ABC's Shipman on Gore: "[J]ust look at his face. I don't think any of us ... could take him at his word"
On This Week, ABC News' Claire Shipman said of former Vice President Al Gore, "[J]ust look at his face. I don't think any of us watching your interview could take him at his word." Host George Stephanopoulos, who had interviewed Gore earlier, asked Shipman whether journalists should "take [Gore] at [his] word" about his statement, "I have no plans to be a candidate for president again."
On the June 4 edition of ABC's This Week, ABC News senior national correspondent Claire Shipman said of former Vice President Al Gore, "[J]ust look at his face. I don't think any of us watching your interview could take him at his word." Host George Stephanopoulos, who interviewed Gore earlier in the program about his global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth (Paramount Classics, May 2006), asked Shipman whether journalists should "take [Gore] at [his] word" about his statement, "I have no plans to be a candidate for president again."
During his interview with Gore, Stephanopoulos had asked, regarding Gore's campaign to inform the public about global warming: "So, you're determined to educate, not to run for president again?" Gore replied, "I have no plans to be a candidate for president again. I don't expect to ever be a candidate for president again. I haven't made a so-called 'Sherman statement' because it just seems unnecessary, kind of odd to do that."
Later, during a roundtable discussion among Stephanopoulos, Shipman, American Prospect founding chairman and former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich, and syndicated columnist George F. Will, Reich said: "I believe that he [Gore] really doesn't want to run unless he has a very good chance of winning. But when I hear some politician say three times in a short interview, 'I'm not going to make a Shermanesque statement,' I believe that they are going to, in fact, run." Stephanopoulos then said to Shipman, "Al Gore would say ... 'This is exactly the kind of cynical commentary you see among journalists all the time -- why not take me at my word?' " Shipman replied: "Well, just look at his face. I don't think any of us watching your interview could take him at his word, and I think everyone's talking about Al Gore right now." Nevertheless, Shipman subsequently acknowledged, "I don't know that he's gonna run," after noting that "[h]e looks like he's been right on a number of issues -- people are suddenly focusing on the environment again."
From Stephanopoulos's interview with Gore on the June 4 edition of ABC's This Week:
STEPHANOPOLOUS: Couldn't you make the most of this opportunity if you were president?
GORE: Well, I'm under no illusions that there's any position in the world with as much influence as that of president of the United States. But I ran for president twice, and I was in politics for a quarter-century, and I honestly believe that the highest and best use of my skills and experience is to try to change the minds of people in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world about this planetary emergency that we simply have to confront.
STEPHANOPOULOS: As you know, a lot of Democrats are trying to change your mind about that. Here's how their argument goes. They said you were ahead of the curve on global warming. Ahead of the curve on the Internet. Right to support the first Gulf War and oppose the Iraq war. No one has as much experience in national office, and they believe because of all that, you have not just the right to run again, but a duty to do it.
GORE: I appreciate them saying that. But I don't -- I don't feel that I have to apologize for focusing my energies on trying to create a sufficient awareness and sense of urgency on the single biggest challenge that humankind has ever faced. It doesn't have to happen. We can solve it. We can stop the worst of the results of this crisis, and we have everything we need, save perhaps political will. And in America, that's a renewable resource. But the way to renew it is to follow the advice of James Madison and to cultivate a well-informed citizenry. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free," is what --
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you're determined to educate, not to run for president again?
GORE: I have no plans to be a candidate for president again. I don't expect to ever be a candidate for president again. I haven't made a so-called "Sherman statement" because it just seems unnecessary, kind of odd to do that. I'm 58 years old. That's the new 57 now, so --
From the roundtable discussion later in the program:
REICH: I believe that he really doesn't want to run unless he has a very good chance of winning. But when I hear some politician say three times in a short interview, 'I'm not going to make a Shermanesque statement,' I believe that they are going to, in fact, run.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You know what Al Gore would say about all this, Claire. He'd say, "This is exactly the kind of cynical commentary you see among journalists all the time -- why not take me at my word?"
