My number one reason for opposition to Algore in 2000 was his enviro stand. Boy, was I right!
Time Names Al Gore Runner-up to Person of the Year
NEWSBUSTERS
By Scott Whitlock | December 19, 2007 - 08:00 ET
Time magazine has named liberal icon Al Gore runner-up for 2007's Person of the Year, second only to the winner, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Richard Stengel, the publication's managing editor, appeared on Wednesday's edition of the "Today" show to announce the decision. Stengel, the man responsible for the final decision, also showed up on Monday's program and toyed with the possibility of choosing Gore, saying he'd be a "superb choice."
In 2007, the news magazine repeatedly gushed over Gore. In May, Time writer Eric Pooley lamented the 2000 candidate's decision not to enter the current presidential race and lovingly labeled him a "improbably charismatic, Academy Award–winning, Nobel Prize–nominated environmental prophet."
Appearing on Monday's show, Stengel exclaimed, "He's had an extraordinary year. He's had an extraordinary influence." The editor took sides in the global warming debate and told co-host Meredith Vieira on Monday, "There was a real tipping point this year in terms of people being conscious of the environment."
NBC, which hosted the big announcement for Person of the Year, has also followed a similar environmental template. In July, the network and its various cable subsidiaries devoted 75 hours to the ex-VP's "Live Earth" concert. During a July 9 interview with "Today" reporter Ann Curry, Gore even thanked her for "what NBC has been doing." Curry then offered this softball plea for a 2008 run at the White House:
Curry to Gore: "A lot of people want me to ask you tonight if you're running for President. And I know what you're answer is gonna be, believe me. I gotta ask you though. After fueling this grass roots movement if you become convinced that without you there will not be the political will in the White House to fight global warming to the level that is required, because the clock is ticking. Would you answer the call? Would you answer the call, yes or no?"
In December of 2006, "Today" host Matt Lauer also asked Gore to accept his calling and declare as a candidate:
Matt Lauer: "From your point of view, if you were to run for President you could take this issue [global warming] to the next level, even during just a campaign. And if you were fortunate enough to win the presidency, you'd sit in the most powerful office in the free world with a real chance to make — you could be in a position to save the planet, without putting too much emphasis on it. Wouldn't that be enough of a reason to run for President for you?"
Former Vice President Al Gore: "Well, I appreciate the impulse behind the question. I am not planning to run...."
Lauer: "But as someone who feels as passionately about the subject as you do, and your documentary is evidence of that, why pass up the opportunity to have that world stage again?"
— Exchange on NBC's Today, December 6, 2006.
For more glowing portrayals of Gore, be sure and check out the MRC's "O Great Goreacle Award" for biased reporting.
This type of coverage has certainly not been limited to NBC. In April, a MRC study found that, through the first three months of 2007, 97 percent of all global warming stories on network morning shows suggested an oncoming global catastrophe. Only three percent expressed some doubt as to whether the problem is quite so serious.
So, Americans probably shouldn't be surprised that the very liberal Gore would be so highly placed in Time's contest. And there's no doubt that NBC's "Today" show has, in the past, supported the notion that Al Gore is both a prophet of the environment and a political superstar.
—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.
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