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Many factual claims are made. Let's examine them one by one.
FICTION: Al Gore recently claimed that his mother-in-law pays more than $100.00 for the arthritis medicine Lodine; and he claims that his dog takes the same medicine for $37.00, claiming "This is wrong!"
FACT: Gore's aides were quick to apologize for Gore's lie, saying the information was from a Democratic study. Washington newspapers also reported that Al Gore wasn't even sure his mother-in-law was taking any medication and wasn't even sure she had arthritis. And, he doesn't know anything about his dog's "arthritis."
The 'FACT' countercharge doesn't really stand up under scrutiny:
Gore aides tried Tuesday to end the debate over whether the
Democratic nominee fabricated the price of an arthritis
medication taken by his mother in-law, and the pet version
used by his dog.
Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said the candidate's mother
in-law, Margaret Aitchison, pays $2.13 per pill for the
prescription drug Lodine. He said the family pays about 92
cents per pill for Gore's 14-year-old black Labrador Shiloh.
On Monday, Gore aides admitted Gore had used information
from a House Democratic study, and not from his family medical
bills, when he compared the costs of the medicine for his mother
in-law and dog in a Florida campaign appearance last month.
At the time, Gore said the prescription cost for Mrs. Aitchison
$108 per month, while Lodine was available to pets for just $37
a month.
The House drug study presumed a per-pill cost of $1.21 for the
human version of Lodine, and 42 cents per pill for the pet
version.
Gore aides still could not say whether Mrs. Aitchison receives
any insurance coverage for her Lodine, which would presumably
bring down its cost. Lehane said he would release that
information once he had it.
CNN: Gore's arthritic dog reappears as campaign issue
The specific countercharges, that Gore's mother-in-law and dog are not arthritic and are not both taking the prescription drug Lodine, are incorrect. Furthermore, the countercharge that aides retracted Gore's claim are incorrect.
Of course, the only way to reveal the full truth would be to appoint a special prosecutor that could subpoena the dog and extract his testimony under oath.
Gore's central point, that there is a large price difference between the same prescription medicine for his mother-in-law and his dog, is substantially correct, though the specific figures Gore cited were incorrect.
FICTION: Al Gore said his father, a senator, was a champion of civil
rights during the 1960's.
FACT: Gore's father voted against the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964
and was a racist who was fond of using the "N" word.
Al Gore Sr. did vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but it is hard to see
how this could be regarded as prima facie evidence of racism. If so, then Republican luminaries
such as Barry Goldwater was a racist (he voted against it) and so is George Herbert Walker Bush who attacked his Democratic opponent Ralph Yarborough for voting for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the Texas Senate race of 1964.
Al Gore Sr. did stand out from other Southern Senators be being one of only three to refuse to sign Republican Senator Strom Thurmond's 'Southern Manifesto,' a vigorous defense of segregationism and Jim Crow. And Gore never played the racial politics that was common at the time.
Could Al Gore Sr. have done more to advance civil rights? He admitted as much later in life but that hardly makes him a racist or diehard segregationist.
FICTION: Al Gore said that his sister was the very first
person to join the Peace Corps.
FACT: By the time Gore's sister joined the Peace Corps,
there were already over 100 members.
Al Gore's sister, Nancy Gore Hunger, was not the first Peace Corps volunteer to go overseas and work. She was one of the first staffers to work for the agency in Washington, D.C. though.
FICTION: The same sister died of lung cancer years later
and Gore vowed to never accept tobacco money as campaign
contributions.
FACT: Just four years later, while campaigning for office,
Gore spoke to the tobacco industry in Greenville, North
Carolina and said he was one of them because "I've planted
it, raised it, cut it, and dried it." He raised over
$100,000 in "reported" contributions. His Sister died
in 1984. He did not stop accepting campaign funding from
Tobacco Company's until 1996.
The Urban Legend Zeitgeist could find no record of Gore vowing to not accept political contributions from tobacco companies in 1984. Between 1984 and 1990, Gore accepted $15,000 in contributions from tobacco lobbying groups, a period that includes Gore's failed run for the Democratic nomination for President. In truth, $15,000 is a trivial amount of money in today's expensive political campaigns.
FICTION: While running for office, Gore's campaign
literature claimed he was a "Brilliant Student".
FACT: Washington newspapers said he barely passed
Harvard and consistently earned D's and C's.
Gore graduated cum laude from Harvard, earning mostly A's and B's in his final two years. His first two years at Harvard were lackluster, earning mostly C's and some B's according to Gore biographer Bill Turque in 'Inventing Al Gore'.
FICTION: Gore claims an extensive knowledge of law
as a result of his extensive study at law school.
FACT: Al Gore dropped out of law school.
The Urban Legend Zeitgeist could find no quote in which Gore claimed legal expertise as a result of attending law school for two years. Gore left law school to run for Congress.
