Thursday, April 27, 2006
A tale of two rehabilitations
Two former US political leaders are currently hard at work rehabilitating their images. Both have been seen as controversial partisans, seemingly dug in to fight to the death for their political party, though each is on a different side of the line.
Now Newt Gingrich and Al Gore are returning to their roots as smart, passionate policy wonks, and it's working to soften both of their images, pulling them away from their public images as semi-crazed partisans.
Gore, who had once adapted Clinton-style campaigning and leadership strategies, is now touring the country speaking on the topics for which he was best known prior to his stretch as VP- global warming and environmentalism. Gore's speaking tour coincides with the release of an advocacy documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which stars Gore riffing on climate change and its possible effects on human lives. The slickly-marketed film gives Gore a platform to expound on his pet topics, and do so in a way that's both passionate and comfortable at the same time. "Here's a man who knows his stuff, he cares about it, and he's trying to tell me something he genuinely feels is important", that's the subliminal message of the film and tour.
This echoes Gore's original campaign issue, set out in his 1992 book Earth In The Balance, written when he was best known as Senator Gore, and not Vice-President or Nearly-President Gore. It's from a time before he was portrayed as bitter, or partisan, or even really boring. True, at the time, Global Warming was a lesser issue, only a certain base segment cared at all, and Gore's discourse on the subject didn't exactly set the mainstream on fire. But times are different, and both Gore and global warming have been through a number of stages of public perception. A film and speaking tour on his core issue that allows him to shed the "wooden", "stiff", and "snippy" labels should do wonders for his public face.
Gingrich, last seen in widespread public view as he resigned his office in defeat in 1999, is also on a speaking tour of sorts. Supported by a frequently and thoroughly updated website, Gingrich has been traveling and speaking on a variety of topics he believes are key the future of his chosen party. Newt is at his best spinning off ideas, and they come fast and furious on his tour, as he covers Iraq, health plans, immigration, technological and societal change- pure policy wonkism. Well grounded in history (Gingrich holds a PhD in the subject, and has taught at several universities), he is able to place nearly any policy topic in to the big picture, and communicate that to his audience.
The reception for his recent blitz has been generally positive, both from audiences and from pundits, though his past persona does seem to come up in every article written about him. His rehabilitation is not complete as Gore's, and it may never be, but he is on the path to a greater acceptance.
Both men have been mentioned as possible candidates in '08, though both are coy, and neither is expected to have a serious chance at winning a nomination. Newt seems more likely to run than Gore, and he seems to be planning to run mostly in order to shape the debate, but Gore could be setting his own stage, and the timing of the movie and speaking tour seem ideal for preparing for '08. The odds for both men are low now, but things do change.
Change is coming faster, bigger, and harder than ever, and we could do worse than having two passionate, intelligent (and interesting) men debating real policy issues in our next Presidential Election. Hopefully the American people and their representatives in the press will see it the same way, and allow these two to contribute to the debate in '08.
Now Newt Gingrich and Al Gore are returning to their roots as smart, passionate policy wonks, and it's working to soften both of their images, pulling them away from their public images as semi-crazed partisans.
Gore, who had once adapted Clinton-style campaigning and leadership strategies, is now touring the country speaking on the topics for which he was best known prior to his stretch as VP- global warming and environmentalism. Gore's speaking tour coincides with the release of an advocacy documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which stars Gore riffing on climate change and its possible effects on human lives. The slickly-marketed film gives Gore a platform to expound on his pet topics, and do so in a way that's both passionate and comfortable at the same time. "Here's a man who knows his stuff, he cares about it, and he's trying to tell me something he genuinely feels is important", that's the subliminal message of the film and tour.
This echoes Gore's original campaign issue, set out in his 1992 book Earth In The Balance, written when he was best known as Senator Gore, and not Vice-President or Nearly-President Gore. It's from a time before he was portrayed as bitter, or partisan, or even really boring. True, at the time, Global Warming was a lesser issue, only a certain base segment cared at all, and Gore's discourse on the subject didn't exactly set the mainstream on fire. But times are different, and both Gore and global warming have been through a number of stages of public perception. A film and speaking tour on his core issue that allows him to shed the "wooden", "stiff", and "snippy" labels should do wonders for his public face.
Gingrich, last seen in widespread public view as he resigned his office in defeat in 1999, is also on a speaking tour of sorts. Supported by a frequently and thoroughly updated website, Gingrich has been traveling and speaking on a variety of topics he believes are key the future of his chosen party. Newt is at his best spinning off ideas, and they come fast and furious on his tour, as he covers Iraq, health plans, immigration, technological and societal change- pure policy wonkism. Well grounded in history (Gingrich holds a PhD in the subject, and has taught at several universities), he is able to place nearly any policy topic in to the big picture, and communicate that to his audience.
The reception for his recent blitz has been generally positive, both from audiences and from pundits, though his past persona does seem to come up in every article written about him. His rehabilitation is not complete as Gore's, and it may never be, but he is on the path to a greater acceptance.
Both men have been mentioned as possible candidates in '08, though both are coy, and neither is expected to have a serious chance at winning a nomination. Newt seems more likely to run than Gore, and he seems to be planning to run mostly in order to shape the debate, but Gore could be setting his own stage, and the timing of the movie and speaking tour seem ideal for preparing for '08. The odds for both men are low now, but things do change.
Change is coming faster, bigger, and harder than ever, and we could do worse than having two passionate, intelligent (and interesting) men debating real policy issues in our next Presidential Election. Hopefully the American people and their representatives in the press will see it the same way, and allow these two to contribute to the debate in '08.
Al Gore | Newt Gingrich | An Inconvenient Truth | Primaries | Campaign News | 2008 Election
# posted @ 9:53 PM 
