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There was a time a few years ago when the sequel to Inconvenient Truth came out and he was on like every afternoon talk show on NPR. I was out driving around all afternoon for work and the juxtaposition between hearing him intelligently discussing current affairs compared to Trump still being president.... It was rough haha
Al Gore was not the most charismatic man. But he was super smart extremely well spoken and very passionate about important things. Not having him was a tragedy that we all never recover from. Honestly I'd still like to see him as president. But I think he's happy to be away from the circus politics has completely become. It was bad enough but when he was vice president.
I wish Gore had been less acquiescent. The failure to advocate for justice and integrity in 2000 let the rightwing know they could go extremist with impunity.
Seriously, I think about this so often. The conservative arm of the SCOTUS made an incredibly weak case that essentially relied on assuming the votes were illegal. Ironically, there was no problem to be found in all the recounts done for Trump. Of course, later enough votes were found valid for Gore to win.
And guess who was on Bush's legal team? Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
It couldn’t have happened but sometimes I look back and am struck by the fact there isn’t a single modern problem that Ralph Nader wasn’t talking about back then
I voted for Nader every election cycle. It's the first time I felt my vote counted and was going towards a candidate who I actually respected and with whom I shared the most views.
Yeah but gore woulda won by a lot if Nader hadn’t been in the race. Ruined his legacy forever for me. He would have been a terrible president anyway. He just should have dropped out of the race at some point.
Really great article, especially for those of us who lived during “W” terrifying and terrifyingly incompetent reign. Ask a Republican over 40 if he supported the Iraq War . They all say they did not. Fucking liars
> Ask a Republican over 40 if he supported the Iraq War . They all say they did not.
I remember conservatives in both 2016 and 2020 telling me with a straight face that they couldn't vote for HRC or Biden "because of their support for the Iraq war"...
These are the same people who called me a coward and a traitor for not supporting the Iraq war...
I had a Kerry sticker on my car for like two months. It was keyed several times and damaged twice in while unattended. My own family members told me I deserved to be executed as a traitor because I wasn't a supporter of the war.
I'll never forget how conservatives and moderates treated the left during the Bush era. People who say that 9/11 united the nation were living in a bubble.
I hope you cut off your family. Too many people put up with this toxic, racist, ignorant conservative families.
You're totally right. People try to pretend like the left wasn't right about the course of the country for ages.
The right has been full of traitors for decades.
100%. I was a liberal undergrad at a fairly conservative school during the early 2000s, and all of this is so real. Do not think I will *ever* forget being called a traitor.
20 year old me supported it. 40 year old me absolutely does not. When all the anger around 9/11 wore off and with the benefit of hindsight it was clearly a mistake and should have been obvious to congress even with the obfuscatory efforts by the administration. Most of Congress on both sides of the aisle played along though. Even if they saw through the lie, they concluded their constituents would not and voted for it as a matter of political expediency. Fucking cowards.
Got out of high school at that time! Thank god for good ole civics class! Or o would have joined the army! CIA planned to run planes into Miami during the 1960s😎
Hillary looks gleeful at whatever is coming her way as well!
Good ol bill. The last time our country turned a profit.
Post-presidency, I like Bush, but during his presidency I think he was a puppet for forces far more powerful than him.
> What about during presidency Biden but it’s post lab theory confirmation but it has to stay on Reddit without getting downvoted to death
Do you smell burnt toast?
Seriously. Even McCain and Romney have (or had, RIP John) more decency than any spineless GOP politician that exists nowadays. Hell, if The last election wasn’t about fascism vs democracy, I might have voted republican because I’m not a huge Biden fan overall. I just want ranked choice voting (and wow, that almost autocorrected to “tanked choice voting”, which seems an appropriate term for what we have now
McCain and Romney have played their part in our current societal climate.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoOB9w0tF4
https://www.newsweek.com/mitt-romney-dismisses-concerns-over-more-conservative-supreme-court-says-liberal-court-isnt-1533672
It's just pretty revolting to see McCain not call out (and actually nod his head and agree) Bill O Reilly on what he was saying, essentially Great Replacement Theory, and here we are pining away for politicians like those when their fecklessness certainly enabled current events like the massacre in Buffalo, NY.
