After toning down his rhetoric for the Democrats’ Boston shindig, former Vice-President Al Gore has once again bitterly gone over to the Dark Side and returned as Darth Gore. There’s little new in this story, but I’m linking it because I found humor in it.
First, the accompanying picture:
Second, the initial Republican response was a side-splitter:
GOP strategist Keith Appell likens him to “some kind of cheerleader on acid.”
“Some of the things he has said have been outrageous and he says them in this high-pitched scream,” Appell said. “I really don’t know what to call that.”
Third, pollsters are very astute observers:
Pollster Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, said Gore is “emblematic of happier days” to many Democrats.
But Kohut cautioned that “swing voters tend to be moderate, and if he comes across as too over the top, there’s a risk.” The pollster added, though, “Certainly he’s not any more over-the-top than Dick Cheney.”
Swing voters tend to be moderate? Voters who cannot decide between left and right tend to be in the center? Really? Who’d have thunk it. I feel now that I can go to the polls and consider myself an informed voter. Thank you, Mr. Kohut.
And thank you, Associated Press, for the laughs.
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One response to “Bombastic Gore Back on the Stump”
AL Queada, get it?
Found this article over at cetcom:
Seabees and Iraqi Students Build Medical Clinic for Iraqi National Guard Grenade Attack
By MNF-I Public Affairs
AL ANBAR Province, Iraq – The Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Fourteen (NMCB 14) are working beside the students from the Iraqi Construction Apprentice Program (ICAP) to build a medical clinic for the Iraqi National Guard (ING).
NMCB 14 has taken on many tasks while in Iraq, including building camps for the Iraqi Border Patrol, repairing airport runways, building a Community Outreach Center, major camp expansions, numerous camp improvements for U.S. troops, a small arms range for the ING, providing security for many convoys and now building a medical clinic for the local Iraqi National Guard.
But the medical clinic is not just another task for the Seabees. In fact, it may take a little longer than it normally would for this well-seasoned reserve battalion. This is because the project is also being used as a training project for ICAP students, which the Seabees of NMCB 14 have been instructing since June.
The ICAP program is designed to take 14- to 25-year-old Iraqi students and teach them enough basic construction to get a job in their local communities. The classes are set up to give each student an overview of electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and masonry trades so that the students can later concentrate on the construction field they most want to pursue.
The program is divided into two stages, beginning with six to eight weeks of classroom and hands-on instruction, followed by four to six weeks of on-the-job training. The schedule is flexible to allow the program to be tailored to student needs.
Builder 2nd Class David Trout, from Bradenton, Fla., has been an instructor with the ICAP since the beginning and is currently working with the first group of graduates, said, “I think it will be a good training aid (for the ICAP students), teaching them the different phases of construction.â€
Although not a very large facility, this medical clinic will provide much-needed support for the local ING, their trainees and their families.
The building is a standard Army Corps of Engineers design for a 1078-square-foot clinic. It consists of two treatment rooms, a lab, secure medicine storage area, waiting room and restroom.
In order to provide the ICAP students with necessary hands-on experience, the only outside contract awarded is one for a local concrete company to provide the concrete that the Seabees and ICAP students will place and finish. The Seabees and ICAP students will do the rest of the work.
Construction Electrician 3rd Class Brian Trent, from Frankfort, Ky., an NMCB 14 Seabee who will be working on the clinic and is teaching one of the classes, said, “I’m happy to get the chance to work directly with the Iraqis on this project. Hopefully, more will come out of it than just a quality project, like a better relationship between us and the Iraqis.â€
Since Seabees and ICAP students will provide the labor, the only cost other than the concrete from a local supplier is the actual building material, which will cost about $45 thousand.
The First Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group (I MEG) is funding the project and overseeing ICAP classes, which are held in four cities.
ICAP has been so successful that hundreds of local Iraqis want to attend. Plans to expand the program are in development. The program helps Iraqi youth earn new respect in their local communities, provides new jobs and helps the Iraqi people rebuild their country and their future.