ATTEMPTING TO PROCESS GORE ENDORSING DEAN

I am at something of a loss for a reaction. Concern? Celebration? Confusion? Indifference? Help?

[As a great man once said, "I have no reaction to that information." -LoM]

[My first reaction was that I have no reaction to that information. Also my second. But why do I have no reaction? The man was Clinton's "managing partner" in an era when I thought the government had a clue. Why can't I think of anything to admire him for? Why, when you say "Al Gore", do I think "lockbox"? The environment was his bailiwick in the 90's - he apparently did a good job there. He was point man on disarmament in the former Soviet Union, and that's not a job you give to just anyone...

The big turnoff for me has been that Gore, while bright, sincere, and (by all accounts) a nice guy in private, is massively insecure - a major shortcoming in a leader. As the Washington Post said in their campaign bio:

"He was at once competent and self-confident about anything that he could translate into what he considered a question of fact, yet often insecure and plagued by self-doubt when it came to perceptions and emotions and aspects of life that could not be established with mathematical certainty.

"That is why he could deliver an hour-long extemporaneous lecture on global warming and yet need index cards as a crutch when saying a simple thank-you and goodbye to an aide who was resigning. It is why he could be described simultaneously, by the same people, as "the only adult in the White House" and "the most insecure person I've ever met in my life." It is why he could have a far subtler sense of humor and more even disposition than Bill Clinton, yet be perceived as a stiff while Clinton was thought of as an easygoing guy. Those first words of self-doubt that Gore uttered during his 1976 congressional campaign--How'm I doin'? How'm I doin'?--became the private mantra of his political career. "

Full Washington Post bio is here.

-MoF ]