and all of the great producers that put this documentary together:
"An Inconvenient Truth," the big-screen adaptation of former U.S.Vice President Al Gore's slide-show lecture about the perils of globalwarming, won the Academy Award on Sunday for documentary feature.
The award went to director Davis Guggenheim and producers LawrenceBender ("Pulp Fiction") and Laurie David, the environmentalist wife of"Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David.
Just in case you are thinking about , hopefully this preview of An Inconvenient Truth will convince you:
I know that when we talk about Al Gore's political future, we are operating under a never-ending maze of 'what-ifs.' That is not stopping the recent buzz that Gore might run for president. Former President Jimmy Carter told George Stephanopoulos this morning that if he ran:
"If Al should decide to run -- which I'm afraid he won't -- I wouldsupport Al Gore," Carter told Stephanopoulos in excerpts released byABC. "His burning issue now is global warming and preventing it. Hecan do infinitely more to accomplish that goal as the incumbent in theWhite House than he can making even movies that get -- you know, thatget Oscars." Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," is up for anAcademy Award in the documentary category.
Yes, but is he electable? Sorry to ruin everyone's fun. My gut tells me that a Gore presidency would be like a shot in the arm to the military industrial complex. A clean and independent energy policy would allow our military to divest itself from most Middle Eastern commitments. While my gut tells me one thing, my head reminds me that than even . Many people have already made up their mind on him. He has scored new progressive support. But can he win states like Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada?
Maybe I am wrong -- and I hope that I am. But we need to at least be having this discussion about every candidate, from Clinton to Dodd. Who is electable, and who is not? Or do we want eight full years of a Sam Brownback administration?
On Sunday night, Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" has a chance to win a few Oscars. CNN's Bill Schneider discusses how a Gore victory on Sunday might encourage him to run for president in 2008.
confirmed a few weeks ago that Gore is leaving the door open for a possible September entry into the presidential race:
According to one influential Democratic insider, close associates ofthe former Vice President have communicated to him and other prominentfund-raisers who are uncommitted to the other ’08 candidates that Mr.Gore will consider entering the race—if an opening presents itself—inSeptember.
To this day, no Gore official has stepped forward to deny that report. It would definitely be something to have Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson and Gore all vying for the nomination.
Former Vice President Al Gore is that will take place in seven destinations all across the globe -- one on each continent. He already has many big-name artists lined up for the July 7th event:
The Live Earth concert series is set to showcase more than 100 performers, which include the Foo Fighters,Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Duran Duran,Korn, Pharrell, the Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Fall OutBoy, AFI, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Corrine Bailey Rae, Keane, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. The Mercury Newsreports that promoters plan to hold the Live Earth concerts inShanghai, China, Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London,England, Kyoto, Japan, Rio de Janiero, Brazil and the United States.
Also, Gore wants to make music history. The 2000 presidential candidate told the press today that this Live Earth campaign wants to hold the on that day as well.
Kevin Wall, who helped set up the "Live8" concerts around the globe that raised awareness for AIDS and poverty, is helping Gore organize this day of concerts.
It looks like Al Gore is getting the hang of using alternative mediums to promote a political cause. First the cinema, now concerts. Since global warming will impact the younger generation, what better way to create awareness about this issue than by directly engaging that demographic.
You never know about some of these sources. However, it would seem logical that if Clinton and Obama over-expose themselves to early, the bubble could burst and voter fatigue would set in. That would open the door for Al Gore to make his move. is reporting that the former Vice President is thinking of possibly entering the race early this fall:
According to one influential Democratic insider, close associates ofthe former Vice President have communicated to him and other prominentfund-raisers who are uncommitted to the other ’08 candidates that Mr.Gore will consider entering the race—if an opening presents itself—inSeptember.
If that happened, the blogosphere would go bonkers and immediately run to his side.
I find the netroots appeal to Al Gore to be rather fascinating. It reminds me of how many baby-boomers want to re-live some of the social arguments of the 1960s, as if to set things to the way they should have been. The same thing is happening all over again, this time with Al Gore. Many Americans are still ashamed that Bush beat Gore, and believe that a 2008 Gore candidacy would correct some of the wrong that has transpired. In other words, we made a bad decision in 2000. Some of us were very naive back then. We learned a lot together. Now it is time for us to think very carefully and make the correct choice this time around.
Many people feel that the real 21st century has yet to begin. What has happened policy-wise in the seven years since the turn of the century has consisted of the same disastrous formula that got us into trouble last century. In Al Gore, people are attracted to a candidate that could help revolutionize the way we get our energy, and detach us from our dependence on many brutal Middle Eastern regimes that finance terror. Only then will we begin a new century in policy, strategic thinking and awareness of what might face generations from now as global community.