This reminds me of during trump era when a ton of ex senators wrote to the current senate saying they needed to quit messing around and do legislation, and everyone was like “you guys are the senators that made this situation”.
*glares at newt gingrich*
you link to the video clip, where he says "Iraq too", right after the Freudian slip and right before he says he is 75.
Are you hearing something different?
What is the basic fucking reality if not what we see in the video - that it appears he slips up and self-references his own invasion of Iraq as a totally unjustified and brutal invasion, and then with a knowing shoulder shrug admits "Iraq too", and then excuses the slip up because he is 75.
What makes you feel that this is liberals deafened by hate?
Is there something you are seeing or hearing here that is different?
>He just goes "Iraqt"
Uhh..... yeah he also says "mseventyfive" which you somehow managed to translate as "I'm 75" but you can't make sense of "Iraqt"?
I'd ask you if you know that words are spoken in order.
He clearly says "Iraq too", then shrugs and says "anyway".
Like, are you even listening to the video you linked?
... the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine. Iraq too, anyway. I'm 75.
I transcribed that from the video that you linked.
Your explanation doesn't make sense.
It either was or it wasn't a freudian slip. If it was a freudian slip, then by definition it is his subconscious admitting to a deeper truth - which was confirmed by his conscious brain when he said "Iraq too" with a shrug and a knowing smirk.
This explanation makes sense, and accords with what we saw in the video - and with the general state of society's views on the Iraq invasion 21 years later.
Bush knows, he freudian slipped and admitted what we already knew, he then confirmed it again, and then shrugged it all off as being 75. the crowd chuckled.
You don't have to defend this Maverick. You aren't married to Bush, you don't have to defend his war crimes - they aren't yours to own (unless you aided and abetted the US administration at that time - or are in some non-arms length relationship with him now...).
Interesting! I don’t recall that, but I don’t doubt it. A conscience is a persistent thing. With all due respect to those with Tourette’s, Truth Tourette’s is dead on!
Yeah, no. After living through the police can act as ICE agents era during Bush 2: The Bushening I can firmly say that most of us from lower economic neighborhoods hold no nostalgia outside of the lower amount of hate crimes. Said lower hate crimes were due to the quiet part still being thinly veiled yet still apparent to anyone paying attention instead of being extremely blatant.
Up until 2016 I thought he was the bottom of the barrel. Turns out the barrel is very full and they’re all capable of evil things. I thought for sure he’d be the worst president of my lifetime.
It is easy to forget that Bush was the worst US president in our lifetimes.
With the recent milestone of 1 million Americans dying from Covid, I was reminded of the estimated 1.2 million who died in the War in Iraq.
For comparison, recent estimates suggest about 3,800 civilians have been killed by Russians in Ukraine.
RIP to all the victims of senseless wars.
While Bush does bear some responsibility for the 2008 recession, I can't say that he is the primary or even major culprit for it. He did push for the American Dream Downpayment Assistance Act, which gave low-income people assistance in paying down payment and closing costs. That likely contributed to the number of people who defaulted on their mortgages.
All of our problems today stem from Russia’s involvement in the Middle East in the 70s. They blew shit up and we carpet bombed the entire region with free rifles and bullets
The only people who should complain about painful nostalgia are the US troops and their families and the Iraqi civilians who suffered because of the false premise for war.
I have to recommend the excellent series on the build-up to the 2nd Gulf on the Slowburn podcast. It’s easy to forget the drumbeat for war, even and especially among the elite media and public intellectuals on the left. Yeah, even David “every move’s among the wokest“ Remnick
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. **Special announcement:** r/politics is currently accepting new moderator applications. If you want to help make this community a better place, consider [applying here today](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/sskg6a/rpolitics_is_looking_for_more_moderators/)! *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
At times I wonder how different the world would be if there had been a President Gore.