SHIPMAN: Well, just look at his face. I don't think any of us watching your interview could take him at his word, and I think everybody's talking about Al Gore right now because the gods could not have conspired to provide a better backdrop for him right now. People think, they've missed him, the president's approval ratings are in the toilet. He looks like he's been right on a number of issues -- people are suddenly focusing on the environment again. But if I read one more time that if we'd only seen this Al Gore during the election -- this is the same Al Gore. That storyline was written every two months during the 2000 campaign.
STEPHANOPOULOS: He's gotta let it rip.
SHIPMAN: I don't know that he's gonna run. I do know it's provided a useful exercise for the Democrats right now because it's put a spotlight on the big elephant in the room -- the Hillary Clinton conundrum, which nobody wanted to face.
The other right-wing media mogul you should worry about
Palin's book and Obama's bow: a media week to forget
Media Matters: The Palin chronicles
What was it that Martin Luther King Jr. said?
That we should live in a nation where people are judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the geometry of their face.
It went something like that, I think.
If we are to presume that the way (a politician or someone speaking passionately about a given issue ) speaks to us by guessing whether he/she is truth telling or lying by the way he looks at us in the camera......
Then isn't it obvious from the first time we saw GWB on the TV looking this way or that........seemingly bored or having the dumbest of looks on his face when pressed for a legitimate answer to a specific question......that GWB is, has, and alway will be lying to us!!
The same dumb-f--k look on his face back during the Gore debates in 2000 is the same ones we get today!!
At least Gore has some fire in his eyes and in his feelings......you know....like he cares about an issue.......in this case... a rather important one......
But then....this is what the Right-wing REGRESSIVES hate most......
An intelligent, forceful, truth-telling liberal.......and so must be destroyed by the so-called 'media' and the right-wing attack/propaganda machine!!
And his face showed passion for global warming and a thoughtful and relaxed man who knew himself. I wish the MSM would quit trying to second guess what a person is thinking because they are not mind readers. If Gore does decide to go for it, it will be his decision to make and because he feels there is a real need and desire for him to do so. But, also because he WANTS to.
Would Shipman have accused John McCain of lying about his intentions? How about Jeb Bush? George W Bush? Trent Lott? How about Dr. Frist? Mitt Romney? Former NY Mayor Judy Ruleiani? I think not likely. But Gosh, "That faker, Al Gore -- can't believe anything he says" is apparently an acceptable storyline.
MMFA's Jamison Foser insightful yet hugely depressing articles on the lousy media treatment progressives are subject to are depressing because it is so clear and so pervasive. My question is, what can we do to change it?
I thank MMFA for nailing these narratives, day in and day out; your work is impressive, important, and much appreciated.
There is also a strange arrogance in making these assertions. A Karl Rovian "I know it all" type expression that serves to disrespect Al Gore's service to his country. If we could only have the media smirk at BushieCo in such a way.
The headline to this clip does not tell the story so I am glad MMFA posted the video and the context.
Shipman is NOT suggesting Al Gore lacks credibility in general. But when Al Gore says he has no designs on a presidential run, she thinks he can't take him at his word.
I disagree more with her statement when she says he is the "same" Al Gore as the 2000 campaign. Al Gore has changed. His appearance on SNL a few weeks ago was incredibly loose, confident and charismatic. He proved he can be both smart and funny.
I'd love to see Gore run in 2008. He should have been President in 2000. And our country would have been better for it.
Republicans have proved they can't govern or manage a damned thing even using cheating, crime and corrution. It is time to send them packing.
Starwheel says, "Shipman is NOT suggesting Al Gore lacks credibility in general. But when Al Gore says he has no designs on a presidential run, she thinks he can't take him at his word."
More than that, Gore has not flatly stated he will not run (the "Shermanesque absolute"). He says he has made no PLANS to run, and Shipman looks in Gore's face and mannerisms and thinks this cannot be strictly true.
