GORE - With a beard

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[OG Snarl: I'm beginning to dislike the Washington Post almost as much as the NY Times.]

New Look Gore Back From Exile

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 6, 2001; 9:26 AM

Whazzup with the beard?

We're serious.

You're Al Gore. You just missed becoming president of the United States. Many people didn't feel comfortable with you because you seemed to keep reinventing yourself. You hired a consultant to bring out your "alpha male" qualities and dressed in earth tones, just like she told you. At the first presidential debate you seemed to be wearing clown makeup. After the 36-day recount, you teach at Columbia but keep the press out. You disappear for months, avoiding more cameras than Gary Condit.

And you resurface with a scruffy beard?

No wonder some Democrats don't want the guy to run again.

The former veep is about to edge back into politics (not clear if he'll keep the new look). And the media are gearing up for his return.

Says Dick Polman of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "He racked up more votes last year than any previous Democratic presidential candidate, he drew half a million more than his Republican rival, and he might be ensconced in the White House today if not for the butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County. Yet people are still goofing on Al Gore.

"The Onion, a satirical Web site, has a trick photo of a couch-potato Gore guzzling ice cream. Comic Craig Kilborn quipped last Monday that Gore has no hope ('he ordered Chinese and didn't bother to open the fortune cookie'). And columnist Arianna Huffington jokes that Gore spends his days typing his name into Internet search engines and counting the hits.

"But all gibes aside, Gore appears to be signaling that he still wishes to be a player, that his lifelong thirst for the top job has not been quenched, and that he has no intention of ceding the next party nomination to the less-seasoned wannabes who are already in the hunt. Within party ranks, there isn't necessarily a great outcry for another Gore candidacy – on the contrary, many activists wince at the notion. But there is a widely shared expectation, among friends and foes, that the former vice president will soon emerge from hibernation and map a methodical return. . . .

"Lots of Democrats don't relish that prospect, however. It's not uncommon these days to hear activists ask each other, in mocking tones: 'Are you going to join the Al Gore juggernaut?'"

Maureen Dowd has her way with Gore in the New York Times: "In all those pictures from Europe, the newly hirsute Al Gore, looking like Orson Welles, strolls contentedly after a repast in Rome with Tipper.

"He has a sly, freshly liberated expression that you usually see only on guys of 18, when they're finally old enough to escape from their parents, principals and guidance counselors, go off on a trek to Europe and grow a goofy-looking beard.

"It took Prince Albert, who has to choreograph spontaneity, decades to break away – to escape from his alpha-male coach, media mercenaries and overshadowing political sibling, go off on a trek to Europe and grow a goofy-looking beard. With his Hemingway growth and Heineken girth, all Mr. Gore needs is a pack of Gitanes and an earth-tone beret. It is tres formidable that Al can be so insouciant, playing the romantic, carefree expatriate when he is really the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!

"All the fervid speculation last week about whether Mr. Gore would run again in 2004 – despite Tipper's resistance – was piffle.

"Of course, Al is in the ring. The way he sees it, he isn't starting all over. He is running for re-election – against a man he has already defeated. He just needs to evict the Occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania, the Scalia squatter."

With the squatter – er, the president – off on vacation, plenty of papers are assessing his first six months. Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Timescredits the House GOP for Bush's recent victories: "President Bush's back-to-back legislative successes on energy and patients' rights last week signaled a determination by congressional Republicans to avoid the party divisions that derailed former President Clinton's first term.

"Probably more important than the individual victories was the larger message that House GOP moderates do not intend to consistently provide Democrats enough votes to achieve operational control of the lower chamber – as a series of earlier House decisions rejecting Bush environmental priorities seemed to threaten.

"Bush's dramatic victories on the energy and managed health care bills suggest that House Republicans, at least for now, have decided that, on the biggest issues, hanging together gives them the best chance of maintaining their slim majority in the 2002 elections. This strategy isn't without risk for Republicans. It forces members from swing districts to cast votes that could provide tempting targets for their challengers. And it increases the odds that the Republican House and Democratic Senate may simply stalemate on issues such as patients' rights, reinforcing a dangerous image of Washington gridlock.

"But against those dangers, congressional Republicans have appeared more concerned about the prospect of imposing high-profile defeats on Bush. That reverses the calculation made by many congressional Democrats during Clinton's first two years in office.