There was a time a few years ago when the sequel to Inconvenient Truth came out and he was on like every afternoon talk show on NPR. I was out driving around all afternoon for work and the juxtaposition between hearing him intelligently discussing current affairs compared to Trump still being president.... It was rough haha
Al Gore was not the most charismatic man. But he was super smart extremely well spoken and very passionate about important things. Not having him was a tragedy that we all never recover from. Honestly I'd still like to see him as president. But I think he's happy to be away from the circus politics has completely become. It was bad enough but when he was vice president.
I wish Gore had been less acquiescent. The failure to advocate for justice and integrity in 2000 let the rightwing know they could go extremist with impunity.
Seriously, I think about this so often. The conservative arm of the SCOTUS made an incredibly weak case that essentially relied on assuming the votes were illegal. Ironically, there was no problem to be found in all the recounts done for Trump. Of course, later enough votes were found valid for Gore to win. And guess who was on Bush's legal team? Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
And guess who helped organize the assault on the elections board (I.e., “Brooks Brothers Riot”)? Roger Stone
Also John Roberts
It couldn’t have happened but sometimes I look back and am struck by the fact there isn’t a single modern problem that Ralph Nader wasn’t talking about back then
I voted for Nader every election cycle. It's the first time I felt my vote counted and was going towards a candidate who I actually respected and with whom I shared the most views.
Yeah but gore woulda won by a lot if Nader hadn’t been in the race. Ruined his legacy forever for me. He would have been a terrible president anyway. He just should have dropped out of the race at some point.
I see your point but it seems unnecessary because my friend Gore did win the 2000 election.
He was certainly in a better position to understand how dangerous Bin Laden was and perhaps would have heeded the intelligence warnings.
President McCain would have authorized the invasion of Iraq in 2005. Climate change might be different though.
The Lieberman Administration wouldn’t be very fun
Probably way better. We wouldn't be taking our damn shoes off at the airport for starters.
Really great article, especially for those of us who lived during “W” terrifying and terrifyingly incompetent reign. Ask a Republican over 40 if he supported the Iraq War . They all say they did not. Fucking liars
> Ask a Republican over 40 if he supported the Iraq War . They all say they did not. I remember conservatives in both 2016 and 2020 telling me with a straight face that they couldn't vote for HRC or Biden "because of their support for the Iraq war"... These are the same people who called me a coward and a traitor for not supporting the Iraq war...
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I had a Kerry sticker on my car for like two months. It was keyed several times and damaged twice in while unattended. My own family members told me I deserved to be executed as a traitor because I wasn't a supporter of the war. I'll never forget how conservatives and moderates treated the left during the Bush era. People who say that 9/11 united the nation were living in a bubble.
And Senator Kerry served in Vietnam, hardly a draft Dodger
I hope you cut off your family. Too many people put up with this toxic, racist, ignorant conservative families. You're totally right. People try to pretend like the left wasn't right about the course of the country for ages. The right has been full of traitors for decades.
100%. I was a liberal undergrad at a fairly conservative school during the early 2000s, and all of this is so real. Do not think I will *ever* forget being called a traitor.
20 year old me supported it. 40 year old me absolutely does not. When all the anger around 9/11 wore off and with the benefit of hindsight it was clearly a mistake and should have been obvious to congress even with the obfuscatory efforts by the administration. Most of Congress on both sides of the aisle played along though. Even if they saw through the lie, they concluded their constituents would not and voted for it as a matter of political expediency. Fucking cowards.
Got out of high school at that time! Thank god for good ole civics class! Or o would have joined the army! CIA planned to run planes into Miami during the 1960s😎
I was pretty angered over it. Looked and sounded like lies
George W was a goober class republican in the late 90s, but would be considered an intellectual conservative by modern GOP standards
Enough of an intellectual that the rank and file now calls him a Nazi and that he was a terrible president. 🤷♂️
Half right at least.
