Tom gave this speech a gold star. Although I do not give this speech my own gold star, I am glad that Tom chose to do so, and I'm also glad I made the suggestion about gold stars.

This speech is a mixed bag. It is significant and newsworthy, so it is worth reading for that reason on its own. Gore also makes several good points that are worthy of further discussion and consideration.

However, he alternates frequently (and frustratingly) between roles. At one moment, he plays the honest American citizen who is deeply concerned about the (mis)behavior of his government. At the next, he is jockeying for political position, blatantly playing for cheers and ovations from a partisan NYU audience. A speech half as long would have been twice as good if he had been willing to put politics aside and speak thoughtfully, honestly, candidly, and critically to the American public. If he then found himself with time left over, because the talk was of a predetermined duration, it would have been a pleasant surprise to hear him offer some concrete, constructive ideas. The closest he gets is to hearken back to the fundamental (but abstract) principles of American democracy, talking about "the founders" and quoting Jefferson.

Without directly saying it, he gives the impression that he would repeal the Patriot Act if he were in power. Yet it was the Clinton-Gore FBI director who recently made the case for ever more expanded authority in this regard, including the reinstitution of bans on the export and use of strong cryptography.

In the absence of this speech, I would not have thought to criticize Al Gore because he did not have the Answer to our Problems. It is never easy to develop a solution to a complex problem, and it is even harder to make that solution succeed in practice. But it is disappointing to see him make this speech, which (notwithstanding its truth) is so uniformly and unflinchingly negative and critical of the Bush administration, without offering anything resembling a coherent alternative beyond a laundry list of "Don'ts." Sadly, this only serves to diminish the sincerity and impact of the valid, important questions he has asked. His prescription can be summarized in a single word: Change. Thanks, but I kind of already knew that.

I was both surprised, and on some level, impressed, I think, by his call for Tenet's resignation. It gave me pause to reconsider the basic problem with the common interpretation of a resignation in the modern world. I have been quite conflicted of late regarding the notion of a Rumsfeld resignation, and it was refreshing to see a public figure call for the resignation of a friend while still retaining respect for that person.

Anthony Zinni was on Charlie Rose earlier this week, and the hour-long interview should be up on the web within the next few days. It is well worth the time, and I highly recommend it. I would consider giving the interview a gold star if not for the fact that this would set an unsustainable precedent, based on the scarcity of gold stars. Given an annual allocation of ten gold stars, I would quite readily give five of them to Charlie Rose.

The war plan was incompetent in its rejection of the advice from military professionals and the analysis of the intelligence was incompetent in its conclusion that our soldiers would be welcomed with garlands of flowers and cheering crowds.

Retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, who headed Central Command before becoming President Bush's personal emissary to the Middle East, said recently that our nation's current course is "headed over Niagara Falls."

The Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Army Major General Charles H. Swannack, Jr., asked by the Washington Post whether he believes the United States is losing the war in Iraq, replied, "I think strategically, we are."

Of course, the problem ... is that a sincere apology requires an admission of error, a willingness to accept responsibility and to hold people accountable. And President Bush is not only unwilling to acknowledge error. He has thus far been unwilling to hold anyone in his administration accountable for the worst strategic and military miscalculations and mistakes in the history of the United States of America.

Gore Speech