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Gore Formally Endorses Obama in Michigan
June 17, 2008 3:33 AM
ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Former Vice President Al Gore formally endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Il., on stage before 20,000 people at a rally Monday night in Detroit, Michigan.
"The outcome of this election will affect the future of this planet," Gore said at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. "We've got to have new leadership. Not only a new president, but new policies."
It marked the first time the Democratic heavyweight, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and climate change crusader publicly backed the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Speaking for 15 minutes to the crowd, the 2000 Democratic presidential candidate -- who stayed out of his party's nomination battle between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton -- called the primary an "historic contest."
Seeming to take the experience argument and age difference between presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain and Obama head on, Gore -- who was vice president under Bill Clinton for eight years and served as a representative and senator from Tennessee for seven years before that -- argued the length of years in Washington has nothing to do with preparedness.
“Nevertheless, the other party seems to think that age and experience are factors that will work in their favor during this campaign. But our shared experience as a nation tells us otherwise,” Gore said, using John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential run against Richard Nixon as an example of another time people had similarly questioned a candidates' age and experience.
“I remember when one prominent Republican wondered out loud whether the Democratic nominee, and I quote, ‘really is grown up enough to be president.’ Another used the phrase, quote, ‘naive and inexperienced,’” he said.
Gore said Obama inspires him the same way JFK did. He pointed out Obama’s opposition to the Iraq war in 2002 – and said he was an “eloquent legislator” as a state senator.
Obama had equally flattering words for Gore and his early actions on climate change, telling the audience that he will count on Gore if he becomes president.
“So Washington, which is always the last to hear the news, may not have listened to Al Gore 30 years ago, but America and the world are listening now, and when I am president I will be counting on Al Gore to help me lead the fight to achieve for a clean energy future here in America and around the globe.”
Tonight was Obama’s third visit to Michigan in a month. He told the crowd that he missed the opportunity to campaign there during the primary season due to the Democratic Party's ruling but that he hopes to make up for lost time.
“I know that we didn’t have a chance to come to Michigan the way we should have. But I want everybody to know the Michigan delegation -- they are going to be fully participating in our contention in November. Because we intend to be winning Michigan in November,” Obama said.
Obama told the crowd that his former opponent, Sen. Clinton would be “at the forefront of bringing change in America” and joked about the length of their hard fought campaign.
“Of course nobody told me the primary was going to last 15 months, that was a long primary,” he laughed, “I was planning to run for the '08 election, not the 2012 election."
June 17, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (66)
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John McCain will lose big-time this November...
McCain has nothing but old ideas and politics of the past; fell policies of George Bush and other conservatives that are out of the loop on every issue. What has John McCain done since being in the US Senate for 30 years? The voters want won’t to be reminded of Vietnam’s POWs, MIAs, jobs for the communists and all the other fell war policies of the past and present.
McCain’s, Iraqi policy is that the troop build-up is working and everything is fine and dandy.
McCain’s gas policy is to drill everywhere and anywhere no matter the environmental impact on the environment. McCain, on jobs renew the tax breaks for the rich to create jobs and that will work it way down to the masses.
Posted by: Lookup | Jun 17, 2008 9:35:59 AM
How appropriate since Michigan is where the DNC stole delegates from Clinton and gave phantom delegates to Obama.
Posted by: geevill | Jun 17, 2008 9:53:58 AM
It was nice to see nobel prize winning/Oscar winning al gore out and about. It is nice that both candidates agree that climate change is a problem and wish to do something about it.
It seems to some republicans that they have not got the message that their candidate supports gores efforts.
Posted by: Lord of war | Jun 17, 2008 10:01:00 AM
NO Gore please. He is old school politics and he'll try to control Obama.
Fresh meat.
OBAMA '08.
Posted by: BIG WIG | Jun 17, 2008 10:16:34 AM
what a disappointment Gore turned out to be. I have always been a supporter of his until I realized how much of a chicken he really is. Throw his support after the primaries are over. How pathetic.
Posted by: kitojj | Jun 17, 2008 10:20:05 AM
Gore made more than 100 million dollars in the name of Global Warming and wants to make billions of dollars with the help of this puppet Obama.
If Gore really wants to save the planet why the hell he wants to be a billionaire
Posted by: john | Jun 17, 2008 10:21:06 AM
McCain's "progressive" economic statergy means progressing to the next level of McBush/GOP agendas.
RE-THINK: When you make countless errors in judgement, yo must rethink everything you did. Some of this comes from age. It's harder to remember everything you do and say. So you have to re-think about it.
REINVENT: To gain support from your own party, it may be necessary to reinvent yourself. You may have to flip flop on a few dozen key issues regardless of what you really think. (Just pretend you mean what you say.)
RECESSION: The result of Republican leadership in our ecomony. Defense contractors and oil companies show record profits for four straight years, but the rest of us get to enjoy a recession.
Posted by: John Maynard Keynes | Jun 17, 2008 10:26:32 AM
I challenge you to switch your allegiance to John McCain.....a true American patriot that says what he means and means what he says
---------------------
You mean like:
"I cannot in good conscience, vote for the Bush tax cuts"
-John Mcain
Sure. He always means what he says.
