Reply #15: It's funny, the DLC wasn't on the radar for many of us before the 2000 election...

[cascadiance]

I know that even though I was frustrated with Gore's campaign, and almost voted for Nader, I at that point wasn't studying the details of what machine the DLC was building within the Democratic Party to compromise itself to special interest bribe money. I was also onto Dianne Feinstein's games at that time, and chose that race to vote for the Greens in protest.

What bugged me about Gore's campaign was that he was trying to be too much "not Clinton" all of the time instead of being more relaxed and being himself. Looking back now, I suspect he was rattled in trying to be what his consultants like Carville and the rest of the DLC crowd wanted him to be at that time. What typified my dislike for how this campaign was run was when he opportunistically ripped on Loreetta Sanchez, and I believe denied her a slot at the convention for trying to have a fundraiser at the Playboy mansion. I can fully seem wanting to keep a distance from that event, especially with the Clinton spectre looming over him, but I think a Gore today would have and should have just ignored it and let it go on its own, and if asked, would say something like "That's not my cup of tea, and I don't look in those areas for my support directly. You should ask Ms. Sanchez more on how she feels this event works for her and Dems." and then just drop it. It seemed like they just USED her in this case to follow the "not Clinton" mantra of his consultants.

After the election was over, his concession speech REALLY impressed me, and I thought had he spoken that way throughout the campaign, he'd have won more decisively he did (and yes he did WIN too).

And even though I didn't see all of those details of the DLC then, I did put together the tools and templates for the election page that was used and shared by many Knight Ridder's network of news sites around the country (Philly Enquirer, Miami Herald, SJ Mercury News, etc.) for the 2000 election when I worked at KnightRidder.com, which was about the time the Knight Ridder Washington News bureau got started. So yes, I though I was an engineer and wasn't a journalist in that position, I still can understand how many of us didn't see through the real issues going on behind the scenes then, before the blogspace exploded after that. Many of us there in San Jose were frustrated that perhaps had Knight Ridder not moved its headquarters from Miami to San Jose earlier that year, that even THAT might have made a difference in the votes that Gore needed to win Florida! Though I'm sure Bushco would have found ways to negate those too.

Right now though, I see an Al Gore that's learned a lot from that experience, and I belive if he's in this time, will be a lot more true to his own feelings as a requirement for him entering the race, and not be "wooden" if he's more speaking his own passions, etc. I see the man with the passion of going after global warming on the Inconvenient Truth resonating with people where he didn't in 2000 (even though he won anyway).