Al Gore: The Voice of Reality, 2006 (from Huffington Post)

[NYCGirl]

Good article from Bob Cesca:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/al-gore-the-voi...



In 2004, the honor went to Richard Clarke for being the first former White House official to apologize for 9/11 and speak out about the administration's failure to prevent the attack. In 2005, it was Keith Olbermann for, among other things, being the only reporter to cover the irregularities of the 2004 election; for standing his ground against his corporate bosses; for taking on Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh; and for delivering what was a truly historic special comment about the Katrina disaster.

This year's Voice of Reality is former Vice President Al Gore for An Inconvenient Truth and for elevating the urgency of global warming to a position close -- close -- to where it should be on our collective national roster of vital issues.

-snipped-

And here's why. During the 2006 elections, the global warming issue was almost entirely ignored in the national discourse. Of course, ending the Iraq War was, and deservedly so, the issue. But despite it's actual degree of national and global urgency, I can't remember a single congressional debate or campaign commercial or pundit roundtable in which global warming held the position of importance it requires. For most of the Summer, Iraq aside, global warming seemed poised to become, for the first time ever, a major campaign issue due in large part to Mr. Gore's documentary as well as, you know, the melt-your-dog's-brain heat. Yet as soon as Labor Day rolled around and the campaign season kicked into high gear, it vanished from the traditional media headlines and political stump speeches.

The candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, all but ignored Mr. Gore's historic theatrical warnings at their own peril -- peril, not just because this issue impacts all of humanity, but also peril in terms of votes.