpoints is a virtual town hall where you can share your opinions, in video, about the issues that matter in the 2008 election: from global warming to government eavesdropping, and many more.

This digital town hall is already bustling, and you can find viewpoints from me and from a lot of people, including the candidates running for President. Come and listen to their positions and, more importantly, tell them and the rest of the world what you think!

http://current.com/viewpoints

Since Viewpoints is the only place on the Web where you can easily share your view in video, my hope is that you'll take this opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the pundits on TV and help contribute to a new platform for public discourse. All it takes is a webcam and 60 seconds.

And, since we'll be taking the most popular and most compelling viewpoints and airing them on Current TV -- now available in 52 million homes around the world -- you may very well get your voice heard on our global TV network.

I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Current.com, as we deepen the discussion on these important topics:

http://current.com/viewpoints

Thank you,

Al Gore

[RestoreGore]

30. If true, why offer the same chance to all of the candidates?

He is trying to start a dialogue on important issues... unfortunately, practically all he gets there when he posts a video is the same begging he gets here and everywhere else. One of the staff members actually posted there to tell people to cut him some slack about the pushing, which really is getting to be redundant. But I suppose since the same operatives who are working Current as every other blog don't really care about what he wants or about really discussing the issues there, who knows if he will even attempt to put anything else up there. And if he doesn;t that would be a real shame because there are people who would like to actually discuss issues with him instead of hounding him incessantly.

[AndyTiedye]

35. We Are Begging Gore to Run Because This is a Desperate Situation

If we really did have good, electable candidates who could be counted upon to do the right thing, they we wouldn't mind if he sat this one out.

But we don't.

The only person in the entire United States of America who could be elected President and would end the war is Al Gore.

[RestoreGore]

36. Well you don't get to make that choice

Especially since it is the people of this country who have been sitting on their collective asses for the last seven years allowing this country to sink. Perhaps if we had tried a little harder in 2004 to keep Bush from getting another term we could have avoided much of what has gone down, but it didn't seem as urgent then did it? Therefore, as far as I can surmise, he owes no one anything regarding any duty to run for any office now if so desires not to, especially since there is no guarantee he would even be "elected" in this bought and sold system and he knows that because he lives in reality. However, many here seem to live in an alternate universe thinking there wouldn't be a huge effort to do all in the power of the real owners of this country to stop him from attaining what they stopped him from attaining once already. And your first line says it all. It isn't about supporting him as a man, it is just about "winning." I have never seen such arrogance from people as those harrassing him now. You wouldn't mind if he sat it out otherwise? Well, gee, how nice of you.

[JackORoses]

37. thank goodness you don't get to make that choice either, though you would obviously like to

It's not just about winning,
It's about what he will do when he gets there.

If you don't understand that, you don't understand anything.

[RestoreGore]

38. Sure, and as soon as that didn't work out you would trash him

And you tell me what would be done in that system now and GUARANTEE he would even make it that far. One poll isn't convincing enough, so I'll wait... and if you can't tell me specifically then don't waste my time responding to me with your rhetoric anymore, because if you think it is any different now than it was seven years ago, you don't understand anything. The presidency of this country is also not the center of the universe, so your obsession with it seems downright unhealthy. But then for those who don't want to have to get up off theie own asses to do anything, it sure is convenient to have someone to push.

[Guaranteed]

Not as long as he was trying.

A FEW around here are so immature as to get upset when they don't get immediate results. But, working with a Democratic Congress, he should get a lot farther than you might have gotten used to over the past decade or so.

As long as he is giving it his best effort, which I totally imagine he will, no one of consequence would hold it against him.

[RestoreGore]

45. Oh yes, that Democratic Congress is so effective

They vote more with Bush. Please.

[Guaranteed]

43. Not as long as he was trying.

A FEW around here are so immature as to get upset when they don't get immediate results. But, working with a Democratic Congress, he should get a lot farther than you might have gotten used to over the past decade or so.

As long as he is giving it his best effort, which I totally imagine he will, no one of consequence would hold it against him.

