Franken-Lies-And-the-Lying-Liars-Who-Tell

national law to clean up hazardous dump sites.... And it all happened because one high school
student got involved."'
In other words, Gore told his audience of high school students that they should put
aside their cynicism and get involved in the political process. Gore had a sterling reputation
as an environmental crusader, but here he was handing credit over to an unheralded teenage
girl from a little town called Toone. His speech was a beacon of hope for decency and humility
in American politics.
A careful observer would have noted Gore's hands firmly gripping the podium, his ass
extended behind him awaiting the brutal violation the media was about to administer.
First, both The New York Times and the Washington Post misquoted Gore, changing
"That was the one that started it all" (referring to Toone, Tennessee) and making it into: "I
was the one that started it all." The Republican National Committee helpfully fixed up the
grammar, sending a fax to reporters stating that Gore had said, "I was the one who started it
all."
Chris Matthews joined in the gang bang, accusing Gore of claiming to have "discovered"
or even "invented" Love Canal. Even though The New York Times and the Washington
Post is sued corrections, the story was off and running. Rupert Murdoch, in the form of the
New York Post, called it "a bald-faced lie." The National Journal said Gore was "mangling
the truth for political gain." On NBC, ABC, pretty much everywhere, Gore the Exaggerator
had done it again.
I mean, was the man sick? Yes, he had held the first hearing on Love Canal, and yes,
those hearings had led to a major national law, and yes, he had told the story accurately. But,
c'mon, Al! How many times do you have be misquoted before you learn not to ever say anything
to anyone that could possibly be taken out of context and changed to make you look
bad? Like Oliver Barrett IV, Al Gore was learning the painful truth that being a reporter
means never having to say you're sorry.
Meanwhile, over in the Bush camp, things weren't too rosy either. Anytime the candidate
said something "stupid," it was jumped on as evidence that he might not be up to the job.
Some times the criticism seemed fair, like when he said that "more and more of our imports
are coming from overseas." Or when he said, "I know how hard it is for you to put food on
your family." Or when he said, "I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy." Or when he