Al Gore and the internet:
On 1999-03-09, during an interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Gore said,
During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
This quote became the subject of heavy satire often misrepresenting Gore's words to claim that he "invented the internet".
Cerf and Kahn response
In response to this controversy, Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Robert E. Kahn issued a statement on 2000-09-28:
"As the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.
Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective." |
