Al Gore appears in four episodes of The Bob Zadek Show, never as the episode’s subject but as an example invoked in discussions of ethanol subsidies, the morality of capitalism, presidential succession, the commercialization of the internet, and climate change skepticism. The excerpts do not present a sustained treatment of Gore’s career or views; they show him cited by Bob Zadek and by guests for particular claims.
Ethanol and the Iowa caucus
In the 2011 episode on farming subsidies, Bob Zadek called ethanol “the largest obscenity of all” and described it as an Iowa-driven failed concept intended to insulate the United States from dependency on foreign oil. He said that one of ethanol’s largest promoters was Al Gore, that Gore was a large spokesperson for ethanol during its early years, and that Gore pushed to get ethanol forced into gas tanks. According to Zadek, Gore later came out of the ethanol closet and publicly admitted that when he promoted ethanol he did so to win the Iowa primary or the Iowa caucus, and that he knew then and acknowledged now that the idea of ethanol reducing dependence on foreign oil was not true. Zadek asked whether Gore’s admission that it was a flawed, false concept should lead the government to close ethanol subsidies to Iowa and other corn growers, and he noted that President Obama was increasing the requirement that ethanol be used as a domestic fuel. Zadek characterized the continuation of the policy as another corporate welfare opportunity and asked whether the government should reverse course and go back to using corn for food Farming Subsidies (2011).
Wealth, influence and the critique of capitalism
In the 2012 episode on the morality of capitalism, Zadek raised Gore while making a point about the media’s caricature of capitalists. He said he had been reading an article about Gore, that when Gore left government he was worth, in Zadek’s recollection, two or five million dollars, and that using his influence Gore was now worth a hundred million dollars. Zadek offered this as an example of someone who is not representative of capitalist America, in contrast to the billionaires, corporate CEOs and Wall Street bankers that the MarketWatch writer Paul Farrell had named as representative. Zadek also described Wall Street bankers as one of the most protected-by-government classes in America The Morality of Capitalism (2012).
Presidential succession
In the 2014 episode on whether America has become an elective monarchy, Zadek discussed the two-thirds vote required to convict in an impeachment trial, noting that the earlier drafts of the Constitution had required a majority vote and that Gouverneur Morris changed it during the Committee on Style’s tidying up, with no objection because the delegates were tired and wanted to go home. Zadek said that if Morris had not made that change, Clinton might not have served out the balance of his term, adding that this might depend on what was in Al Gore’s mind and that there might have been some vote switching Has America Become an “Elective Monarchy”? (2014).
The internet
In the 2015 episode on the history of telecom innovation, guest Bill Frezza said that everybody has their own version of the story of the development and invention of the internet, and that there are people who believe Al Gore invented it. Frezza’s own account credited government research dollars with funding scientists who developed the TCP/IP protocol, and credited nothing beyond that to government, describing the rest as a Donnybrook of competition Bill Frezza’s History of Telecom Innovation (and Not) (2015).
Climate change
In the 2017 episode on climate change, guest Richard Epstein called Gore a rabble-rouser, said he could not think of anybody more ignorant on technical issues than Gore, and said that Gore goes out, makes films and gives speeches and is really stirring up the crowd. Epstein said the good news was that the electorate seemed overdosed on the issue and saw no concrete evidence of it in their own lives, and that Gore’s recent movie had thankfully been a bust. Zadek responded, “Thank goodness,” and said Gore got a very bad review almost universally Richard Epstein on Climate Change (2017).
Across episodes
The excerpts show no development in the treatment of Al Gore across episodes. He is mentioned in the 2011 episode on farming subsidies, the 2012 episode on the morality of capitalism, the 2014 episode on elective monarchy, the 2015 episode on telecom innovation, and the 2017 episode on climate change, each time as an example within an argument about a different subject, with no episode returning to a question raised in an earlier one.
What the sources do not cover
The excerpts do not state Gore’s title or offices, his role in the Clinton administration, or the outcome of any election he contested. They do not give the name of any film he made, the date of any statement he made about ethanol, or the source of the article Zadek read about his wealth. They do not say what Gore’s current position on ethanol or climate policy is, beyond the admissions and characterizations attributed to him by the speakers above.