They Really Don’t Get It

Over at the Plank, Noam Scheiber writes the following about Al Gore’s triumph:

Watching Al Gore take a well-deserved victory lap this afternoon, I couldn’t help wondering what George W. Bush must be thinking. I mean, I know the guy still believes history will vindicate him and all, but, really, this has got to be pretty painful. Bush, according to various accounts of the 2000 campaign, absolutely despised Gore. He regarded him as a preening, self-righteous phony. So Bush somehow manages to avenge his father’s defeat and vanquish the vice president of the United States. And yet, seven years later, it’s Gore who’s being hailed around the world as a prophet and a savior and Bush who, if he’s still being discussed at all, is mentioned only as the punchline to some joke, or when his poll numbers reach some new historic low. It must eat him up.

Of all the commentary on Gore’s Peace Prize that I’ve read today, this has to be the most ridiculous. To think that George W. Bush, the man who has thumbed his nose at the “international community” for seven years–much to our delight–would be devastated that it is Al Gore, and not he, being “hailed around the world as a prophet and savior” is…laughable. We don’t take these people seriously, Noam. They’re all preening, self-righteous phonies. And I expect Al Gore to have about as much impact on the fight against global warming as Aristide Briand had on naval disarmament. It’s amazing that, after seven years, a serious liberal commentator could so fundamentally misunderstand this president and his supporters. PS–How’s the Beauchamp investigation going, guys?

Related Content