[AndyTiedye]

39. Not Sure Where You Are Trying to Go With This

Well you don't get to make that choice especially since it is the people of this country who have been sitting on their collective asses for the last seven years allowing this country to sink.

Most people believed what they are told on TV. Many still do. Never underestimate the power of the Mighty Slime Machine!

As for me, I was protesting then, and I was protesting today.

Perhaps if we had tried a little harder in 2004 to keep Bush from getting another term we could have avoided much of what has gone down

If we'd tried a little harder, they would have stolen a few more votes. Florida and Ohio were completely own3d by the Repiglickins thanks to Blackwell and Jeb Bush.

but it didn't seem as urgent then did it?

It seemed plenty urgent at the time, and we did all we could. Of course, it keeps getting worse, the longer they remain in power, so it is more urgent now.

he owes no one anything regarding any duty to run for any office now

Nobody except himself, and perhaps the world. He knows what problems we face, and has stated them very eloquently. 4 more years of Repiglickins will make matters worse. Much worse.
The best we can hope for from Clinton or Obama or Edwards is that they won't exacerbate the problems further.

if so desires not to

Every statement he has made on this has left his options open. If all of this was such a bother to him he could say he is not going to run. He has not.

especially since there is no guarantee he would even be "elected" in this bought and sold system and he knows that because he lives in reality. However, many here seem to live in an alternate universe thinking there wouldn't be a huge effort to do all in the power of the real owners of this country to stop him from attaining what they stopped him from attaining once already.

There are no guarantees, of course. One thing that HAS changed is the way that Gore gets his message out. He goes AROUND the "news" media. That avoids one of the biggest problems our candidates face, which is trying to get their message out through an implacably hostile media.

And your first line says it all. It isn't about supporting him as a man, it is just about "winning."

Possibly part of my post did not make it to your computer: "good, electable candidates who could be counted upon to do the right thing" (emphasis added)

I have never seen such arrogance from people as those harrassing him now.

I'm not sure what you are talking about. How does posting gore 2008 on DU and signing a petition constitute harassment? What is "arrogant" about that?

You wouldn't mind if he sat it out otherwise? Well, gee, how nice of you.

If we had better candidates. We don't. You seem to be implying that there is something I could have done about this. I can't imagine what. *I* certainly am not a viable candidate.

Dennis Kucinich is not a viable candidate either, as much as I like what he says. No amount of "trying harder" will put him in the White House.

[Guaranteed]

42. Yeah, they're going to attack him. That's the cross he bears.

That is part of why he gets the respect he does. That's what being courageous MEANS.

You're goddamned right he has a duty to run. And it's not about WINNING, at all. It's about HIM winning. I happen to think that the Democrats are almost sure to win no matter who we nominate, with Sen. Clinton as the exception. Winning is beside the point. The point is the leadership we actually put in that most powerful of all positions in the WORLD.

This is the man with the proper, accurate vision. He's the one who should be there. That is what matters- why you resist that obvious truth, I have no fucking clue.

[Guaranteed]

41. Yes, it is so sad that people want him to run for President.

Being President is so SHALLOW.

Those who have truly given thought to the possibility realize that he has much more power doing what he is doing now. :eyes:

[RestoreGore]

46. Yes, it is shallow

And the game is rigged.

[progressoid]

44. I dunno...

Seems like a lame run around. How many people saw those vids? 100K? 200k? Even if he wanted to educate young people, there are much effecient ways seems to me.



I'm not sure it means anything. Maybe he just wanted to vent.

[madmunchie]

47. "Actually I don't know that he isn't running, as a matter of fact my

gut instinct is telling me that he is running. He is just going to do it in his way, on his timetable and in a way that will revolutionize the campaign process. Wait and see. He is too smart and burned to put himself on this merry go round of way too early campaigning, debating....yet he manages to stay in the public eye and grow support. He has name recognition, great support, all of the money he'll need at the drop of a hat, all that he is waiting for it to make sure and he is also using a different timetable than the rest. Watch and see, it will be quite a ride."

I posted this a while ago and I am still holding out for it and I still have my fingers crossed......