The rest of Shipman's statements are pretty much on the mark, and are not an attempt to rehash the "Gore cannot be believed" rightwing script. She is very complimentary of Gore, and rightfully so. He HAS the experience. He HAS been right about so much. The Clinton years ARE very much missed. And Gore has been critical of Bush at a time America needed leadership in challenging this Administration.
For myself, I believe Gore has made no plans (or, more likely, when aides or others suggest he should do this or that if he's going to be running, he tells them he's not going to be doing things aimed at a run he has not yet decided on). He has kept himself FREE of the daunting campaign merry-go-round/shooting gallery. It's WAAAAY too early to announce, and Gore knows better than any that "peaking too early" can be a dreadful place to be.
The only thing I'd like to hear is for Gore, like Robert Kennedy, Jr., to give a point-by-point factual recounting of the horrendous irregularities that point to the GOP stealing both elections of 2000 and 2004. If he's going to run again, there has to be a change in his willingness to fight for the VOTERS, and not concede when all the facts are not in.
Gore will make a great president, if he decides to run. And through it all, he has not ruled out such a run. It's just too early to toss that hat for 2008. And it's driving the rightwing (even more) crazy. GOOD!
look at GW 's face. Permanently disfigured into a car salesman style face.
What I wrote to Claire:
Claire,
What is it exactly that you see in Al Gore's 'face' that tells you (and thus compels you to tell us) that 'he can't be taken at his word'? I'd truly like to know. Do you have a specialty background that we don't know about? If so, what other 'faces' can you look at to warn us that they can't be trusted either? What do your fellow face-reading specialists say about your face?
Thanks.
******* Seattle, WA
Wasn't it Chris Matthews who recently cited Al Gore's post-election facial hair as a sign of reclusive weirdness?
Now we have Shipman's pshychological expression analysis.
Whatever Gore's future plans or his current state of weirdness are, perhaps he should put on his poker face to keep the righties and face readers like Shipman guessing.
Here's a copy of my email to This Week:
That is amazing. Is Claire Shipman now a psychic, or perhaps an expert in face reading? Maybe she looked into Gore's soul the way George Bush said he did with Vladimir Putin?
Shipman's remarks were extremely cynical, disrespectful and uncalled for. Worse, her viewpoint, even if expressed differently, is based on total speculation. All in all, this adds up to very poor journalism.
Just a side note. On the issue of Gore "being right," I do wish more people would give Gore the credit he deserves in recognizing the value of the Internet and in taking the lead while he was in the Senate in creating legislation that took the Internet into the mainstream in the early 1990s. The world is a much better place today because of Al Gore's insight and perseverance.
Here's a link that tells some of the story: [link to www.perkel.com]
And another thing. Gore has always been a funny guy when he's relaxed. He had a great appearance on Letterman during the 2000 campaign, I believe. I've seen him speak in public twice and he's a rousing campaigner, able to generate much enthusiasm in a crowd. Why he came across so stiff and uncomfortable during the campaign, I'll never understand.
He also has an extremely firm handshake.
Claire Shipman's subtle attempt to slander Al Gore through suggesting that he cannot be trusted would far more aptly be applied to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. These men are consummate liars, having proved over and over again that deceiving the American public is a fine art best left to right wing politicians who thump their Bibles and claim that God has sent them on a mission to "save us"! It is time to impeach GWB and send him and his minions packing. Let's put an end to the right-wing monkey business that proliferates from the White House and restore decency, integrity, and leadership that we can entrust to public servants who understand what it means to serve the public (no George Bush - the public is not corporate America or the wealthy elite - it is everyday blue collar and white collar working families struggling to make a decent living while the fat cats rip us off with their "get rich" schemes that are subsidized by grossly lopsided tax cuts that do not create jobs here in America, but rather overseas, at the expense of American jobs! Enough is enough - throw the bums out, and restore President Truman's motto to the White House (THE BUCK STOPS HERE)!
I'm sure all the a-holes at The Note told them what to say.
As opposed to this clown? Seriously, this is a bit of a reach by MM. He already won once. Which of these guys or women is dead-set against running if the circumstances are right?