"Back then, these Democrats looked to minimize their individual exposure by voting against Clinton initiatives they perceived to be unpopular in their districts. The result was a series of legislative crack-ups."

In The Washington Post, Dan Balz and David Broder "interviewed dozens of voters and some non-voters in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Iowa. . . .These interviews underscored the distance Bush still needs to go to put himself on more solid footing.

"What emerged is a president with a political profile that is the mirror image of his predecessor's. Voters did not trust Bill Clinton but backed his policy agenda and believed he shared their concerns. Bush enjoys the respect and admiration of the public, but he receives far less support for his political agenda while facing doubts that he understands their concerns. That profile was enough to win the election last year – by one of the narrowest margins in U.S. history. Whether it can sustain his presidency is questionable.

"His first six months in office have been defined as much as anything by the big tax cut he brought from his campaign and promoted in the face of Democratic opposition and minimal public enthusiasm. Now that the checks are in the mail, voters remain skeptical that it will pep up the economy and fear that it will crowd out other priorities."

Frank Bruni of the New York Times sees the administration making a mid-course correction: "Midway through his first year, President Bush is planning a significant change in focus that includes renewed attention to issues like education and immigration and a vigorous discussion of values.

"According to interviews with many administration officials, Mr. Bush wants to move beyond the conventional Republican agenda of tax cuts and energy production that mainly defined the beginning of his presidency and tackle issues and themes that strike Americans in a more emotional, personal way.

"He hopes to put an extra emphasis on what he has called the 'compassionate' nature of his conservatism with events and remarks this month, during a summer vacation in Texas, and with the initiatives he pursues when he returns to the White House after Labor Day. His aides, and Republican lawmakers who are up for re-election in 2002, hope that in the process Mr. Bush will improve his and his party's standing with moderates, independents and women.

"The president's effort will also include a shift in the staging of his events, as aides look for ways to shove aside lecterns and put Mr. Bush in less formal settings, with small groups of voters."

Excuse us, but it took six months to figure this out?

"Administration officials and their allies have long bemoaned Mr. Bush's stiffness and, in some cases, clumsiness in front of a microphone, and they have worried that his public appearances do not demonstrate the warmth that they see in him, or his firm grasp of policy."

Marshall Wittmann, in his Bull Moose column is less than enthusiastic about Dubya's recent House victories: "President Bush successfully salvaged the HMO reform bill after apparently subjecting Congressman Norwood to treatment that is banned by the Geneva Convention. Dentist Norwood emerged from the Oval Office looking as if he suffered a root canal without anesthesia. Norwood approved the toothless alternative which spared the President a possible veto. D.C. authorities are re-zoning the House as the graveyard for reform.

"In another triumph for the Iron Triangle, the House approved the energy package which reversed all notions of welfare reform. Clearly, the GOP has no concern about welfare dependancy as long as the recipient bears a Big Oilcorporate charter. The bill contains $33 billion in largely corporate welfare 'tax incentives', with $13 billion going to Big Oil. At a time when the military is told to get lost, J.R. Ewing and friends are drowning in government largesse.

"Where is the free market outrage? Where are the brave conservative voices for tax simplification? The Moose is particularly amused by the provision which would pay $300 million to four companies which produce washing machines. They would get $50 to $100 per washer if they are energy efficient. Talk about the taxpayer being taken to the cleaners!

"But why should the Moose be surprised? After all, the Republican National Committee was the beneficiary of $166 million in unregulated soft money donations in the last cycle. You scratch my back and. . . ."

Andrew Sullivan sounds off on Bush's rising (this week, anyway) approval numbers: "The latest poll from the Washington Post reiterates what most other polls have been saying. Bush has a job approval rating of 59 percent, his second highest ever. His personal rating is 63 percent. The Village Idiot appears to be doing far better than Clinton at this point in his presidency – despite a jihad against him from such outlets as the New York Times. But as I pointed out last week in 'Negatives,' the real point is not these dips and bumps – but the more impressive stability of these numbers.

"Dick Cheney, moreover, has now overtaken John McCain in favorability ratings. One quote in the Post says a lot, I think: 'I feel a lot more comfortable having Bush in the White House. He's taking his time, being careful, trying to switch the direction from what was going on before. . . .The Clinton years were very difficult for me. His personal life overwhelmed everything else.' This from a swing-voter in Pennsylvania. No reason for complacency but certainly a tonic against panic."

