I was watching a story today on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews about the reception that Al Gore attended in the Oval Office for America's Nobel Prize winners. Needless to say, it was awkward for all involved, but at least we got a weird snapshot of the former presidential rivals side-by-side, complete with Gore's "I-may-have-lost-the-election-but-I'm-still-better-than-you" smirk, Bush's trademark shit-eating grin, and everyone else's visible discomfort at being in the middle of this clash of the titans.
Normally I'm not a big fan of shows like Matthews' but, as an example of what happens when these two get too close, he showed this clip from one of the 2000 presidential debates, for which I will be forever grateful:
Can you believe that these two losers were the best choices we had for the most important job in the free world??? Between Gore's constant, nerdy references to the Dingle-Norwood bill (just thinking about him saying the word "Dingle" makes me laugh!) and Bush's obvious lack of knowledge about what the Dingle-Norwood bill is (it's okay, though, because he can "get things done," whatever the hell that means), these guys make Bill Clinton look like Abraham Lincoln. I'm surprised we didn't just give up and elect the president from "The West Wing" as a write-in candidate -- he may not have been "real," but at least he didn't make America cringe every time he opened his mouth. My favorite moment, of course, is when Gore inexplicably gets all up in Bush's face (could you get any creepier?), and Bush gives him that cocky little head nod that so gracefully says "up yours." Classic.
Look, I like Al Gore -- I think he's done a lot for this country over the last 15 years, both in his capacity as vice president and as alarmist spokesman for global warming control. But for all of the people who run around saying he should run again because he would make such a fantastic president, I refer you to this video clip and suggest that we can do better. I'm not going to say that Hillary, or Huckabee, or even Obama is the right person for the job but, come on, he (or she) has to be out there somewhere, right?
If not, here's hoping that whichever two superstars we nominate give us more precious moments like this one that we can laugh about in eight years when we're all trying to sneak across the border into Canada.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/washington/27bush.html?hp
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