FICTION: Gore claimed that his knowledge of God and
spirituality came to complete fruition while "finishing"
divinity school.
FACT: Al Gore dropped out of divinity school.
This is an interesting countercharge. It seems to argue that knowledge of God and spirituality comes only upon the completion of a degree.
One of Gore's biographers, Bill Turque, says:
His teachers say that while Gore never intended to get a degree or enter the ministry, he didn't come across as a dabbler. "I remember him as a serious student with enormous spontaneous intellectual interest," said Edward Farley, Gore's professor in Ph.D.-level course on embodiment -- philosophical problems in the dualism of mind and body.
Bill Turque, Inventing Al Gore, Houghton-Mifflin, 2000
FICTION: Al Gore claimed responsibility for inventing the Internet in the 1990s.
FACT: Shocked scientists were quick to speak out, explaining that the Internet had been in
widespread use by government and educational institutions since the early 1970s.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on March 9, 1999, Gore said:
During my service in the United
States Congress, I took the
initiative in creating the
Internet. I took the initiative
in moving forward a whole range
of initiatives that have proven
to be important to our country's
economic growth and environmental
protection, improvements in our
educational system.
From context it is clear that Gore was touting his legislative record and was not claiming to have made critical advances in computer science. Internet pioneers like Vint Cerf defended Gore's record of political support for research and development projects in computer networking.
A fairer question might be: were Gore's legislative initiatives absolutely crucial to the later development of the Internet? Probably not, but it is also fair to say that Gore's record in this case shows an early interest in promoting a technology that came to fruition later.
FICTION: Al Gore claimed the book "Love Story" was based on his life and Tipper's.
FACT: Author Erich Segal called a press conference to deny his claim. (Couldn't he at least lie about a love story where his sweetheart doesn't die?)
In 1997 Gore said he "believed" that Erich Segal based his tragic lovers Oliver Barrett and Jennifer Cavalieri on himself and Tipper:
Was Gore's remark a brag? Not at all, said New York Times political writer
Rick Berke, one of the two reporters present at the informal, late-night conversation on
Air Force Two in November 1997, when Gore mentioned his connection to Erich
Segal's 1970 lugubrious tale of Ivy League romance. Segal was a visiting faculty
member at Harvard in the mid-1960s when Gore was a student there, and the two
were acquainted. "[Gore] wasn't definitive," Berke told me. "It was more like someone
told him or he'd read somewhere" that the protagonist, Oliver Barrett III, was modeled
after Gore, and Barrett's girlfriend, Jenny, was modeled after Gore's college girlfriend
(now wife), Tipper. "I didn't even think to write about it."
Chicago Tribune: GORE CONNECTION TO `LOVE STORY' A MUDDLED AFFAIR
Erich Segal did not dispute all of Gore's claim and said that Gore and his Harvard roommate, actor Tommy Lee Jones, was the model for Oliver but Jenny was not inspired by Tipper.
FICTION: Gore claimed that as a reporter for a Nashville
newspaper, his stories led to the arrests of numerous
corrupt criminals.
FACT: He later apologized for his claim and actually said
it was untrue! (Also known as lying!)
Again the Urban Legend Zeitgeist could find no record of Gore's supposed retraction. While working for the Nashville Tennessean, Gore did discover evidence of bribery that lead to the arrests of local councilman and a businessman.
FICTION: Gore claims to increase diversity in the staff
that follows him daily, especially among blacks.
FACT: Black members of the Secret Service are suing
because they claim they are not being promoted to
positions guarding the Vice-President.
This is a distortion. Black Secret Service agents did file a class action suit against the Secret Service alleging racial discrimination. The suit does not cite Vice President Gore as engaging in discrimination and Vice President Gore has no administrative authority over the Secret Service.
FICTION: Al Gore said he was the first to discover the Love Canal
nuclear accident.
FACT: The incident was already discovered, being investigated, and
covered widely in the press for many months before Gore was aware of it.
This is another distortion. Love Canal was the site of toxic waste dump, not a nuclear accident.
At a campaign event held at a Concord, New Hampshire high school, Gore said:
I called for a congressional investigation and a hearing. I
looked around the country for other sites like that. I found a little place in upstate
New York called Love Canal. Had the first hearing on that issue, and Toone,
Tennessee---that was the one that you didn't hear of. But that was the one that
started it all.
Gore was describing how his interest in toxic waste dumps was sparked, first by the Love Canal disaster and also the dump in Toone. Gore didn't claim that he discovered Love Canal, though the Washington Post and New York Times reported that Gore said "I was the one that started it all." Both the New York Times and the Washington Post retracted the misquote.
It is fair to say Gore got a bum rap in this incident. What started as shoddy journalism since repudiated is still being circulated for political gain.
FICTION: Gore said just recently that if elected president, he would put
harsh sanctions on the sleazy producers of Hollywood's extreme sex and
violence.