He shouldn't run. He serves as a reminder as to how he's been right and this clown's been wrong on everything since day one. Germany has hitler. We have this clown. Never again.
"A Method of reporting or medical diagnosis which can simply be done by looking at a persons face. "
We should have had her studying Saddam's or GWB's face before the invasion because it's so obvious she can tell who's being truthful. Where are these people when you really,really need them.
I don't believe a word you said from just looking at your face. Which, by the way, isn't a very attractive one either. I know that shouldn't matter, but when looking at your face, I just don't believe your ugly mug.
Have a nice day.
Why can't Claire just state, Gore was right? He was right on Iraq, and literally wrote the book on the environment- 16 years ago. This is why anti war politicians are still the "looney left" instead of being empowered to sweep out all the idiots (r&d) who ever trusted W.
Claire on the other hand, looks like she's had a nose job, and maybe some botox.
It's unbelievable that Claire Shipman thinks she can read Al Gore's mind by looking at his face.
God these people have nothing but snarky remarks and out-right lies when it comes to Al Gore. Is Claire an expert at facial expressions now? Claire, what's that monkey in the White House thinking about the Gay Marriage Ammendment, does he support it, or does he really not "give a s----" like a friend says? How about when he said he was sorry he said "bring it on" or did the smirk say different? Tell us Claire, share your wisdom on Bush's facial expressions.
Here I've been deciding whether I like politicians because of what they SAID/DID. I guess I should have picked them based on whether I like what they look like.
and see a vapid hack.
the right is lock-step in their characterization of Gore as "crazy", "mentally unhinged" and "looney".
Shi*man is just regurgitating the talking points while Boy George's facial expressions demonstrate his utter comtempt for the unwashed masses.
Frankly, his expressions remind me a juvenille, spoiled little rich kid who has just been named president of his frat house.
throw the bums out, and restore President Truman's motto to the White House (THE BUCK STOPS HERE)! he writes.
Jeff Gannon aka "The Buck" stopped at the White House 196 times, including multiple overnight stays.
Imagine, if this happened with a Dem prez.
The media wants further deregulation, so they have hitched their wagon to this thouroughly misguided regime in hopes of a near future that allows for say, Rupert Murdock, to own ALL media outlets (print, radio, TV) in any given city. THIS IS THE REASON THAT MEDIA REPORTING IGNORES US!!
[Collective MM press slaps its collective forehead with heel of its collective hand, issuing collective groan]
UGGHHHH! Global warming! Environmental collapse! Future of mankind! Informed citizenry!
DUHHH! Can it GET any more BORING???? Guess we have to let Old Al yak it up on this science yawn trip a while, and afterwards we we'll all talk about what's REALLY important.
POLITICS!
"Wild" Miriam Davey Baton Rouge, LA
There is an extreme cynicism expressed by many I know--many of them purporting to be skeptical (i.e., "critical thinkers")-- about the Gore film/agenda. That bothers me because it's so blatantly partisan.
That this TV pundit wouldn't accept Gore, well, it makes me more inclined to agree with him.
Is that bigotry? No. It's cynicism toward media morons who make a lot more than I and have, as a recent book proclaims, becomepdogs for the Busheviks.
Is there a real global warming problem? Well, I'm inclined to think so. And it certainly doesn't hurt to err in the direction of caution.
Some TV "personality" isn't the source I'd use to challenge the prospect of global warming or anything else. She should be walking up the street soliticiting...Well, she is, still invited to the cocktail parties of the wealthy and powerful.
It gotten to the point that whenever the MM goes out of its way to trash someone and resort to the shoddest journalism tactics to discredit them I begin to wonder what it is about that person that makes them so scared. I then research thier poistion and try to find out the whole story. With the current situation I believe that the ones that are really looking out for us are the ones the MM is bashing the loudest. If the Talking heads refer to someone as a "Insane" or some other derogative, I am immediatley trying to find what it is about this peron I should SUPPORT!