Posted by: McSame | Jun 17, 2008 10:29:25 AM
Of course he "supports" Obama because he is the Democratic candiate. He would have supported Hillary too. Even though Hillary wants us to support Obama I can not just change my mind. If not Hillary I will vote for McCain. Obama is all flash, no substance. as far as McCains age... I'm sure he will only run one term so if we can put up with Bush for 8 years it will be like standing on our heads for 4. McCain needs to pick a strong "young" VP and the Presidency will be his.
Posted by: cissy55 | Jun 17, 2008 10:35:10 AM
Former Vice President
Nobel Prize Recipient
Oscar Winner
Al Gore is certainly more respected here an abroad than ANY Republican stooge. Especially a flip-flopping GOP tool.
Posted by: Smear all you want | Jun 17, 2008 10:35:17 AM
If not Hillary I will vote for McCain.
******************
YAWN. Guess your voting for McCain then.
Posted by: Concise | Jun 17, 2008 10:44:50 AM
If anyone knows about boring it's an Obama supporter having to listen to his same tripe over and over again. Then again we are talking about Mr. Boring Al Gore himself. There is really nothing interesting to say about him.
Posted by: geevill | Jun 17, 2008 10:49:37 AM
ROE V WADE IS SETTLED LAW. IT HAS SURVIVED 34 YEARS, 24 OF WHICH WERE UNDER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS. RIGHT-WING LUNATICS MAY NOT HAVE GOTTEN THE MEMO YET, BUT HERE’S THE FACTS: THE ERA OF FORCED PREGNANCY IS ALREADY LONG GONE. OBAMA MOVEMENT, YOUR SCARE TACTICS WONT WORK.
------------------------
Actually you're reasoning is flawed. The Republican Presidents did not have any say as to how this law was interpreted. They couln't change it even if they wanted to do so.
While in office, the Republican Presidents had a liberal Supreme Court making that decision.
Currently, the vote is 5 to 4 on Roe. There will be 2-3 new justices appointed this next Presidential term. If we get two more conservative judges (the type ALWAYS picked by Republicans)it is very likely we will see a change in the interpretation of abortion law. McCain states on his website that this is his intention.
While you are correct, the Supreme Court will not "overturn" abortion rights, they can make it a state decision instead of a federal decision.
Giving the states that power WILL lead to certain states outlawing abortion. Several states have tried already. The only thing that has prevented it was the Supreme Court's ruling that it is a federal issue.
Personally, I could care less. It has no impact on my life what-so-ever. But if it's an issue important to you, you may want to think about how Roe vs Wade has been held up.
Posted by: Rethink your logic? | Jun 17, 2008 10:56:19 AM
Didn't Al Gore also endorse John Kerry? Didn't Al Gore also campaign with Howard Dean? So it's fitting that Al Gore would endorse Barack Obama. Al Gore complains about the last 8 years in America; in the last 8 years Al Gore has made over 100 million dollars, won a Oscar, won a Nobel Peace Prize (for what Peace?) yet the last 8 years has been horrible for the Gores (maybe they should take the driver's license and drugs away from Al Gore Junior). But go ahead and endore Barack Obama; they same outcome will happen.
Posted by: Obamas are nothing but fluff | Jun 17, 2008 11:03:52 AM
If not Hillary- vote for Nader. Is position on issues is close to Hillary's. Nader is also very intelligent and has been for the little guy against corporations his whole life.
Posted by: this election counts | Jun 17, 2008 11:15:13 AM
Like it or not, Mr. Obama is going to be the next President of the United States.
Posted by: Tom Jones | Jun 17, 2008 12:02:33 PM
I didn't hear or read anywhere that said Patti Solis Doyle and Senator Clinton are angry at each other. In fact I read they're long time friends. Didn't Ms. Doyle "step down" from her role in Senator Clinton's primary campaign? Perhaps the accurate spin is that Ms. Doyle wasn't effective in her role with Senator Clinton, in part, because of the constant in-fighting. Having said that, who's to say that Senator Clinton didn't give her blessing to Ms. Doyle for this GE appointment? People here are so ridiculous in their comments, and quite hateful. The majority of which I'm sure are gutter throwing republicans pretending to be (pro-Clinton) democrats. Problem is they're easily spotted on these blogs.
Posted by: Tessa | Jun 17, 2008 1:35:50 PM
The media and Obama campaign told us Bill Clinton introduced race after the NH primary. Lo and Behold Obama bambozzled and hoodwinked us. BArack Obama introducted race in August, 2007 at another one of these house parties. The real Obama comes out when speaking at these functions.
Posted by: geevill | Jun 17, 2008 1:45:58 PM
Right. It would be news if Gore endorses McCain. Poor Al, he has do the boneheaded thing, to support someone he knew he is 100% better for the job.
Posted by: Olbermn3 | Jun 17, 2008 1:52:09 PM
JFK did not need to "uhr" and "ehn" 10 times before completing a sentence, and then, had to be corrected later "what he really meant was not what he said".
Posted by: fact check | Jun 17, 2008 1:54:51 PM
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