I bet there's a lot of politicians out there who wish their voting record was subject to such . . . a flexible interpretation.

"Today, Sen. Bob Graham says he co-authored and voted for the Patriot Act on the basis that he was trying to threaten domestic terrorists. He says he doesn't actually support the Act itself."

Indeed. :)

Exactly right - Kerry wanting to have it all ways is a hairbreadth away from lying and certainly no better than Gore's shading of the truth.

He's really damaged goods now.

It isn't a good sign for a candidate when he has to "reintroduce" himself before things have barely gotten started.

"Kerry less makes stuff up, as tries to re-interpret the past to fit his current political needs..."

Uhhhh.... haven't you just described every politician?

What I am trying to say is that Kerry is rather brazen in this actvity, and is not just trying to put the best face on past activities, but is really fabricating the past to suit the present. I am trying not to say "lying" but perhaps that is the only appropriate word.

Greetings,

I’m no great fan of Al Gore, but I’m also no great fan of perpetuating a misconception.

Gore’s remark about his involvement in the creation of the Internet took place on March 9, 1999 during CNN's "Late Edition" show. Specifically, what Gore said was "I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

The fact of the matter is that he did.

In 1986, Gore wrote in favor for funding of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act. That was only one year after Dennis Jennings chose TCP/IP as the protocol for the planned National Science Foundation Network (NSFnet). Isn’t that what you call “taking the initiative?”

Let’s put Gore’s action into historical context, not Coulteresque hyperbole. When Gore endorsed the NSFnet, the IBM PC was only four years old. The Apple II computer was still in widespread use. The number of hosts on the Internet was 5,089. Entire universities were just beginning to make their initial online connection. Isn’t it fair to say that the Internet was literally being “created?”

In 1988, Gore argued for the creation of a high-capacity national data network. He urged the federal government to consolidate several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." He worked with the Reagan and Bush administrations, to secure the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act.

Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work (and gives you the technology to snipe about Gore), have gone on record confirming Gore's role in U.S. Internet development.

“No other elected official to our knowledge,” they said, “has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.”

Writing about Gore they concluded, “The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.”

A word of advice: Next time you give an example of a political lie or embellishment be sure it’s not your own.

Nathan Callahan

You have to admit, he did not help "create" the interent. I think it is far clsoer to the truth to say that he helped a great deal in its growth. ARPANET, USENET, BITNET and other elements of what we now refer to as the internet existed well before the time period you are talking about. So I stand by that as an example of an exaggeration that was the hallmark of Gore's discourse.

Check out this timeline, for example.

Indeed, the whole point is that instead of just saying he was a "supporter" of the development of the internet, or that he was involved in key funding that helped the internet grow, he had to make himself sound almost like the father of the internet.

I can accept, however, that it hardly is the most egregious example. Mostly I find that one amusing.

And even if you drop that one from the post, you still have the whole "Love Story" being based on he and Tipper and the the FEMA example from the first debate with Bush still stands. Even if you want to split hairs on the internet quote, I don't think that it obviates the basic point.