Ex-Vice President Al Gore returned to Daytona Beach, Florida, where he attempted to steal the Presidential election
2 years ago. All 250 citizens who voted for him turned out for the event.
Posted on 11/04/2002 4:57:46 AM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
DAYTONA BEACH -- Former Vice President Al Gore stepped to the podium at Bethune-Cookman College on Sunday looking to supercharge fellow Democrat Bill McBride's campaign for governor.
But another election, the closest and most contested in Florida and the nation's history, remained on the minds of many in the crowd of 250. Gore still gets their vote almost two years later. Under an old oak tree, supporters held signs that read: "Welcome President Gore!" and chanted: "Gore in Four."
Sans his college-professor beard and most of his post-election girth, Gore tried to diffuse the lingering anger and despair.
"I'm Al Gore," he said introducing himself. "I used to be the next president of the United States."
He went on to joke about his life out of public office, days of riding in rental cars and eating at Shoney's roadside restaurants, before getting serious about the Bush era in both Washington, D.C., and Florida.
"Everything that should be up is down, and everything that is down should be up," he said, referring to unemployment, the stock market and budget surpluses that have become deficits. "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
Again, Gore interjected humor. "I'm concerned," he said in the middle of a cross-state swing for McBride. "I was the first one laid off."
With McBride posters and banners behind him but the candidate himself campaigning elsewhere, Gore blamed Jeb Bush for Florida's "controversies, problems and divisions" that followed the bitter 2000 presidential election.
"Gov. Bush prevented thousands of qualified voters from voting. He'll try to discourage you from voting again," he told the crowd, an even mix of whites and blacks. "I urge you to look at the economy and what's happening to education. Florida is rated 49th overall. How long is that going to go on? Bill McBride wants to make education the No. 1 priority. He stands for inclusion. In two days, you can make a change. The name of the game is turnout."
Looking out at a "Florida, a Sunny Place for Shady Elections" sign, Gore said that the 2000 presidential election in Florida should prove to everyone that every vote really does count.
"If you hear anyone say that one vote doesn't count, tell them to come see me," Gore said, smiling. "Whatever the issue, the stakes are high and the contrasts are clear. On the environment. Health care. Civil rights. And now, we have justice."
Gore shook a fist in the air and shouted: "Can you stand for justice?" The crowd cheered.
The man who was almost president, ridiculed in the past for his stiffness as a speaker, was calmer and smoother than the last time he campaigned in Florida. On Sunday, Gore was officially working to help get McBride elected. But after the speech, Gore spent 30 minutes posing for photographs and signing autographs, an indication that Bush/Gore, the sequel, was a possibility in 2004.
"I have not ruled out running again. But I'm going to wait and look at all the factors," Gore said. "It's not a personal issue about 2000. (Right now) it's about 2002 and what's going to happen in Florida the next four years."
Ex-Vice President Al Gore returned to Daytona Beach, Florida, where he attempted to steal the Presidential election
2 years ago. All 250 citizens who voted for him turned out for the event.
He dares yell this in the state where the jackbooted thugs of his administration ripped away young Elian at gunpoint? Well, I see he's living up to the Democrap standard for brazen shamelessness.
"I have not ruled out running again. But I'm going to wait and look at all the factors," Gore said.
Translation: I'm going to wait until I can see whether I can actually get anybody, even in my own party, to support me.
I don't know anything about the Hispanic vote, but I suppose it's already pretty much set as well, one way or the other -- and the McBride is still losing regardless.
As it would be for blacks who are likely to vote.
The D strategy would therefore seem to center on getting out the black vote among those who are unlikely to vote.
Nothing new here, of course. But seems more blatant than I've seen it in the past.
Call me cynical, but I think the real agenda is that they're setting the stage for this year's lawsuits, and the "Disenfranchisement" campaign for '04.
The fact that he was raised in a D.C. penthouse apartment makes his phoney Tennessee cornpone accent all the more laughable.
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