At the risk of "calling out" the proprietor of this fair site, one which I respect, I have to ask Markos to either 1. take down the current front page diary on Obama titled "Obama Slams Gore"or at the very least 2. change the title.
Because in all honesty, it is a dishonest smear of one of our Democratic candidates. And as someone who likes all of our Democratic candidates, including Obama, Edwards, and the like, and one who is still undecided on who to support, I was alarmed to see that headline.
To me, the ideal candidate in this election would have been Al Gore. So it immediately catches my eye when I see a headline like that. Obama didn't actually slam Al Gore did he?!?
As it turned out...nope, he didn't.
Take a look at the actual article linked by Markos in his diary. The only mention of Gore is in the Newsday article's HEADLINE. Obama made no mention of Gore by name.
What he did say was a valid point. He didn't want a situation wherein half the country hates Democrats before the first ballot is cast. And even when Gore did win the popular vote in 2000, just a little less than half voted against him.
Markos, due respect, this is a smear. It's the same kind of smear that we accuse the mainstream media of engaging in against all our candidates, a total misread of the statement. A statement, mind you, that the article itself admits is totally unsourced...by an unnamed source at a rally.
If we are going to get mad at Obama for reinforcing so-called "right wing talking points," perhaps we shouldn't be engaging in the reinforcement of shoddy journalism and right-wing tatics that amount to a steaming pile of crap.
Fact is, I think many -- if not all of us -- feel the same way Obama does. We may disagree on the method of how to get it done, but don't we all agree that we share a common purpose of building a lasting, progressive movement that garners a full consensus of the American people?
Not a blue-red-purple state strategy, but a 50 state strategy.
I think, in that respect, Obama's point is valid.
But rather than debate the point, the front page sensationalizes a so-called "slam" of Al Gore that wasn't there.
And the scary part of it is that I'm willing to bet the Al Gore of '08 would probably agree with Obama. Because he sure doesn't seem like the Al Gore of 2000 that I remember.
Sad to think we sunk to the depths of the likes of Newsday. Too bad.