[art_director]

I'm not a fan of Al Gore's but I have to applaud his initiative.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/....ap/index.html

[demograph68]

Yeah, all politics aside, that was a good thing of him to do.

[Moderator]

Sean Penn did it too....Cheney definitely did not.

[Busemann]

Imagine how much better off the US would be if he won in 2000.

[TETENAL]

Much better.

[idjeff]

Originally Posted by demograph68

Yeah, all politics aside, that was a good thing of him to do.

But you can't really take the politics out of it can you. It was a good political move.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by idjeff

But you can't really take the politics out of it can you. It was a good political move.

Right. It's going to get him elected in 2008.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Another good move, and not so nakedly self-aggrandising and political.

http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.com/

[Cold Warrior]

Good thing to do. Also used his connections to cut through the red tape.

[art_director]

Heck, even Shaq is helping out:


'This is the right thing to do'
Shaq urges others to help out victims of Katrina
AP

MIAMI (AP) -- Sweat dripping from his head as he worked in the midday South Florida sun, Shaquille O'Neal loaded the last item into a cavernous 18-wheel trailer and pointed to the generous stranger.

"Give the man a hug," he urged his children, who quickly obliged. "Tell him thank you."

For the last week, O'Neal and his wife have coordinated efforts to help those in Louisiana and Mississippi whose lives were ripped apart by Hurricane Katrina. And Saturday, O'Neal was on the front line, personally accepting medical items, toiletries, clothes and other items from those inclined to help.

The tractor-trailers hired by the O'Neal family are expected to begin rolling Tuesday toward Baton Rouge, La. -- where O'Neal, the Miami Heat center, attended LSU.

"I commend everybody who's helping out in some way," O'Neal said. "Whether it's monetarily or going to the stores and buying cases of water, bundles of ice ... there's a lot of people chipping in, and my hat goes off to every American and non-American that's helping."

O'Neal spent two days in Louisiana shortly after the storm struck, returning home deeply moved by what he saw. And donating money, he said, simply wouldn't be enough.

So for several days, he and his wife Shaunie have teamed with the El Dorado furniture stores in South Florida and urged people to give whatever was possible. The response, Shaunie O'Neal said, has been overwhelming.

A warehouse commandeered to store the donations is nearly filled to capacity. There's 10,000 gallons of water, piles of diapers, peroxide, personal items and clothing, plus even some donations of refrigerators and beds -- which will be used to help furnish 400 apartments the O'Neal's plan to rent for refugees in Dallas and other areas.

"The refrigerators and beds weren't expected," Shaunie O'Neal said. "But they definitely can be used. They'll definitely come in handy."

The O'Neal's are unclear what will exactly happen once the trucks leave South Florida. They're finding that the process of distributing items throughout the ravaged region is perhaps the most difficult part of the plan.

Shaunie O'Neal said she's been told that the trucks, when they arrive in Louisiana, will be emptied for inspection and the items will be sent to various locations -- depending on what is needed where, and logistics in place for the distribution. She fears it could be a lengthy process.

"It's just frustrating," Shaunie O'Neal said. "All you're trying to do is help and get help to people in need and you see these people on TV just begging for help and whoever, I'm not going to point any fingers, but ... it's very, very, very difficult."

While the 12-time All-Star was manning the dropoff location, Edesio Biffoni, a Swiss man who works in finance and now lives in the Miami suburb of Coconut Grove, came with his sports-utility vehicle loaded with car seats, baby strollers, clothing, toys and other items.

Other citizens -- all unknowing they were about to meet O'Neal -- brought cases of soap and deodorant, plus toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby wipes and numerous other items.

"Everybody should be helping out. ... There's people who need these things more now," Biffoni said, moments after O'Neal gave the man a firm handshake and whispered appreciative words.

O'Neal said the damage he saw during his visit to Louisiana was unimaginable. So he returned home "to devise a plan," he said, and urged his friends and corporations he works with to provide immediate help.

"I'm just doing what I've been taught by my parents to do," O'Neal said. "This is the right thing to do, and I'm trying to urge other people to do it."

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

Another good move, and not so nakedly self-aggrandising and political.

http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.com/

That's a mis-classification of Gore's intent.

[idjeff]

Originally Posted by KarlG

Right. It's going to get him elected in 2008.

Who said anything about getting him elected?

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally Posted by art_director

That's a mis-classification of Gore's intent.

I think it's a very good classification of his intent as revealed by his actions. He made sure his act of private charity was well covered by the media. That is self-aggrandising.

He also made sure to use that media opportunity to deliver a political speech critical of the current administration. That is nakedly political and unnecessary if all he wants to do it help. Contrast that with former presidents Bush and Clinton who seem to be making a real effort to be apolitical and to bring the country together to help rather than promote themselves and their political ambitions.

This doesn't change the fact that Gore's efforts did some good for the people he airlifted. That's a good thing even if his motives are blatantly mixed.

[Buckaroo]

Headlines 2008:

For the third time, Al Gore was not elected as President.

Of course the fact that he wasn't on the ticket didn't help much.

In an interview, Al claimed that he could have won Florida if the "fill in the blank" vote hadn't been suppressed.

He vowed to continue his fight to be seen in public. He will eventually install one of those double entry doors, so he can come and go from his home as he pleases.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

He made sure his act of private charity was well covered by the media. That is self-aggrandising.

