Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

They're Scared of Al Gore

UPDATE II: Bush's own environmental adviser says to see Gore's film.

UPDATE: As an fyi, I've got a podcast up of today's news, which includes a test of new equipment, as we get ready to branch out. Still some rough edges to be worked out, but we're getting there.

That’s the problem. If I thought Al Gore’s movie was as you like to say, fair and balanced, I’d say, everyone should go see it. But why go see propaganda? You don’t go see Joseph Goebbels’ films to see the truth about Nazi Germany. You don’t go see Al Gore’s films to see the truth about global warming. Think Progress

I know they're scared of big, mean, revamped and renewed, regenerated and revived
Al Gore, but Nazis?

Al Gore has got them running to the wingnuts. Inconvenient
Truth opens this
weekend across the nation and the big fat energy companies are in a panic.
The movie has already garnered raves from Sundance to Cannes, so what's going
to happen when it explodes across the country? The green energy enemies have
begun a preemptive strike, but they cannot combat the buzz.

Over the weekend, I flew from Washington to Cannes. In Washington, the talk was all about 2006. In Cannes, the talk is all about 2008. That's because even with Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Penelope Cruz, Jamie Foxx, and Halle Berry here for the film festival, the hottest star in town is Al Gore. In Cannes for the European premiere of his powerful global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Gore has been surrounded by adoring crowds and deluged with interview requests. He told me that he gave 23 back-to-back-to-back interviews on Sunday, Hollywood junket-style (all on only one hour's sleep), and had another 23 scheduled for Monday. “This is my second visit to Cannes,” he said. “The first was when I was fifteen years old and came here for the summer to study the existentialists — Sartre, Camus… We were not allowed to speak anything but French!” Which may explain his pitch-perfect French accent. It's clear that the film, and the engaging “New Gore” on display both in the film and his public appearances promoting it, have connected with people in a big way. The film is an environmental punch in the gut. Gore 2.0 is a revelation, and a critical smash. When asked at his press conference how he should be addressed, he replied “Your Adequacy.” “Hanks himself could not have delivered the line more smoothly,” gushed The Guardian. The Washington Post's Sebastian Mallaby labeled him “a hero.” Time's Anne Marie Cox called him “a rock star.” New York magazine touted his “amazing comeback.” And even Fox News' Roger Friedman described him as “funny and relaxed.” Talk about killer reviews. (snip) So today's repeated denials don't really mean very much. Not because he doesn't mean it, but because so much can happen between now and the convention. Especially if it appears that Hillary is close to securing the nomination. Then the pressure for him to enter the race — to act as the anti-Hillary — will increase significantly. But it's not just that so many Democrats fear a Hillary-led ticket. The pressure on Gore to run will continue to grow because watching him speak out so eloquently, so passionately, and so personally on this issue — in other words, displaying real leadership — is like suddenly being served a steak after a steady diet of fast-food burgers. It's a stark reminder of just how far we've lowered the bar on what we expect from those we elect. (snip) Is this a cinematic omen of things to come in 2008? Arianna Huffington

We can only hope.