I’d still throw my shoes at him
Bush did 9/11 and trump subverted the corporate oligarchy while bill clinton got his dick sucked and ate sandwiches
[Bill Clinton eating a sandwich.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/19/article-2027908-0D7DFC7500000578-498_468x527.jpg)
Hillary looks gleeful at whatever is coming her way as well! Good ol bill. The last time our country turned a profit. Post-presidency, I like Bush, but during his presidency I think he was a puppet for forces far more powerful than him.
"Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over." The Onion on the occasion of W's inauguration
I miss when I used to live in Denver and the onion was readily available in print everywhere
Haha, you and me both.
What about during presidency Biden but it’s post lab theory confirmation but it has to stay on Reddit without getting downvoted to death
> What about during presidency Biden but it’s post lab theory confirmation but it has to stay on Reddit without getting downvoted to death Do you smell burnt toast?
It’s burnt hair dumbass
> It’s burnt hair dumbass [uh huh...](https://youtu.be/pUOG2g4hj8s)
You’re spreading misinformation
Do you ever get tired of lying?
Keep my sandwich name out your fuckin mouth…
Pull up
Seriously. Even McCain and Romney have (or had, RIP John) more decency than any spineless GOP politician that exists nowadays. Hell, if The last election wasn’t about fascism vs democracy, I might have voted republican because I’m not a huge Biden fan overall. I just want ranked choice voting (and wow, that almost autocorrected to “tanked choice voting”, which seems an appropriate term for what we have now
McCain and Romney have played their part in our current societal climate. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoOB9w0tF4 https://www.newsweek.com/mitt-romney-dismisses-concerns-over-more-conservative-supreme-court-says-liberal-court-isnt-1533672
Agreed, but better late than never
It's just pretty revolting to see McCain not call out (and actually nod his head and agree) Bill O Reilly on what he was saying, essentially Great Replacement Theory, and here we are pining away for politicians like those when their fecklessness certainly enabled current events like the massacre in Buffalo, NY.
This reminds me of during trump era when a ton of ex senators wrote to the current senate saying they needed to quit messing around and do legislation, and everyone was like “you guys are the senators that made this situation”. *glares at newt gingrich*
Initially it a was a slip but he went on to say "*Yeah, Iraq too*" them mumbled something else I couldn't understand.
"Iraq too. I'm 75."
"Awfuckingshitimessedup."
"It was the fun thing to do."
[удалено]
He clearly says "Iraq too" before saying he's 75.
[удалено]
you link to the video clip, where he says "Iraq too", right after the Freudian slip and right before he says he is 75. Are you hearing something different? What is the basic fucking reality if not what we see in the video - that it appears he slips up and self-references his own invasion of Iraq as a totally unjustified and brutal invasion, and then with a knowing shoulder shrug admits "Iraq too", and then excuses the slip up because he is 75. What makes you feel that this is liberals deafened by hate? Is there something you are seeing or hearing here that is different?
[удалено]
It sounds to me like you didn’t actually watched the video.
>He just goes "Iraqt" Uhh..... yeah he also says "mseventyfive" which you somehow managed to translate as "I'm 75" but you can't make sense of "Iraqt"?
Lmao he definitely says 'iraq too', get your ears checked
I'd ask you if you know that words are spoken in order. He clearly says "Iraq too", then shrugs and says "anyway". Like, are you even listening to the video you linked?
This is basically yanny/laurel. He was speaking unclearly, so our minds fill in the gaps with what we expect him to be saying.
... the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine. Iraq too, anyway. I'm 75. I transcribed that from the video that you linked.