How exactly did he do this. Please provide the source(s) for your claim.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally Posted by art_director

How exactly did he do this. Please provide the source(s) for your claim.

Yeah, right. I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the photographers and journalists were there. They just bumped into each other at the airport.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

Yeah, right. I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the photographers and journalists were there. They just bumped into each other at the airport.

So you have no support for your claim?

[art_director]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

Yeah, right. I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the photographers and journalists were there. They just bumped into each other at the airport.

Are you suggesting that he should / could have asked the media to leave the devestation of NO before conducting his airlift?

You accusation is fingerpointing to the core. And your claim has no merit.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally Posted by art_director

Are you suggesting that he should / could have asked the media to leave the devestation of NO before conducting his airlift?

You accusation is fingerpointing to the core. And your claim has no merit.

What?

No, it's simpler than that. His people sent out a press release and/or called the media so they sent reporters out there to cover his little story. That's how it works, except, I suppose, in your naive worldview. You seem to think that the media just stumbled on him. To say the least, that's not terribly likely. He told them what he was doing.

I'm not really criticizing. It's a fact of life that politicians and the media work together. I just think that it detracts from his supposed selflessness. Kind of like people who give to charity, and then make a point of letting everyone know they gave to charity. It's not pure altruism, there is self-interest mixed in.

But I do think that Clinton's apolitical response is classier. And probably his response will do more good in the long run.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by Busemann

Imagine how much better off the US would be if he won in 2000.

I shudder to think of it, given that the antiterrorism policies he was championing before 9/11 make the so-called PATRIOT Act pale by comparison...

[art_director]

Originally Posted by SimeyTheLimey

What?

No, it's simpler than that. His people sent out a press release and/or called the media so they sent reporters out there to cover his little story. That's how it works, except, I suppose, in your naive worldview. You seem to think that the media just stumbled on him. To say the least, that's not terribly likely. He told them what he was doing.

I'm not really criticizing. It's a fact of life that politicians and the media work together. I just think that it detracts from his supposed selflessness. Kind of like people who give to charity, and then make a point of letting everyone know they gave to charity. It's not pure altruism, there is self-interest mixed in.

But I do think that Clinton's apolitical response is classier. And probably his response will do more good in the long run.

Do you have a link to this press release?

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Everyone who helped others out during the disaster deserves praise- even if they used the occasion as a photo-op. I can actually understand why people in the political arena would want to control media access and coverage of their relief efforts- without their own documentation their political opposites could distort and spin their positive efforts into a negative. This is done by Bush-haters all the time, who use every occasion to make propaganda hay over virtually everything he does.

The Whitehouse would be foolish in a political sense not to try and conduct their own counter publicity efforts at least now and then, or else let the propagandists define their every move for them.

So in this light, I can understand why Gore too would require some level of documentation of his efforts, and want to control the media coverage of it.

Bottom line: he and many others helped out, and that’s what counts most.

[:dragonflypro:]

Article subhead, emphasis mine…

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans, acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son.

Not even his own idea…

And frankly, no one, no one knows d**k about who did or donated what unless the news reports it or an individual says they did so.

Projective and pontificatory hate is still hate.

[typoon]

What's kind of interesting is that people are criticizing Bush for not helping out for a week or so. NONE if any of the Celebrities did anything until about the same time but of course no one says anything about that. It also takes some time to plan where to stage things in a disater like this. You can't just go into it without any planning though this administration seems to be good at that.

[mojo2]

Just saw it on CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer, a young lad with a heart condition had reached the end of what the local NOLA hospital could do for him, when he had to be evacuated due to Katrina and he wound up at an Arkansas hospital that is a world leader in heart related cases and youths with heart problems. Their experienced doctors said he DID have hope. He needed a 'Berlin heart' but there were laws preventing it's import or it being imported in time. So the FDA (A FEDERAL AGENCY) relaxed redtape so the device could be imported in time for the child to be saved.

He still needs a human donated heart for a transplant, but he has a CHANCE because the BUSH ADMINISTRATION waved the rule to save this youngster.

Gore didn't do it. Kerry Didn't do it. BUSH did it.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by mojo2

Just saw it on CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer, a young lad with a heart condition had reached the end of what the local NOLA hospital could do for him, when he had to be evacuated due to Katrina and he wound up at an Arkansas hospital that is a world leader in heart related cases and youths with heart problems. Their experienced doctors said he DID have hope. He needed a 'Berlin heart' but there were laws preventing it's import or it being imported in time. So the FDA (A FEDERAL AGENCY) relaxed redtape so the device could be imported in time for the child to be saved.

He still needs a human donated heart for a transplant, but he has a CHANCE because the BUSH ADMINISTRATION waved the rule to save this youngster.

Gore didn't do it. Kerry Didn't do it. BUSH did it.

Ah. I see. Bush did one thing that didn't cost him anything personally. Now Gore is a heartless bastard.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by typoon

You can't just go into it without any planning though this administration seems to be good at that.

That last part is a joke, right?

[mojo2]

Originally Posted by goMac

Ah. I see. Bush did one thing that didn't cost him anything personally. Now Gore is a heartless bastard.

Gore is who I voted for in 2000. He isn't a heartless bastard. Neither is Bush.

[Railroader]

This is so much better than the $200 he deducted for charitable giving on his tax forms when he was vice president.