Now that the three debates are over and we’ve had ample opportunity to observe Al Gore in performance, some of his odd, sometimes hysterical behavior ought to alarm many Americans about the man’s mental health. There was that strange incident in the third debate when Gore rose out of his seat and walked threateningly over to George W. Bush, who just stood there in amazement wondering what it was all about. Bush, at a loss for words, just nodded. Gore then backed away.
What was in Gore’s mind when he did that? Was he seething with inner rage or was he just being a bully? Gore also seems to have a very shaky hold on reality. He keeps stretching it, undoing it, remaking it. His exaggerations, lies, made-up stories, suggest that he ought to be a novelist rather than a politician.
He is robotic in his loud, assertive campaign slogans, which are supposed to pass for serious argument. The monotonous repetition of the same words and phrases are supposed to leave in the minds of the audience indelible impressions that will make people vote for him. Sort of like Pavlov conditioning. And so his repetition of “one percent” is supposed to make average Americans rebel against the rich by voting for the one candidate who will fight the “one percent.”
Gore is creating a kind of war mentality in the electorate. Instead of becoming the President of all the people, he will wage war against the rich, which is anyone who earns over $80,000 a year. He will fight Big Oil, Big Tobacco, the HMOs, the pharmaceutical companies, and Washington lobbyists. Many Americans own stock in the very companies that Gore wants to fight. He wants to turn the federal government into a battlefield. And what will the voters get in return? Lower prices for gas? Gas prices are determined by the market, by supply and demand. When oil prices were low, did Big Oil conspire to make them low? But now that OPEC has found a way to raise oil prices, they will try to keep them as high as possible for as long as possible, because OPEC members are now rolling in cash and just love it.
As for the pharmaceutical companies, they have produced the miracle drugs that have cured diseases and extended human life. Their investment in research and development is huge. Their prices may be high, but that’s because the cost of producing these drugs is high. Most of their stockholders are widows, pensioners, and retirees who depend on that dividend money to supplement Social Security. If the companies cannot make a decent profit, their stockholders will get no dividends. Rather than mount a divisive crusade against the pharmaceutical companies, Gore ought to congratulate them on their productivity and offer to subsidize seniors who need the drugs. But he prefers to tell the voters, “I will fight for you,” as if the Presidency were a call to battle.
Gore is also a man of multiple personalities, a sure sign of pathology. When he spoke at a black church he assumed the personality of a black preacher, using the same kind of body language, voice modulation, and rhetoric, trying to whip up the congregation into a frenzy not for God but for Gore. Sometimes he rants and raves like a demagogue, using emotional arguments instead of common sense. He changes his personality to suit the occasion. That’s why everyone wants to know who is the real Al Gore.
I believe we saw the real Al Gore in the third debate. Eleanor Clift, unhappy over Gore’s performance in the first two debates, told her colleagues on the McLaughlin Group, “Let Gore be Gore.” And that’s what he was in the third debate. He was sanctimonious, unctuous, overbearing, rude, arrogant, monotonous, repetitive, smug, belligerent, wooden, and unbelievable. He constantly broke the rules of the debate by interrupting Bush. The trouble is that no one can trust Gore’s figures or assertions because the label of liar hangs over his head. And yet, many millions will vote for him.
The dictionary defines a psychopath as “a person suffering from a mental disorder,” and it defines hysteria as “a psychiatric condition variously characterized by emotional excitability, excessive anxiety, sensory and motor disturbances.” If you observed Gore in the first debate, you saw a man contorting his face, reflecting emotional excitability of an extreme kind. His body language reflected excessive anxiety about his ability to win the debate. His psychopathic behavior indicates that he does suffer from a mental disorder. He is unable to adhere to the truth, to reality. His behavior suggests an obsessive personality, so determined to become President that he is willing to say anything, and perhaps do anything, that will get him there.
Gore is so obsessive about the environment that he and his colleagues in the Clinton administration adopted anti-logging policies that led to the uncontrollable conflagrations that swept through our national forests last summer. In short, Gore is too obsessive and does not have the temperament required of a President. Because his word can never be trusted, he is disqualified from the job.
Another important fact about Gore is his past, which the liberal press has preferred not to delve into. His father, Senator Gore, was a close associate of Armand Hammer, the millionaire communist agent who was the head of Occidental Petroleum. Gore Senior served as a director of Occidental and provided Hammer with valuable contacts on Capitol Hill. Gore Junior owns stock in Occidental. The close relationship between the Gore family and a notorious communist agent should be made known to the public.
On the other hand, we all know about the Bush family. Father was an able President, and Barbara Bush was a well-loved first lady with none of Hillary’s ambition to rule the world. As for George W., during the debates he came across as unpretentious, secure in the knowledge of who he is and why he is running for the Presidency. His answers to the questions were measured and thoughtful, and when he tripped on what he wanted to say, he accepted his verbal mishap and went on from there. He may not be the most articulate candidate to come down the pike, but he strikes one as being intelligent enough to deal with the problems a President will have to face. He surely is as intelligent as Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He is also smart enough to know that he will have to call on the wisdom and experience of the people around him when necessary.
Gore unnerves people. They will never know what the truth is should he get us into trouble. He will seek to blame others. He will invent stories. As President the power may go to his head and create awkward situations. Gore will try to be another Franklin Roosevelt, expanding government programs and bureaucracies, aiming for his place on Mount Rushmore. Bush, on the other hand, talks of responsibility, of working with men and women from both parties to achieve a particular goal. He does not have a lust-for-power vision. He speaks of less government and more individual responsibility. If he gives us as good a Presidency as the one we got from Calvin Coolidge, this writer will be very happy.
Americans don’t like power-hungry leaders. They like modest leaders who respect the people they are leading. Gore comes across as someone obsessed with being President, as if his entire life has been devoted to that end. He is like a stubborn child who wants what he wants and if he doesn’t get it will have a temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums. The voters are beginning to feel uneasy, like a parent dealing with a strong-willed child who will only become worse if he gets what he wants.
And that is why Bush came away from the debates with increased support. The thought of having Al Gore harangue them for the next four years is more than a lot of people can take. Can you imagine what a Gore State-of-the-Union address would be like? Who could stand it? After eight years of Clinton, most Americans want a normal President, a man who speaks the truth and speaks it plainly. Bush seems to fit the bill.