Al Gore, March 1999: During my service in the
United States Congress, I took the initiative in
creating the Internet.
Newt Gingrich, September 2000: Gore is the
person who, in the Congress, most systematically
worked to make sure that we got to an Internet.
Yeah, Bob Somerby, the author, saw the Newtster on C-SPAN imply that
the RNC ad is unfair.
But then you would have to take the word of Newt Gingrich to believe
that.
I'll attach the full text since the file may not remain in that location
very long.
Mark.
Covering the RNC Ad, Part 1: “In All Fairness”
Tuesday, September 5, 2000
Last Friday evening, former speaker Newt Gingrich took part in
a colloquium for the American Political Science Association.
The panel was broadcast live on C-SPAN. Speaking about the
1996 Telecommunications Bill, Gingrich at one point said this:
GINGRICH: In all fairness, it’s something Gore
had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father
of the Internet, but in all fairness Gore is the
person who, in the Congress, most
systematically worked to make sure that we
got to an Internet, and the truth is—and I
worked with him starting in 1978 when I got
there, we were both part of a “futures
group”—the fact is, in the Clinton administration
the world we had talked about in the ’80s began
to actually happen. You can see it in your own
life, between the Internet, the computer, the cell
phone.
Again, this is Newt Gingrich, boys and girls, Father of the
Republican Revolution: “Gore is the person who, in the
Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we
got to an Internet” (my emphasis). Gingrich said the
statement should be made “in all fairness,” but fairness has
had almost nothing to do with press coverage of Gore and the
Net. Neither has simple intelligence. For almost eighteen
months, the press corps has engaged in a long-running gong
show, painting Gore as a wierdo (and worse) for a single past
statement on this subject. The matter was brought into
question last week by the release of a new campaign ad.
The ad, by the Republican National Committee, deals with
Gore’s 1996 luncheon at the Hsi Lai Buddhist temple. It also
deals with a statement Gore made about the Internet in
March 1999. Near its end, the RNC ad accuses Gore of
“claiming credit for things he didn’t do.” It then shows tape of
Gore from the CNN program, Late Edition, saying “I took the
initiative in creating the Internet.”
The ad nimbly edits Gore’s statement. On Late Edition, Wolf
Blitzer asked Gore what set him apart from his Democratic
rival, Bill Bradley. In the course of listing his career
accomplishments, Gore said this (total length, sixteen words):
GORE: During my service in the United States
Congress, I took the initiative in creating the
Internet.
And, except for those who live to pick nits, Gore’s statement
is essentially accurate. As Gingrich noted, Gore is the person
who, in the Congress, did most to develop—yes,
“create”—the Internet. (Gingrich said that Gore did most “to
make sure that we got to an Internet.”) The RNC ad—like
most of the press corps’ treatment of this
statement—cleverly drops Gore’s opening clause, in which it
becomes clear that Gore is discussing his work in the
Congress. It is no accident that Gore’s original 16-word
statement has almost always been “edited” down to just
eight.
Gore didn’t say he “invented the Internet.” Gore didn’t say he
was “father of the Internet.” Those phrases—which you’ve
read again and again—are the creations of our hapless press
corps, which has spun and distorted this inane topic ever
since March ’99. But now, with the release of this
much-discussed RNC ad, serious charges are made about
Gore’s character. The ad ends with this statement: “Gore will
say anything.” It is the press corps’ duty to critique this ad,
to see if its charges are accurate.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, the press is not up to the
challenge. Incredibly, in the press corps’ numerous critiques of
this ad, we have seen only one reporter—Glen Johnson of the
Boston Globe—reproduce the full text of Gore’s actual
statement. Thousands of words have been written on this ad,
and no one seems to have enough space to restore the eight
missing words. Meanwhile, Katharine Seelye examined the ad
for The New York Times last Friday. We threw up our hands
when Seelye wrote this:
SEELYE (9/1): ON THE SCREEN …[The ad]
shows him in a “Larry King Live” interview saying:
“I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” The
camera returns to the kitchen. Flashed on the
screen is a web site, gorewillsayanything.com.
On “Larry King Live!” Amazing! Seelye, the Times’ Gore
reporter since early 1999, doesn’t even know what program
this statement derives from! One might well wonder how hard
she has worked to get at the truth of this long-running tale.
The RNC ad makes two specific claims. First, it says Gore
“raised campaign money at a Buddhist temple.” Second, it
says Gore “claim[ed] credit for things he didn’t even do” in his
remark about the Internet. Throughout this week, we’ll be
looking at the press corps’ analysis of these two claims. But
we’ll also be reviewing the press corps’ conduct over the past
eighteen months—the remarkable work the corps has done in
spinning Gore character themes. In our view, the press corps’
conduct in this area has been the press story of this
campaign. It’s time to explain why we think that.
But for today, let’s compare statements—one from Gore, and
one from Gingrich. See how closely the two statements
coincide. And then ask yourself how this silly story could
possibly have gone on so long—how it can be that we’ve
spent eighteen months reading burlesques of Gore’s
statement:
Al Gore, March 1999: During my service in the
United States Congress, I took the initiative in
creating the Internet.
Newt Gingrich, September 2000: Gore is the
person who, in the Congress, most systematically
worked to make sure that we got to an Internet.
For eighteen months, we’ve read burlesques of Gore’s
statement. In all fairness, we must finally ask: Why?