Al Gore went on Good Morning America today to talk about his new book, The Assault on Reason, in which he apparently decries, among other things, the media’s obsession with fluff and avoidance of substance. How fitting then that Diane Sawyer should take up most of the interview asking variations of the question Gore has now answered a thousand times.
SAWYER: Again, not to come back to this and fall into your thesis that the press only wants the horserace of the political campaign, but one way…_GORE: But back to the horserace. […]
SAWYER: And what will it be that causes you to make that decision, if you’re waiting and watching?_GORE: Well, you know, I’m not pondering it, I’m not focused on that. […]
SAWYER: I just want to say, Donna Brazile, your former campaign manager, has said, If he drops twenty-five to thirty pounds he’s running. Lost any weight?
We’re happy to give Gore the final word here: “Listen to your questions. You know, the horse race, the cosmetic parts of this–and, look, that’s all understandable and natural. But while we’re focused on, you know, Britney and K-Fed and Anna Nicole Smith and all this stuff, meanwhile, very quietly, our country has been making some very serious mistakes that could be avoided if we, the people, including the news media, are involved in a full and vigorous discussion of what our choices are.”
Gal Beckerman is a former staff writer at CJR and a writer and editor for the New York Times Book Review.