Gore vs. Gonzales feud grows

Al Gore hits back at Attorney General Gonzales today, saying that Gonzales' latest criticism of Gore's speech yesterday proves why an independent counsel is necessary to investigate the Bush Administration's spying on thousands, if not millions, of innocent Americans in violation of the law.

First, Gore notes that Gonzales doesn't even understand the law, nor does he understand that the Clinton administration obeyed federal law regarding spying on Americans, while Gonzales and the Bush administration broke the law. Secondly, Gore notes that even if you accept Gonzales' false argument that Clinton spied on Americans in violation of the law so Bush can now do it, Gonzales is proving why it is so important that a special prosecutor investigate what Bush did. Future administrations will rely on Bush's lawlessness to justify their own, just as Gonzales is (falsely) relying on what he claims was Clinton's lawlessness to justify Bush illegally spying on American citizens.

This is getting good. Law-breaking conservatives are making the mistake of thinking that Al Gore is somehow persona non grata to the American public. They think that by simply taking him on publicly, they win. On the contrary, whether Gore did or didn't win the 2000 election, people didn't dislike Al Gore. He's a nice enough guy, and is clearly intelligent and well-read. I think the growing Al vs. Alberto feud is just what the doctor ordered for a media feeding frenzy on this issue. And I'd love to have someone of Gore's intelligence take the issue head on. And judging by the amount of vitriol the administration and its surrogates spewed after Gore made his speech yesterday, they clearly perceive him, and his message, as a danger.