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Wednesday evening I was in attendance at a northern California event for Al Gore’s book tour promoting his just-released The Assault on Reason, a book whose goal it is to “explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason’s enemies; to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds; and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our politics.” Whew! All that in a slim-273 pages. I have not yet had a chance to read the book–will do so soon and give my thoughts on it in this forum. But I do want to share some notes and reflections on tonight’s event with the former Vice President.

• There was an incredible buzz among the standing-room only crowd assembling outside of the concert hall where Mr. Gore spoke. Three booths were set-up, each crowded by dozens of people: one soliciting signatures for the Draft Gore movement; one promoting the Gore/Obama ‘08 Dream Team initiative; and one distributing flyers and stickers–immediately snatched by eager and enthusiastic supporters–urging the Oscar Award-winner, Nobel Peace Prize-nominated, former VP to “Run, Al, run!” I have never before seen so many people smiling at a political rally or event–the mostly Boomer audience was high on hope that Mr. Gore would soon declare his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. The atmosphere of optimism was refreshing and infectious. I soon found myself joining in the collective daydream that Mr. Gore would announce his intention to run in ‘08 on this evening in northern Marin County.

• All ticket-holders were entitled to a complimentary hot-off-the-presses copy of The Assault on Reason. (”Complimentary” may be a bit of a relatively loose word–when Ticketmaster was done assessing their processing fees, tickets to see Mr. Gore speak about his new book crossed the $50/pop mark.) As people made their way to their seats in the auditorium, they clutched their copies of the book tight to their chest, as if it was a newborn baby and they were shielding the young child from the sun. Again, I was amazed by the intensity of the audience’s emotions related to Mr. Gore–there was a deep want to believe that in these pages was a formula for successfully combating the neoconservative and religious right movement in America.

• Scanning the room before the house lights dimmed, I was surprised by the lack of audience diversity. I counted a small number of Asians in the 1,000+ strong audience, but did not see any people of color.

• Mr. Gore was introduced to thunderous applause and strolled onto the stage looking more like Steven Segal–black suit, black unbuttoned shirt, slicked back graying hair, barrel-chested, hands pressed together in a praying position offering his thanks for the warm welcome–than the woody caricature of a geeky sage that so many of us had come to imagine the former-VP as being.

• Mr. Gore started his speech by offering an impressive–in content–abridged verbal history of the written word and how technological advances in printing and distribution of news and stories empowered and educated people to become active community citizens. (See Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.) The ubiquity of information today promised a new golden opportunity of citizen activism, said Mr. Gore. But only if we can get past the manipulative and mind-numbing nature of the 30-second political commercial and out-of-context soundbite.

• While the content was impressive, the delivery was uninspiring. Mr. Gore seemed to be trying to recite a recently written, though rarely practiced, speech. He struggled on stage to get into a groove and most certainly never hit his stride. There were long pauses, awkward tangents, a few misquotes (”As Lincoln once said–er, excuse me, I mean as Jefferson said…”), and an obvious mental search to hit specific “bullet points” in his speech.

• At first the audience was encouraging and forgiving. We tried to help Mr. Gore along by laughing too hard at punch lines and clapping loudly at the many referrals to our celebrity-obsessed American culture. A few of us even sat on the edge of our seat, trying to channel Mr. Gore and tell him, “It’s okay, Al… Do you need to cough and clear your throat? Go ahead and pause to look at your notes–we understand.”

• Finally, after fifteen minutes of Mr. Gore floundering on stage, audience members around me began to whisper to each other and sat back in their chairs. Our new political hero was not perfect. Maybe he was tired. Maybe he simply was not that great of a presenter. But what about An Inconvenient Truth?! He was so funny, so engaging, so inspiring, so Clintonesque in that movie. This Gore on stage was professorial and strode around with a forced casualness–his left hand almost permanently stuck in his left pant pocket. His right hand made firm gestures to punctuate his points, but this too seemed to be a conscious presentation technique, the suggestion of speech coaches.

• I think this is what was disappointing to me: Mr. Gore, environmental sage, was too stylish this evening. I did not want to hear a political stump speech–especially one that had not yet been mastered; instead, and simply, I wanted to hear what was really, at this moment, on Mr. Gore’s mind about the political and cultural climate in America, the changing attitudes of climate change, and the history of citizen engagement through technology.

• I want to reiterate that the content of Mr. Gore’s speech was acute and provocative. He vocalized a hope that we can soon again nominate and elect to office candidates who are swayed by reason, rather than candidates only of charisma or religious conviction, no matter how sincere they may appear.