In a nutshell, '08 primary voters yearn for a new beginning. Whether it is Obama, Gore or Richardson that shows voters the way will be found out soon enough. The important thing to understand is why those three candidates are resonating online, and what it says about ourselves and the kind of politics we endorse.
wants former Vice President Al Gore to make a run at the presidency in 2008. Columnist Tim Dickinson makes a good case why the public might not have the same negative reaction to Gore as they had in in 2000. He went from a dull machine to being culturally cool:
If the Democrats were going to sit down and construct the perfectcandidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to improve on Gore.Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has no controversial vote on Iraq todefend. Unlike Barack Obama and John Edwards, he has extensiveexperience in both the Senate and the White House. He has put asidehis wooden, policy-wonk demeanor to emerge as the Bushadministration's most eloquent critic. And thanks to AnInconvenient Truth, Gore is not only the most impassionedleader on the most urgent crisis facing the planet, he's also aHollywood celebrity, the star of the third-highest-grossingdocumentary of all time.
"He's perceived very differently now than he was six years ago,"says Frank Luntz, the Republican consultant who advised George W.Bush to dispute global warming during the 2000 and 2004 elections."He's an icon. Imagine that: Al Gore, Mr. Straight and Narrow, Mr.Dull on Wheels -- now he's culturally cool."
If Obama and Clinton peak early, if people get sick of listening to Edwards, and if Richardson does not catch on, Al Gore would be stupid not to run.
This comes as bad news to many progressive activists that hoped a re-energized former vice president would make a White House bid in 2008.
:
Al Gore says that he will not run in the 2008 election, saying he was involved in "a different kind of campaign."
AlGore, who is currently in Japan promoting his award-winning documentary"An Inconvenient Truth", spoke with journalists in Tokyo, saying, "TheU.S. should be leading the world toward a solution for this climatecrisis instead of leading in the other direction."
Now, no one can objectively say that Al Gore is using the global warming issue as tool for other individual pursuits. He truly believes in his cause, and thinks he can educate a lot of people about one of the most important issues facing our planet today.
Most Americans have grown so accustomed to viewing politicians as self-righteous publicity whores. So when a well-known figure like Al Gore creates a hit movie on global warming, people automatically assume that he is in it for a higher prize.
On January 23rd, Al Gore is scheduled to give his global warming powerpoint presentation at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rule number one of self promotion: make sure the media has unrestricted access. But many local newspapers, like the, are angry that Gore will not allow the media to attend. Maybe the former Vice President has a bad publicist. Or, unlike other big-name figures, maybe he cares more about the issue than his own popularity:
Kalee Kreider, a Gore staffer in Nashville, confirmed by e-mail thatnews media will be asked to leave his talk after the introduction andthat Gore will not hold a press conference.
Gore has agreed tomeet with college and high school students before the speech, saidArthur Huseboe, executive director of Augustana's Center for WesternStudies, which sponsors the forum.
Still, the rule does notquite jibe with the image of Gore the tireless crusader from the movie"An Inconvenient Truth," spreading urgent warnings about global warming.
Theonly other Boe Forum speaker to decline a news conference was QueenNoor of Jordan, Huseboe said. Past speakers have included formerPresident George H.W. Bush, former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev andformer British Prime Minister John Major.
Look at the way that is written. It's as if there was some conspiracy plot by Gore to keep the media away. No matter what Al Gore does, conservatives and the media will find an excuse to dislike him.
After you read stories like this, it is much more reasonable to believe that Al Gore is anything but a publicity whore. He genuinely cares about this global warming issue, and is going to great lengths to help science prevail over the rich oil lobby. Completely under the radar, last year Al Gore began teaching people to give the same kind of power point presentation he gave in the movie, . Take , for example::
The whole process began last summer, when Harkins, who graduated fromParkland High school, participated in a nationwide conference call withGore, who alluded to the project.
''All he said was 'I'm training a thousand people to give thisglobal warming presentation,''' she said. Harkins began sending lettersto Gore's office, and eventually was chosen — along with othersnationwide — to come to Tennessee. At that point, she hadn't even seenthe documentary yet. She's seen it since then, given copies of the DVDas Christmas gifts, and taken other people to see it, converting someglobal warming skeptics along the way.
In the last two years, there has been an eleven percent jump among the number of Americans that consider global warming a serious issue, as a . Although, the climate itself is likely most of the reason why more people are worried, not just because of Gore's movie.
I wonder if An Inconvenient Truth had an impact on the motivations of Governor (R-CA), who enacted green legislation that helped shore up the support of many Democrats, eventually leading to his reelection two months ago. Had it not been for Gore's movie, maybe the actor-turned-governor would be out of a job now. Less Californians would have recognized the significance of the legislation that Schwarzenegger helped pass.
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