We all know Gore lies, but here goes.
In two memos to Gore in late 1987 and early 1988, his press secretary, and then his communications director, warned Gore that he had developed a record for stretching the truth. 'Your main pitfall is exaggeration,' Arlie Schardt, the campaign's communications director, warned Gore in March 1988. In September, 1987, Mike Kopp, the campaign's press secretary, told Gore in another memo that his image 'may continue to suffer if you continue to go out on a limb with remarks that may be impossible to back up.'"
- Gore Record Scrutinized for Veracity, Boston Globe, January 28, 2000, By Walter V. Robinson
Gore appeals to seniors by claiming that his mother in law pays more for the same prescription drugs as his dog.
* "Vice President Al Gore, reaching for a personal example to illustrate the breathtaking costs of some prescription drugs, told seniors in Florida last month that his mother-in-law pays nearly three times as much for the same arthritis medicine used for his ailing dog, Shiloh. "But Gore, the master of many policy details, mangled the facts, and late last week his aides could not say with certainty that Shiloh or Margaret Ann Aitcheson actually takes the brand-name drug, Lodine, that Gore said they do."
* Gore misstates facts in drug-cost pitch, Boston Globe, September 18, 2000, By Walter V. Robinson
Gore gave the impression that he invented the Internet
* "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
* Al Gore, CNN Late Edition, March 9, 1999
The Truth: The U.S. Defense Department Created the Internet. "The Internet, originally called ARPANET, dates to 1969, when the Defense Department began funding the project. Gore, then 21, was still eight years away form joining Congress."
* Lawmakers Chortle Over Gore Comment, Associated Press, March 11, 1999, By Michelle Mittelstadt
Gore claimed that he and Tipper were the inspiration for Love Story
* "Around midnight, after a three-city tour of Texas last month, the Vice President came wandering back to the press compartment of Air Force Two. Sliding in behind a table with the two reporters covering him that day, he picked slices of fruit from their plates and spent two hours swapping opinions about movies and telling stories about old chums like Erich Segal, who, Gore said, used Al and Tipper as models for the uptight preppy and his free-spirited girlfriend in Love Story; and Gore's Harvard roommate Tommy Lee Jones, who played the roommate of the Gore-like character in the movie version of Segal's book."
* Can Al Bare His Soul, Time , December 15, 1997, By Eric Pooley
The Truth: Not According the Love Story Author Erich Segal. "Vice President Al Gore acknowledged Sunday a 'miscommunication' on his part in leading reporters to believe he and his wife were the model for the 1970s romance novel 'Love Story.' The author, told the New York Times he was 'befuddled' by the comments in the first place. He said he called Gore, and the vice president said it was a misunderstanding."
* Politics means always saying you're sorry, Des Moines Register, December 15, 1997
Gore claims that he has 'always' supported a woman's choice of abortion.
* "Gore: I've always supported Roe v. Wade. I have always supported a woman's right to choose. And let me say that, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will guarantee that a woman's right to choose is protected."
- Democratic Party Presidential Debate, Manchester New Hampshire, January 26, 2000
The Truth: Gore was Pro-Life as a Congressman. "It is my deep personal conviction that abortion is wrong. I hope that some day we will see the current outrageously large number of abortions drop sharply. ... Let me assure you that I share your belief that innocent human life must be protected ... In my opinion, it is wrong to spend federal funds for what is arguably the taking of a human life ..."
* Letter from Rep. Al Gore to a Constituent, July 18, 1984
The Truth: Gore Opposed Federal Funding of Abortion. " During my 11 years in Congress, I have consistently opposed federal funding of abortions. In my opinion, it is wrong to spend federal funds for what is arguably the taking of a human life."
* Sen. Al Gore Letter to a Constituent, May 26, 1987
The Truth: Gore Favored Limits on Abortion. "Calling abortion 'the most complex issue that any candidate faces,' Albert Gore Jr. said Wednesday that he doesn't believe the courts have struck a proper balance between the rights of a fetus and woman's right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. 'I don't believe a woman's freedom to live her own life, in all cases, outweights the fetus' right to life,' the 4th District congressional candidate said, predicting that the abortion issue will be the forerunner to a whole series of issues in which medical technology and basic human rights come in conflict. Gore said he favors a cautious, case by case approach,"
* Gore: Abortion Rights At Issue, The Nashville Banner, July 29, 1976, By David Lyons
Gore claims to have Co-Sponsored the McCain/Feingold campaign finance legislation.
"Gore noted that he had backed a sweeping campaign finance bill sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican from Arizona, and Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin. 'Unlike Senator Bradley, I was a co-sponsor of it,' Gore said, 'and I feel that it's very important to get the influence of special interest money out of our politics.'"
* Gore Says Bradley's Critique Was Too Personal, New York Times, November 24, 1999, By Richard Berke
The Truth: Gore Never Even Served with Sen. Feingold. Sen. Russell Feingold was not elected to the U.S. Senate until 1992, the year Al Gore left the Senate to become Vice President, therefore making it impossible for Gore to be a co-sponsor of any McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform legislation. Gore was forced to admit that he had lied. "That was a mistake ... That wasn't what I meant to say was that I support that."
* The Almanac of American Politics, 1994, page 1383, The 2000 Campaign, New York Times, February 17, 2000, By Katherine Q. Seelye
Gore claimed to have 'found' Love Canal
"I found a little place in upstate New York called Love Canal. I had the first hearing on that issue and Toone, Tenn. But that was the one that started it all."
* Al Gore, Gore Borrows Clinton's Shadow Back to Share a Bow, New York Times, December 1, 1999, By Katharine Q. Seelye
The Truth: "Mr. Gore held Congressional hearings on the matter in October 1978. But two months earlier President Jimmy Carter had declared Love Canal a disaster area, and the federal government, after much howling by local residents, had offered to buy the homes."
* Al Gore, Gore Borrows Clinton's Shadow Back to Share a Bow, New York Times, December 1, 1999, By Katharine Q. Seelye |