FACT: Just six days later, Gore attended a fundraiser by Hollywood
producers and radical gay activists where he told them that he would
only pretend to "nudge them" if elected. He raised over $4 million.
Gore said that as President he would give the the entertainment industry six months to come up with voluntary restrictions on the marketing of violent movies and video games to children before asking the Federal Trade Commission to enact rules. It was Gore's running mate, Joseph Lieberman, that said, "We'll nudge you, but we will never censor you." The issue is a delicate one that treads the line between First Amendment concerns, business and parental responsibilities and concerns.
FICTION: Al Gore said he built his Tennessee home with his bare hands.
FACT: Totally false!
The Urban Legend Zeitgeist was unable to discover any quote in which Gore claimed to have built his home in Tennessee.
FICTION: Al Gore remembers his mother lulling him to sleep as a
baby by singing the popular ditty, "Wear The Union Label".
FACT: The popular ditty was created by the unions when Gore was
27 years old.
Gore said in an address to the Service Employees International Union on May 23, 1999:
And as a matter of fact my dad was in Congress when I
was born, and I don't know if any of you know Evie Dubrow [Dubrow, a former vice president of UNITE, previously
ILGWU--the textile employees union--was a friend of Gore's father]; she was one of my babysitters [laughter] when I
was growing up, if you can imagine. I can still remember those lullabies: "Look for the union label."
Transcript
It is clear from context that Gore was making a joke.
FICTION: Al Gore says parents should not have a choice between private
and public schools because public schools are far better.
FACT: Al Gore attended private school and he has sent his children
to private schools.
This is another distortion. Gore opposes a federally funded school voucher program, not that private schools should not exist.
I have always been against school vouchers because they drain our public schools of funding
for children who need it the most-those who can not afford to go to a private school. I am
strongly committed to bringing truly revolutionary change to our public schools, closing the
Education Gap, and saying "NO" to vouchers.
Gore 2000: Town Hall - Education
FICTION: Al Gore claimed to co-sponsor the McCain-Feingold Campaign
Reform Act.
FACT: The Act was not sponsored until he had been out of office for
over a year.
Gore claimed that he was a co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold legislation in a debate with Bill Bradly during the primaries.
The McCain-Feingold Act, officially known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1999, was considered during the 106th Congress. Al Gore left his Senate seat after the 103rd Congress in 1993.
FICTION: Al Gore claims to be instrumental in keeping gas prices low.
FACT: Gore has voted on numerous occasions to raise the tax on gasoline
In his book "Earth In The Balance" Gore claims that the nation's Number
One enemy is the internal combustion engine. (That's the motor in your
vehicle that gets you to work and takes your kids to school)
The Urban Legend Zeitgeist could find no quote in which Gore claimed to have kept gasoline prices low. Gore advocated releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help stabilize gasoline and heating oil prices.
The larger issue here, environmental policy and economic policy, is not squarely addressed by the countercharge.
FICTION: Gore pretends to champion the rights of poor women to
be tested regularly for breast cancer with the most modern technology.
FACT: While giving a speech on the subject in September, Gore didn't
know what a mammogram was.
Gore suffered a 'tip of the tongue' moment during a campaign stop at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas:
Talking about
HMO reform Monday at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Gore momentarily forgot the name of a common cancer
examination for women. Turning around to face Nevada health-care experts sitting behind him, Gore asked plaintively, "What
am I looking for?" The answer came shouted back: "mammograms."
Walter Shapiro, "'Untruthful' label could dog Al Gore", USA Today, September 20, 2000
Gore has proposed proposed changes to Medicare that cover some basic preventative health measures:
Gore's plan would also eliminate co-payments and deductibles
for a range of preventive care services, including hepatitis B
vaccinations, colorectal and prostate cancer screenings and
mammograms.
CNN: Gore to outline Medicare proposals
It is hard to see how this gaffe could be interpreted as Gore being ignorant of mammograms or how it should discredit his Medicare reform proposals.
FICTION: AL Gore promised Florida's senior citizens that they would
finally have low-cost drugs with no interference from government.
FACT: Gore's plan calls for the creation of a huge federal agency that
would tell you which doctor you are allowed to see in order to get the
"special rates".
Both George W. Bush and Al Gore have put forward plans to offer prescription benefits through Medicare. Medicare is already administered the Department of Health and Human Services and so would not require the foundation of a new government agency.
Neither Bush's or Gore's plan would alter the basic Medicare service or would require senior citizen to visit different doctors to claim prescription drug benefits.
One of the central features of the Gore-Lieberman prescription drug benefit is that it is accessible and voluntary for all Medicare beneficiaries. This Medicare prescription drug benefit option would be integrated into beneficiaries' health plan choices, so that eligible seniors could choose to get their prescriptions through the traditional program, managed care, or a retiree plan if available. Those who currently have employer-based coverage could keep that coverage.
Medicare at a Crossroads: The Gore-Lieberman Plan
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Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Liar, Liar Pants On Fire