Your explanation doesn't make sense. It either was or it wasn't a freudian slip. If it was a freudian slip, then by definition it is his subconscious admitting to a deeper truth - which was confirmed by his conscious brain when he said "Iraq too" with a shrug and a knowing smirk. This explanation makes sense, and accords with what we saw in the video - and with the general state of society's views on the Iraq invasion 21 years later. Bush knows, he freudian slipped and admitted what we already knew, he then confirmed it again, and then shrugged it all off as being 75. the crowd chuckled. You don't have to defend this Maverick. You aren't married to Bush, you don't have to defend his war crimes - they aren't yours to own (unless you aided and abetted the US administration at that time - or are in some non-arms length relationship with him now...).
So sorry, I must be deaf
He definitely says “Iraq” followed by something that sounds a lot like “too”. We can argue about the second word but you are even changing the order
The worst part was the audience laughing.
I can't even imagine going to see this asshole talk without bringing a gym bag full of sandals.
At least he had a moment, however fleeting, of knowing what it feels like to tell the truth
This was actually pretty common for him during his presidency too. It was often joked that he had truth tourette's.
Interesting! I don’t recall that, but I don’t doubt it. A conscience is a persistent thing. With all due respect to those with Tourette’s, Truth Tourette’s is dead on!
I'm sure it felt horrifying for him.
You’re either very generous or very sarcastic/accurate 😉
I'm being genuine. For a man who spends his life lying to himself, the truth is terrifying and awful.
Trillions from the wars could have gone to improving education where today we as a nation would be leading in innovation and future prosperity.
I think it's arguable that the 2000 election effectively lost America the 21st century.
George W Bush and Vlad Putin - are both war criminals.
If he had an ounce of integrity, he would have demanded a recount in 2000
Late Show should resurrect their "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches" for this.
Oops, I accidentally one million people. Ain't I a stinker? Let's go out for hotwings, Obamas :D
It’s the reason we don’t participate in The Hague. Dude is a war criminal.
Yeah, no. After living through the police can act as ICE agents era during Bush 2: The Bushening I can firmly say that most of us from lower economic neighborhoods hold no nostalgia outside of the lower amount of hate crimes. Said lower hate crimes were due to the quiet part still being thinly veiled yet still apparent to anyone paying attention instead of being extremely blatant.
Hey he’s still the 2nd worst president of my lifetime!
Up until 2016 I thought he was the bottom of the barrel. Turns out the barrel is very full and they’re all capable of evil things. I thought for sure he’d be the worst president of my lifetime.
He killed easily a million people dude. I think even given everything Trump did he still takes the number one spot if for nothing else no him no trump
Very good point man.
That war criminal should probably just sit in the back, keep his fucking mouth shut, and hope people forget about him.
War criminal is just the actual title for President of the United States
The past two Republican presidents have been really special. #RepublicansFinest 😂
It is easy to forget that Bush was the worst US president in our lifetimes. With the recent milestone of 1 million Americans dying from Covid, I was reminded of the estimated 1.2 million who died in the War in Iraq. For comparison, recent estimates suggest about 3,800 civilians have been killed by Russians in Ukraine. RIP to all the victims of senseless wars.
Oh I remember that shit nugget the economy collapsed like a aging pornstar uterus under his leadership great times
While Bush does bear some responsibility for the 2008 recession, I can't say that he is the primary or even major culprit for it. He did push for the American Dream Downpayment Assistance Act, which gave low-income people assistance in paying down payment and closing costs. That likely contributed to the number of people who defaulted on their mortgages.
Now that’s awfully specific, and I love it.
He was finally honest about his war!
All of our problems today stem from Russia’s involvement in the Middle East in the 70s. They blew shit up and we carpet bombed the entire region with free rifles and bullets
The only people who should complain about painful nostalgia are the US troops and their families and the Iraqi civilians who suffered because of the false premise for war.
I have to recommend the excellent series on the build-up to the 2nd Gulf on the Slowburn podcast. It’s easy to forget the drumbeat for war, even and especially among the elite media and public intellectuals on the left. Yeah, even David “every move’s among the wokest“ Remnick
The biggest puppet you will ever see 🇺🇸😎