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January 17, 2006

Al Gore's Speech on the Present Constitutional Crisis

Gore may have been a disappointing candidate in 2000 - bashing Bradley from the right in the primaries, running away from Clinton's record in the campaign, failing to stand up to the Republican's thuggish tactics during the recount - but he's been a mensch of an ex-candidate. Here's the latest in a string of candid, astute speeches on the sorry state of American democracy. His emphasis here is just where it should be - that the separation of powers isn't just an inconvenience, but the mechanism which forces accountability and ensures competence.

Here's the crux of his argument:

"Vigilant adherence to the rule of law actually strengthens our democracy, of course, and strengthens America. It ensures that those who govern us operate within our constitutional structure, which means that our democratic institutions play their indispensable role in shaping policy and determining the direction of our nation. It means that the people of this nation ultimately determine its course and not executive officials operating in secret without constraint under the rule of law. And make no mistake: The rule of law makes us stronger by ensuring that decisions will be tested, studied, reviewed and examined through the normal processes of government that are designed to improve policy and avoid error. And the knowledge that they will be reviewed prevents overreaching and checks the accretion to power. A commitment to openness, truthfulness and accountability helps our country avoid many serious mistakes that we would otherwise make. Recently, for example, we learned from just-declassified documents after almost 40 years that the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which authorized the tragic Vietnam War was actually based on false information. And we now know that the decision by Congress to authorize the Iraq war 38 years later was also based on false information. Now, the point is that America would have been better off knowing the truth and avoiding both of these colossal mistakes in our history. And that is the reason why following the rule of law makes us safer, not more vulnerable."

I don't know for sure whether this line of argument can be a winner for the Dems in the '06 elections. But it's true, and it's vitally important to the survival of democracy in the most powerful nation in human history, and that ought to count for something.

Transcript: Former Vice President Gore's Speech on Constitutional Issues

Posted by tedf at January 17, 2006 01:52 PM

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