Mechelle Poling – 8/24/07

This page was last updated on August 27, 2007.

Paging Al Gore; Mechelle Poling; Beaver County Times; August 24, 2007.

As background, in an April 2007 letter entitled “Congress must end the war,” Ms. Poling asserted, “Congress needs to declare war on the Bush administration.” As I wrote in my critique of that letter, “I love it when people like Ms. Poling make their positions clear. President Bush is the enemy, not the Islamofascists trying to kill us.”

In a rambling, run-on comment (Sunday August 26, 2007 at 09:05 AM EST) in response to one I made on the Times website, Ms. Poling wrote, “Bush and his administration are nothing but a bunch of war mongrel lying thieves.” I believe this comment tells us far more about Ms. Poling than it does anyone else.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“My opinion on the recent dialogue between Hilary [sic] Clinton and Barak Obama is, ‘Hello, paging Al Gore.’

“Personally, I feel he won in 2000. He just did not get inaugurated. We need Al Gore, what with 3,700 dead U.S. soldiers in a war that’s become a Middle Eastern catastrophe, with no end in sight.”

[RWC] Folks like Ms. Poling are amazing! For more on this topic, please read “Bush Lost in 2000 – Not.”

Ms. Poling seems to believe we’d not be in Iraq if Al Gore had been elected. Though Ms. Poling is likely correct, there’s no way to know for sure. Politicians routinely take different positions when the buck stops with them. In any case, consider a couple of comments Mr. Gore made during a speech on September 23, 2002.

“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power. Moreover, no international law can prevent the United States from taking actions to protect its vital interests, when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and survival. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq. Indeed, should we decide to proceed, that action can be justified within the framework of international law rather than outside it. In fact, though a new UN resolution may be helpful in building international consensus, the existing resolutions from 1991 are sufficient from a legal standpoint.

“I was one of the few Democrats in the U.S. Senate who supported the war resolution in 1991. And I felt betrayed by the first Bush administration’s hasty departure from the battlefield, even as Saddam began to renew his persecution of the Kurds of the North and the Shiites of the South - - groups we had encouraged to rise up against Saddam.”

“Americans have finally realized that the war and the economy are a bit more important to them than gay marriage.”

[RWC] When did Americans ever believe so-called homosexual marriage was more important than the economy or war?

What does Ms. Poling believe is wrong with the economy?

“Is it too late? Gore could enter a four-month campaign and win, according to recent statistics, and draft Gore Web sites and petitions are sweeping the Internet. America has had it and is calling on Gore for president.

“In the early days of our country, our forefathers risked everything for this country. Our early leaders ran not for themselves but for their country. Gore knows this better than anyone, and Gore alone of all the candidates out there needs to respect the history of our country and answer America’s call.”

[RWC] I have no problem with Mr. Gore entering the race, but he has a problem to overcome. During his evangelizing about alleged manmade global warming, Mr. Gore has refused to debate anyone on the topic. In fact, Mr. Gore believes any opinions in opposition to his should be silenced. I’m not sure Mr. Gore could get away without debating fellow candidates and I’m reasonably sure they would not keep quiet.

In case you didn’t get it from this letter, Ms. Poling idolizes Mr. Gore. To see what I mean, clink on the “Paging Al Gore” link above and read Ms. Poling’s comment of Friday August 24, 2007 at 09:08 PM EST.