USA Today's Richard Benedetto is at a governors' gathering in Providence and panning for 2004 prospects: "The National Governors Association, the farm team that produced four of the past five presidents, is in a rebuilding mode.

"For the first time in at least a generation, the association has convened for its annual meeting without an obvious White House contender among its membership. . . .

"In the past 30 years, more than a dozen governors have run for president, including Democrats Jimmy Carter of Georgia, Reubin Askew of Florida, Terry Sanford of North Carolina, Mario Cuomo of New York, Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, Jerry Brown of California and Bill Clinton of Arkansas; Republicans Ronald Reagan of California, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Pete duPont of Delaware, Pete Wilson of California and George W. Bush of Texas; and George Wallace of Alabama, who left the Democratic Party to run as an independent.

"But as the field of challengers to President Bush begins to form for 2004, aside from former vice president Al Gore, most of the Democrats mentioned as possible candidates are members of Congress. Two factors have kept the Democratic presidential talent pool thin:

• "Most Democratic governors lead small or medium states, which means they get less national attention.

• "Many of the 19 Democratic governors are in their first terms, which could make a presidential run at this time appear premature."

Mickey Kaus takes umbrage at the latest media treatment of the Bush daughters: "It's inconceivable that Talk magazine would run a bogus, re-enacted photo spread on Chelsea Clinton in jail, which is what the magazine is apparently doing with the Jenna and Barbara Bush. (In part that's because Chelsea Clinton was never in jail, as far as we know. But only in part. Chelsea had some moments of independence, yet her privacy was fairly ruthlessly protected by the press.)

"Talk is a Democratic, Clinton-star [bleeping] magazine – so what else is new? But something else may be at work here. A friend suggests that Bush's daughters may be subtly considered fairer game because they're twins. Somehow, their twin-ness makes them seem more powerful, less isolated. (They have each other! Chelsea had. . . .who?) It also gives them, through no fault of their own, a bigger public profile.

"But of course they are individuals and entitled to as much respect and privacy as Chelsea enjoyed. . . .Memo to editorial director Maer Roshan: Talk seems to have a good issue coming up, with Lisa DePaulo's eagerly-awaited piece on Condit-Levy, and a crack Aaron Sorkin interview. Why add something that will again embarrass the mag?"

[There's more, but I think that's quite enough.]

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Answers

Boy that makes him look even more like a sleaze ball. He looks really disgusting.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

sure lookslike he's given up on trying to look young. could have at least colored the beard.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

I don't sleep with men who don't have beards. Being kissed -- anywhere -- by someone with stubble is a perversion.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

"Gore spends his days typing his name into Internet search engines and counting the hits." Yikes, just tried searching for myself. I got more hits with my screen name than my real name. I guess I really don't exist afterall!

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

We are each spec on the anus of reality...

Can you tell the heat is affecting me? LOL

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001



He reminds me of Ted Kazinski, I see a strong resemblence.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Firemouse--Find someone who's got Native American hair genes, like Sweetie. Hardly any body hair at all. Except on his head, of course, he has lovely black hair with silver "wings" ;)

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

with that beard, he should have stayed out of the public eye!

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Firemouse,

I know what you mean about the beard. DH grows one from Oct to Mar and it is so much nicer to be kissed. During the summer, he "forgets" to shave and then wonders why I practically jump off the bed.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001


Would he go for a leather mask over his face, tee-hee?

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001


I love body hair on men, Old Git. Furry face, all over. "gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair..." etc. I know it is out of fashion, but I like my men not to look like they aren't old enough to have body hair.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Got native american genes, among others.. dark skinned and hairy, (chest, not back), partial beard...

Somebody is cooking something that smells so good.... garlic, yeah, fish, maybe, butter, maybe ... oh my God, it smells like Heaven; these asians just moved in next door, and if that's their cooking, I gotta get to know them...

Oh my God, that smells good!

I have to eat something before I lose it and march next door and demand a plate...

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001


OG, it was gumbo! I guess I looked pathetic enough, they gave me a big bowl... see ya :)

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Asians cooking gumbo??? Man, what a concept! (I think Carl is beginning to like being laid-off!)

I like fusion food--you know, where you mix two distinctly different cuisines. I particularly like Cornish pasties with a Tex-Mex filling. (That's pronounced "pass-tees" not "paste-ees"! Kinda like a turnover.) And I guess a traditional pasties' filling in a burrito would be good too.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001


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