A Trip Down Memory Lane: Campaign 2000 and Al Gore’s Earth Tones

Dartmouth College

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Just to get this straight up front, I’ve told Bob Somerby that I think he obsesses too much about the Al Gore campaign in 2000. So he knows how I feel. And in fairness, he does it way less than he used to.

But I admit that sometimes it’s useful to remind everyone of what things were like back then. Today Somerby does that, and it’s worth reading. It’s especially worth reading if you’re under, say, age 30 and don’t have any personal memories of that era. You can read it by clicking here.¹

I’m not even sure what lesson to draw from this. That the national political press is actually better today than it used to be? That it’s been unhinged for a long time? That stuff like this is why Donald Trump became president 16 years later? Decide for yourself.

¹And this is just a tiny smidgen of the whole story. There’s nothing in this particular post about Love Canal or inventing the internet or Love Story or any of that. But you can always google for more if you want.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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