Blumenthal about Gore: "If I had to do it over again, I'd let rip"

[madfloridian]

This is a decent article from the Guardian by Blumenthal. I had forgotten Gore's statement like this.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1104370,00.html

SNIP..."Gore's endorsement of Dean is the most important since grainy film was shown at the 1992 Democratic convention depicting President Kennedy shaking hands with a teenage Bill Clinton. Gore's endorsement is not the passing of the torch to a new generation, but another conferring of legitimacy. For Democrats, he personifies the infamy of the last election. He is not another politician, but the rightfully elected president, by a popular majority of 539,895 votes.

But the Gore of today is not the Gore of 2000. The careful political figure trying to distance himself from Clinton and contorting his personality to project likability has been tempered by defeat. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd just let it rip," Gore said a year ago. "To hell with the polls, the tactics and all the rest. I would have poured out my heart and my vision for America's future."

SNIP..."His endorsement of Dean is his commentary on his campaign and the conduct of his party since...."

Sidney Blumenthal is former senior adviser to President Clinton and author of The Clinton Wars

[DFLforever]

1. A nice analysis by Blumenthal

Thanks for posting it, madfloridian.

[eileen from OH]

2. SUPER article. . .

thanks for posting.

eileen from OH

[Melodybe]

3. That was great we should all email and tell them how dead on...

the article is. At least maybe the rest of the world will know how fucked up it is here.

[Dudley_DUright]

5. Super article indeed

So why am I reading it in a British newspaper? Why is this not on the NYTimes Op-Ed page?

[madfloridian]

8. Good thought, it is at Salon now.

:hi:

[Cocoa]

4. my email to Blumenthal

Sidney,

Yeah, I'm mad about all those things, but a question:

Why Dean?

I agreed with Dick Gephardt when he pointed out Dean's support for the Gingrich medicare plan, and from what I read, particularly comments by Leon Panetta, Gep was exactly right. And to make it worse, when Dean was asked about it on PBS, he said Gep was "scaring seniors, like the Democrats always do." Scaring seniors. Is that a GOP talking point or what?

I agree with John Kerry that Dean is not substantially more antiwar than any of the other "major candidates."

You picked a bad day to dis Dennis Kucinich, the same day that Ted Koppel retaliates against him for making the most sense at last night's debate. Sidney Blumenthal goes into the bin with the rest of the media bosses that decide for us who's "major."

[madfloridian]

9. I did not see the word Kucinich there.

:shrug:

[Cocoa]

11. exactly my point

All the major Democratic candidates running for president from Congress voted for the war resolution. Only Dean - the sole non-congressional candidate - stood against it.

What's not "major" about an actual Congressman, who actually LED the anti-IWR congress faction, and who is actually running for president?

[tinrobot]

6. Dead on...

I think the key word he uses is 'spine.'

Any Democrat in this race would have policies that are better than Bush*. But we need more than words and policies. We need action. We need someone who is unafraid to express the anger simmering in over half this country for being robbed of the election and then summarily raked over the coals.

Not that I'm a huge Dean proponent, but he certainly was unafraid to take the bull by the horns when it really mattered. Hopefully, he can keep the momentum going for another year.

[littlejoe]

7. I didn't need

Blumenthal to come up with that conclusion for me. I think it is fairly obvious.

[realFedUp]

10. Good one

and good to send around to family and friends not
yet decided on a candidate.

[tom_paine]

12. kick for the TRUTH

Is it too late to defeat the Evil Empire and restore the Old American Republic?