• Mr. Gore’s call for candidates of reason should not be understood as an attack on religion–referencing the anti-clerical movement of the reformation and Enlightenment, God was found to be present everywhere and in everyone, Mr. Gore reminded us. The divine right of kings was overturned and replaced by a belief that all people are endowed by our creator with unalienable, natural, individual rights. Our leaders need to be humble; conviction alone must not become the principals with which we use to make and enforce political and social policy.

• Mr. Gore’s speech did make reference to a few of the ridiculous, scary, and clumsy quotes and policies of the Bush administration, all which drew heavy applause from this very liberal audience. But Mr. Gore, admirably, did not get personal with President Bush. Rather, Mr. Gore was most frustrated by and furious with the lack of curiosity displayed by the Bush administration and the role of the press and public in serving as an accomplice to such massive incuriosity. Our current state of unease is not the fault of the President Bush, Mr. Gore reminded us, though it would be easy–and unfair–to assume such. It is our fault. We are culpable. We are guilty of abandoning our legacy and commitment to reason. We, as a people, are so excitable, yet too comfortable. We want to feel good, but too often forget, or choose not, to do good. “People do not immigrate to America for our shopping malls. They come here because of our commitment to and defense of freedom.”

• Towards the end of his speech, Mr. Gore did seem a bit more comfortable. His left hand came out of his pant pocket when he began to draw a parallel to the war in Iraq and the slow public and political recognition of the immediate planetary emergency known as climate change. In both cases, he said, our representatives have been staring at a mounting pile of overwhelming, undeniable evidence that highlights the need to take a dramatic and different course of action. Yet with both the war in Iraq and the issue of climate change, there is an almost inconceivable and unreasonable lack of urgency and action by our so-called political. It was here, talking about science and technology and global climate change, that Mr. Gore lit-up the room. And it was the only time in the evening that he seemed confident enough deviate from his prepared speech. Here the prescient geek and former veep looked comfortable in the cool kid’s clothes he was wearing.

• At the end of his speech, Mr. Gore took two questions asked by the emcee of the evening, the owner of a local bookstore who had co-sponsored the evening’s event. I don’t remember the first question–something to do with the war. Mr. Gore responded to it with a ten-minute bloated and somewhat disconnected mini-speech. The second question, however, had me sitting rim-rod straight and leaning in for an answer. “What would you say to us, Mr. Vice-President, about how we can reclaim and reinvigorate our culture with the reason?” Mr. Gore looked to be caught a bit-off guard, but without missing a beat, said, “Buy this book.” Muahahahah! Hearty laughter from all. Except from me and Lauren. I couldn’t put my finger on why I was bothered, in a way, by Mr. Gore’s quip. Lauren got it, though. “After watching An Inconvenient Truth,” she said, “I was knowledgeable and inspired. I felt empowered to make a change in the world. Tonight, I am in familiar company–all of us here want to change things and be better citizens and elect a new kind of leadership. But that presentation did not tell me how to do so–it does not compel me to act like An Inconvenient Truth did.”

• I was one of more than a few people in the audience that was hoping to see more, to experience more, to feel more from Mr. Gore. I looked around and it seemed that some people shared in my disappointment. But I stood, too, with the entire audience and showered Mr. Gore in thunderous applause. I couldn’t help but think, though, that our response reveals more about our collective hunger and want for a political leader like our idealized Al Gore, rather than it does about Al Gore himself. He is brilliant and captivating and charismatic. Even on an off-evening, like this. But he was no doubt struggling tonight.

• And yet I am reminded, typing up my notes from Wednesday, that the content of Mr. Gore’s speech was the most thoughtful and respectful analysis that I have ever heard from a politician–currently serving or recovering. He treated us as peers. There was no pandering. And there was no apologizing for his somewhat shaky presentation. Mr. Gore seemed to say tonight, “I am Al–geeky, curious, swayed by reason. Take me or leave me. You can have a president oozing charisma and charm, like Clinton. Or you can have a president whom you want to have a beer with, like Bush. Or maybe, just maybe, if the cultural climate changes enough, you can have a president like me. Just maybe.” And this has me smiling and hopeful.

• One last note–Mr. Gore was gracious enough to stay on-stage for another 90 minutes after his speech and autograph every audience member’s book. On my way back to the parking lot, I signed my name to the Draft Gore petition.

Run Al, Run!
J.R. Atwood